The first of the Bells & Whistles Socks has been completed! I was home ill yesterday, so that gave me plenty of time to nap, catch up on the TiVo, and knit the foot.
I LOVE the pattern. It's clear, concise, and easy to knit. (If you can count to five.)
(Photos are just a little bit blurry - it was still early and I didn't have full light.)
Even with it being and almost knee-high sock with lace and cables, this thing flew off the needles. (The plain ol' stockinette foot helped.)
I'll have project details when they're both finished...but to sum up, Mondial Extrafine Merino, US size 2 needles for the ribbing and first pattern repeat, US size 1.5 for the rest of the leg and foot. Started Saturday night (the 14th) and finished last night (the 19th).
I absolutely LOVE how the pattern extends down onto the heel flap. I think it's a great detail.
(Don't mind the bathrobe - it's rather difficult to get a decent photo of one's own heel.)
And this pattern also features my new favorite toe decrease. Even if this sock is a little small for me (Mom has smaller, narrow feet - I have boats), the toe is perfect....I love how it fits the shape of my toes. (Socks that decrease straight up both sides to a point mush my toesies together...no fun.)
Very highly recommended pattern and yarn. (If only I had Squish-o-Vision - this yarn is so cushy!!) I'm still baffled at how QUICK this knit was. (Maybe it's just because I've been working on one Eleanora sock since May.) Oh, and the Mondial is 175m, and I had maybe 10m left over at the end - so any standard sock yarn should work just fine.
I also spent a bit of time yesterday in the kitchen with Kool-Aid:
I had intended to dye up some nice deep navy blue sock yarn for Dad's Christmas socks. Then I realized that there would really be no way to dye navy blue from Kool-Aid without it having a strongly purple slant. I could get close....but not what I wanted. So I just started playing, once again falling back on the ol' reliable colors befitting a military man. I started with two skeins of Koigu in a sort of oatmeal color, and layered and splashed and soaked and just kind of generally slap-dashed it with Tamarind, Changin' Cherry, Watermelon Kiwi, Switchin' Secret, and Grape. Eventually (after an over-dye when the first attempt came out a bit too purple), this is what I came up with. I love it.
I'm sort of surprised and pleased with myself that I managed to make a nice neutral Army-Guy skein out of Kool-Aid. Just think of what I could be capable of with real acid dyes!
Okay, that's all - now go! Knit!
|