Socks: April 2007 Archives
After much hemming and hawing I finally settled on a K4P2 ribbing for the top of my Curious Yarns "Sprung" sock. It seemed to be the right combination of simplicity and compatibility with the leg pattern. And it fits pretty well, too.
I'm pleased with the overall look of the sock. I think the pattern stitch is well matched to the delicate colors and the open/airy pattern makes for the right weight and warmth for a spring and summer sock. A number of folks asked for more information about the pattern. The whole sock is really quite simple. When I complete the second sock, I'll put the outline together and make it available to everyone and anyone who wants to try it out for themselves.
A while back I got the chance to go to a Japanese bookstore with Bonne Marie. This was my first voyage into such an arena, and I found it very intriguing, even though the bookstore was a mere fraction of its normal size due to renovations. I didn't buy much except a book labelled "Knitting Patterns Book 300" (ISBN 4-529-041727) and it's been a great source of inspiration. Some pattern stitches are relatively common or are just variations on a common theme. Others are new to me, somewhat bizarre or both. Given my love of stripey sock yarn, I was hoping to find some that would bias in interesting ways, and there are definitely a few that fit that bill that I will try when I am workin on something that I can focus on. The stitch that I ended up with for this sock has a six stitch and 6 row repeat, making it a pretty easy pattern to commit to memory and work up on the leg of a sock (if you have the book, it is pattern #134). It has, to me anyway, an interesting combination of eyelets and angles. It actually reminds me of little trees -- which seems rather appropriate for a spring colored sock.
Now I just need to decide what type of ribbing to put on the top of it to finish it off. 1x1? 2x2? It probably doesn't matter, but since the pattern is rather loose and open, I'd like to have something with a little pull and traction to make sure the sock stays up when I put it on.
Don't let the sunshine fool you, all the warm weather has left Chicago. We were hovering right around 40F for most of the day. But the sunshine made it a lovely day to take some pictures. I started this pair of socks not too long ago because I just needed a burst of springy color in my life. What could be better than this soft yellow and green yarn from Curious Yarns (they have a website, but it doesn't seem to be functioning right now) in the colorway "Sprung"?
There's not much exciting to say yet about this sock -- there will be more when I get farther along on the cuff, but I just think the color variations in this sock are both subtle and beautiful and even a bit mood lifting.
Just enough variation so you can see it, but subtle enough so that from a distance it blends together a little bit and just gives you the impression of spring grass and daffodils. The subtlety surprised me, because in the skein the greens and yellows seemed so distinct.
Since the striping/pooling/repeating color pattern were so subdued, I decided that I could probably do something more interesting with the top. The red yarn is a lifeline so that I could play and rip out as needed. Which I did several times before coming across a eyelet and textured stitch that I liked and seemed to keep with the spring theme. These socks aren't entirely mindless knitting (I might need to start another pair in straight stockinette for that) but the pattern stitch isn't that difficult, either. I figure if I can't knit myself sweaters for a while, I'm most definitely going to work on filling up my sock drawer!
