Socks!

I love making socks.  They do not take a long time to make.  I ALWAYS wear socks.  Even during the summer, I have socks on while at home.
 
First up is a pair I made for my mom for Mother's Day.

I didn't necessarily follow a pattern.  I used the Crosshatch Lace stitch pattern, an afterthought heel, and a pointy toe. The yarn used was Holiday Yarns FlockSock Sock in the Muse colorway.  It is made of 75% Merino and 25% nylon.  I wasn't thrilled with the yarn.  I like the color, and it was picked based on this being my mom's favorite.  The yarn was a little rough, and after a while of knitting, my finger would become uncomfortable where the yarn rubbed across it.

Next is my Rainbow socks.

I believe I picked this yarn up at the Interweaves Yarn Festival in Loveland, CO last year.    It seemed fun and different, so I figured I would give it a go.  It is White Birch Fiber Arts yarn in the Does This Rainbow Make My Black Look Big colorway.  You have to give it to them for being creative with their colorway names.  A few of their other fun names are Hello Demon Kitty, Call Me Heisenberg, and History Has It's Eyes On You.  The yarn is made up of 80/20 Merino/Nylon.  I had hard time finding a pattern I wanted to use on this.  Finally, one day I was flipping though my knitting books, and stumbled upon Peaks 'n' Valleys in "Knit Socks!: 15 Cool Patterns for Toasty Feet by Betsy McCarthy.  I thought it would work, since it looks like a bunch of mini rainbows.

These next pair are my favorite that I have made so far.

Unfortunately, I could not get a picture that would do it justice.  The pattern is Lisette Socks by Jeni Chase.  If you click on the link, you can see the detail better.  The pattern reminds me of the architecture of a high rise building.  There are long vertical lines, and some detail at the top, just below the cuff.  This is the first time I had ever tried the Fish Lips Kiss Heel, and I'm not sure that I will be using a different heel after this.  The yarn is also partly why I love these socks.  I used Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere.  It is made up 70/20/10 Merino/Cashmere/Nylon.  The cashmere makes these so warm and soft.  I have had a problem with these bleeding a lot when washed.  I wasn't surprised by the bleeding at first, because of the dark color.  They have been washed multiple times now, and it has not lessened at all.  I am going to try and set the color some more using vinegar and see if that helps.  It hasn't been a problem, I just know that I have to wash them by themselves,

 These next pair is the only time I have tried two at a time socks.

I started with using Mina's Two At A Time Socks by Knitting Expat Design.  I modified it to use the Broken Linen stitch.  I thought this would be a good way to use the heavily variegated yarn.  I do like the effect of the yarn with the pattern.  I was experimenting with heels on this one, and ran across one called Strong Heel.  The sock doesn't fit me the way that I would like, so I don't wear them as often as I do others.  I have thought about taking the heel out, and replacing it with and afterthought heel..  Maybe this is something I can try and do, and document it along the way.  This is why I love the craft of knitting.  No project is ever truly complete.  It you want to change something you can do it.  If you no longer like the style, you can frog the whole thing and get a whole knew project out of it with the same yarn.

At lastly, some Malabrigo Socks.

These are Petty Harbour by Rayna Curtis.  I think this is a good unisex pattern.  I do wear these sock pretty often, but how can you go wrong with Malabrigo.  If you have read my previous posts, you will notice that I have used it in a few projects.  This is their sock yarn.  I did misplace the label, so I am unsure of the colorway.

I hope you have enjoyed your stop by my blog.