Take, for instance, knitting socks. In my queue, I have 20 sock projects that I would love to make. For most of them, I have the yarn ready and waiting. But since I am partaking in Sukkasato 2010 (Sock Harvest 2010), which is a drive to knit as many socks of possible between September 1 and October 31, I am naturally dreaming of sweaters, hats, even scarves. The mere thought of turning a heel makes me bored.
Not to mention the serious case of SSS (Second Sock Syndrome) I'm experiencing. You know, once you finish one sock, the pattern ceases to be exciting and interesting and you want to move on to bigger, better things. Some people give in to SSS and wear mis-matched socks. SSS also affects gloves, in which case knitters speak of "wearing it MJ style".
So, even though I reaaaalllly don't wanna, I have started a few sock projects for Sukkasato. Could you have guessed I am halfway through each one?
The sock on the left is what I was hoping would cure my sock boredom (and land me at least one pair in at Sukkasato). It is Konnichiwa by Judy Sumner, from her excellent book Knitted Socks East and West - another "Japanese-inspired" knitting book. The yarn is Novita 7 Veljestä Moniraita (75% wool / 25% nylon) in 842, a long since discontinued yarn that I've just been looking to get rid of, since it's only really good for socks and I don't love thick socks like this. The pattern is fun, but I think these socks are waiting to be owned by someone else.The sock on my right foot, on the other hand, might just be my favourite sock ever. The pattern is Julia by Emily Johnson and the yarn is Araucania Ranco Solid (75% wool / 25% nylon) in 108 Teal. At five full pages, the pattern is a bit unnecessarily verbose, but the end product is lovely. And the yarn! Teal is a difficult shade (I learnt this the hard way by having it as one of my "wedding colours"), but the Ranco yarn got it just right. I could wear these socks all the time! The main issue here is that with Fingering weight yarn and a pattern with 50% twisted stitches, this is very, very slow going.
I don't know if this counts as a sock per se, but here it is anyway. It is one of those genius designs of an origami nature - you knit one piece, fold it a few times and BAM you have a slipper sock. The pattern used here is Mountain Form Slippers by Jun Miyamoto (direct link to pattern PDF). The yarn is Novita Jussi (75% wool / 25% nylon) in 828. Jussi is one of Novita's weird kind-of-seasonal yarns; it doesn't appear in their official collection, yet it is almost always available if you look in the right places. I used it here to get rid of some leftover yarn after I knitted a pair of socks for Tristan's grandmother.Like I said, I really like the design, and the thick yarn is definitely called for here. The problem is that the sock came out much too big. The nature of the pattern is such that you cannot try it on before it's finished. The pattern is supposed to fit a US shoe size 6-7, however I wear a size 8 and knit very tight. Yet as you can see from the photo, it is much too big for my foot. I think I'll frog it partially and make it smaller, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.
(The nail polish on my toenails is Mavala's "London", the most perfect red there is.)
Why is it that all of the socks I'm working on are blue?!
