Sock it to me

Thank you so much for your comments on my previous post – it has been fantastic to note the range of leg sizes y’all have, and also I think fairly comforting to note that I think everyone has a size buddy out there somewhere. Chances are, whether you’re thinking “oh no my legs are too skinny/fat/shapely/weird shaped”, at least one somebody has the same kind of legs.

In other news, I am starting to think a photo course entitled something like “How to Take Sock Pictures With Your Own Feet” would sell big. An online tutorial. Something. I can never seem to make my entire foot look accurate whenever I do pictures like this. The bottom heel/sole of my right foot seems oddly misshapen somehow, and other shots made my toes look totally different on each foot, which surely cannot be right as they look pretty well the same to me when I am barefoot. Nonetheless, the socks themselves are lovely:

The Jaywalker Socks have been a surprise for me. The first pair I made about 2 years ago came out too small, and became a gift. I sized up on the second pair and gnashed my teeth the whole time, swearing that I would never touch this pattern ever again. Then I started wearing the finished ones and loved them so much I had to admit the pattern had won. I made a third pair back in April, completed largely during my spring trip to New York thanks to lots of time in airports/planes/subways, and all the miscellaneous waiting around that travel does. This yarn is Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock, in ‘Irving Park’. It’s the 2nd time I’ve knit Jaywalkers with Lorna’s Laces, and I suspect the two have now become permanently linked up in my knitting brain.

On my August Halifax trip, though, I needed a sock in a hurry and realized I had my final ball of Socks That Rock from the Rhinebeck 2007 purchases (though, um, not my last ball of STR in general, heh) all wound up in a bag with a pattern, so I just grabbed those on my way out the door. It is the ‘Coleen’ pattern from the Sweet Sheep Sock Club I joined last year.

It is essentially a souped-up 3×1 rib pattern with accented stitches at the top of the leg and just before the toe. Since the pattern only uses 60 sts I felt good using the STR Mediumweight, as I would normally go with 64 sts on regular fingering-weight. The pattern is fine, although I am still wondering how well these decorative rows will hold up with wear, particularly the ones by the toe. But it was a quick knit and easy to do while on the go and driving all over Nova Scotia, so that was good.

I currently have no socks on the go but I do have approximately 6,781 things I want to cast on, so we’ll see how that holds up. I have 2 other sweaters currently in WIP form and a bit of a startitis itch. The Hourglass Sweater is thankfully done (as per usual the finishing languished for several days…even though it was hardly any finishing at all), but still needs to finish drying. It’s been a humid and rainy weekend around these parts, as I’m sure is the same for much of North America. Stay dry!