Picture Ketchup

Hey, you'll never guess what I have! Pictures of socks!



So, these are the ones I knit 2-at-a-time, using 2 balls of yarn for each (to make the stripes). The ones I complained about a lot, you remember?

I really like the colors (one skein was nearly solid purple and the other looks like the heels), but the obsessive part of my nature is not happy with the tension--I don't know if you can see it here (but go see the big picture in Flickr, if you're so inclined), but there's a line along the side of each foot where the tension shifts. Off the foot, it makes the sock look like someone who needs some more hobbies ironed a crease along that side. On the foot, the stitches on the tops of the foot are visibly looser than those on the bottom (this shows up especially well on the left sock). I'd me more worried about it, but I had the same issue with another pair of socks and I can't see the line anymore, so I'm hopeful that some trips through the washer will even things out.



And here's the Rushing Rivulet socks from New Pathways, funny sole and all (I think it gaps a little at the arch). They were knit toe-up, and you can just barely see the increases coming from the center of the sole to the side of the heel (instead of all on the side of the foot, like in usual socks). These are the ones I mostly knit at sculling camp.



And last but not least (for today--I'm saving 1.125 pairs for next time), some basic to-up socks (with a little garter st rib), knit from my handspun. The fiber (coopworth wool from Sojourner Designs, purchased at the Franklin Country Fiber Twist) isn't especially soft, but it's the finest I've ever spun, and I'm really excited that it's light enough for regular socks (rather than house socks or slippers). One foot really is stripier than the other--although the yarn didn't look stripy at all till I started knitting. They were mostly knit on the train, car, and plane during last week's travels.

In case you're wondering about my progress towards knitting 52 pairs, counting the 1 completed pair I'm saving for next time, I've knit 9 pairs and it's only the beginning of the 8th week. We'll see how long this lasts.

Although it may last quite a long time--I tried and tried to knit a sweater with the yarn I ended up using for the 9th pair (it was going to be part of the yoke), and I couldn't get it right: the colors were weird, then I worried I'd run out of yarn, then I changed my mind again about the colors, then I ripped. And then it turned into socks, all on its own!