Half-Way Through The Year

I am not going to do a round up of my accomplishments over the past 6-months. I feel like a mix of Sisyphus and Penelope; I am not finishing things or I am frogging them. (Although I do have a finished pair of socks to show.)

I had a quick look at last year’s projects and the year to date, and it’s not a comparison I want to make just yet. So let’s talk about the socks, which true to the theme took way longer to make than they should have.

For June, the featured designers were Cookie A and Evelyn Clark and the themes were patterns more than 10 years old and cables. I have patterns that fit every category, so what to knit and where to start? Of course I had to make a Cookie A pattern as I have her Sock Innovation book, I also happened to have an Evelyn Clark pattern in one of my books and, of course, plenty of patterns with cables and plenty of old patterns.

I cast on the Cookie A. pattern and decided when I had finished the first one I would cast on the E. Clark pattern. Comments on Ravelry said that it they came out big and the number of stitches was at the top end of what I would cast on. And they were way too big so they were very quickly frogged. A sensible person would have just forged on with the first pair started, but no. I had it in my head that in June I would start at least two pairs. (At one point I did consider three or four.) And yarn was wound, so an old pattern was cast on. Two pairs of socks in two months is doable. Except I didn’t expect to take more than one month for one pair and I didn’t take into account that the second pattern has fiddly twisted stitches, and cables. Although I have until the end of July to finish them, August is a bonus month in which to finish all your socks and I think I am going to need that.

Anyway, back to the finished socks. I chose Cauchy from Sock Innovation and used Tranquil Merino from Stunning String. The yarn was a gift but I had put off using it as it is 20% rayon from bamboo and bamboo doesn’t have any stretch. So what do I save it for? a Cookie A design who is renowned for not having much stretch in her designs. I went for it anyway as the yarn and pattern seemed the perfect fit. I hope you agree.

I’m going to show two photos here – pre-blocking and on the blockers. You don’t really have to block socks as they are going to get shaped on your feet but it does make a difference to the pattern and fit if you block them.