Chaussettes Artichaux

Nothing says spring is on the way like ... er, snow coming tomorrow. But how about a pair of very spring-like socks? Okay, that I can do. (Just please disregard the fact that my feet look like flippers. It's hard to take pictures of your own feet!)


Pattern: Artichoke Socks by Megan Humphrey
Yarn: Socks That Rock lightweight (100% superwash merino), colorway Lemongrass, one skein
Needles: two 12" US 1 (2.5 mm) Addi Turbo circs
Started/Completed: February 26/March 2
Mods: lengthened the cuff, added a "plain" round to lace pattern, and subbed my usual heel and toe

These socks caught my eye about the same time Weezalana knit them up, and I'm glad I waited to cast them on because her mods proved to be very helpful. I, too, added a "plain" round after round 9 of the lace pattern; if you look at the directions, you'll see that every even row is worked plain, except that it goes straight from a patterned row (row 9) to another patterned row (row 1). Like the Weez, I can't abide that lack of symmetry, if you will, so I had to add a row 10. I also used my usual heel flap and toe, because I know they fit my feet well. I did, however, follow the directions for the heel insofar as starting the heel turn on the wrong side, which results in working across all the heel stitches on the last short row.

I should tell you that there's a small typo in the directions for the heel turn, which you'll probably notice if you're a veteran sock knitter. The first row tells you to p3tog; it should be a p2tog. (But you knew that, right?)


Now that my big woolly sweater days are over, at least for the time being, I've moved back into Babysweaterland. The latest is the so-called February Sweater, from Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac.

This is again my favorite baby yarn, Knit Picks Shine Sport, although the color is not at all accurate in this photo -- it's much more minty green than blue. This isn't the fastest knit in the world, not because of the stitch pattern, but because the yarn is on the slippery side and if I'm not carefuly it's really easy to drop a whole bunch of stitches. I'm hoping to finish the body tonight.

I do want to thank all of you for your very nice compliments on my aunt's sweater. The big reveal is tomorrow, when my brother will hand it off to my uncle. I will certainly let you all know what her reaction is!

(Pssst ... Hurricane Knitters tomorrow, 7 p.m. Barnes & Noble. Be there!)