Even More Lace

But don't worry -- this lace is in a pair of socks:

Pattern: Merino Lace Socks by Anne Woodbury (summer 2003 Interweave Knits/Favorite Socks)
Yarn: Araucania Rancho Solid (75% superwash wool, 25% nylon), color 119, one skein
Needles: two 16" US 0 (2.0 mm) Addi Turbo circs
Started/Completed: July 31/August 15
Mods: omitted one pattern repeat on leg, substituted my regular toe

I liked these socks, although by the end the pattern got a bit tedious. I don't blame this on the pattern; the fault was entirely on the size 0 needles I had to use to get gauge. Normally small needles don't bother me one bit, but in this case doing all the k2togs and ssks in the pattern made my hands ache.

I did enjoy working with the yarn, which jumped into my hands at Natural Stitches a few weeks ago and begged to be knitted almost right away. It's not the softest of wools, but it's a sturdy, well spun sock yarn. I love the semisolid colorway and its subtle almost-pooling effect -- enough to give a little interest to the knit fabric but not so much that it disguises the pattern.

My favorite thing about these socks has to be the way the stitch pattern carries down the back of the leg all the way through the heel flap. This isn't likely to hold up as well as a traditional slip-stitch pattern, but it sure looks pretty.

A word of warning to those of you considering knitting this pattern out of Favorite Socks: There's a mistake in the foot chart. You'd probably notice it right away, but the purl stitches appear as knits. It's pretty apparent if you compare it to the leg and heel flap charts, but, doubting myself as I often do, I had to look it up to see if there were errata. Just something to keep in mind!

Tomorrow: Hurricane Knitters, 7 p.m., Waterworks Barnes and Noble. I'll be there, (new) sock in hand.