An Abundance of Sock Mojo

There must be something in the water lately, because I am all about the socks and have been knitting them up at a rate that I haven't done for many years. First, there's the pair that I was trying to squeeze in during the last part of May --  and I actually succeeded.

Pattern: my standard plain vanilla sock recipe, worked over 70 stitches
Yarn: Fibernymph Dye Works Squoosh 2.0 (75% Corriedale, 25% nylon) in Bring Me Orchids, one skein
Needles: US 0 (2.0 mm) 40 in. Addi Sock Rockets, magic loop
Started/Completed: May 19/May 30

These socks served to fulfill two knitalongs, the Yarngasm podcast Box 'o Sox KAL and the May challenge for the 90% Knitting A Year in the Life KAL. They also used another skein of sock yarn from my stash, so that's an added bonus. I think the stripes match up pretty well, though if you look really closely there's a difference of a couple of rounds right when the gusset decreases start (I doubt anyone but me will really notice that, though). This was my first time using this base from Lisa, and I really liked it. It's a little more robust than her other fingering bases, so the socks actually knit up a bit faster because I got about 11 rounds per inch rather than my usual 12 or 13. My one complaint is that I found the yarn to be a little splitty in the sense that I'd often snag a couple of fibers/loops from a strand, but that may be more due to the sharp needles I was using than an actual fault of the yarn.

Once these were off the needles, I turned my attention to a repair job. These socks might look familiar because I actually knit them last year. I stupidly shoved the socks into one of the bags I keep on the floor next to my bed and forgot about them, and when I dug them out again, I found that some wool-munching critter had chewed right through the toe of one of them.

I figured that rather than patching the hole by darning it, I'd probably get longer use of the socks if I just hacked off the toe and knit a new one. So that's just what I did, and luckily I still had a mini skein of the leftover yarn handy. While the repair job might seem straightforward, it was actually a bit more complicated than you might think because these socks were knit toe up and the replacement toe would be knit in the opposite direction. Fortunately I had the foresight to note on my Ravelry project page how many stitches I cast on with, so it was just a matter of unraveling enough to get workable stitches back on the needles, knitting a few rounds, and then decreasing for the toe.

I decided to use this opportunity to try a clasped weft join on these, and I have to say that I rather like the appearance. I worried that it would look too thick, but it seems to be blending in pretty well. Of course, the real test will be when I put the socks on and see if I can feel the area of the join (though I did the join on the instep of the sock for just this purpose).

Now that it's a new month (seriously, how is it already June?!), I needed a new sock on the needles, so I wound up the most recent skein I purchased from Lisa at FDW and started another pair of plain vanilla socks.

This is Lisa's Bedazzled base (superwash merino/nylon with a touch of sparkle) in a beautiful colorway called Impressionist Spring. I'm normally not one to go for the sparkly stuff in sock yarn, but I was lusting after this colorway and it was the last skein left in the shop, so I went for it. As it happens, it's perfect for the three-month KAL that starts today in the FDW Ravelry group.

Tomorrow I'm taking the day off from work to hang out with Rainbow, who will officially be done with first grade (yes, really) after a short ceremony in the morning. We have plans to do a little shopping and have lunch out but will likely spend at least part of the afternoon at home relaxing given that the weather forecast is not looking great. I have already promised her that we can go to the craft store, as she's recently been introduced to plastic canvas needlepoint in her after-school program and wants to get some supplies, and I'm hoping to get some materials to make stitch markers for a swap at SSK. I love that I can now look forward to regular crafting time with my girl!