Old Yarn, Green Socks

As much as I love the color green, these were starting to get just the tiniest bit on my nerves. But they're done (albeit unblocked):

Pattern: Gentleman's Plain Winter Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush
Yarn: Knit Picks Essential (75% superwash wool, 25% nylon), colorway Grass, two skeins
Needles: two 12" US 1 (2.5 mm) Addi Turbo circs
Started/Completed: July 16/July 23
Recipient: my father (but not until the holidays!)
Mods: changed the last few rows of the toe so I could kitchener (you know how I love to graft)

I'm pretty much completely certain that, excluding scraps and leftovers, this yarn was the oldest sock yarn in my stash. Now, I know what many of you are thinking: I've been knitting approximately 20 years, so how is it that my oldest sock yarn was only about two years old? Remember that for the vast majority of my knitting life, I was knitting garter stitch or ribbed scarves out of acrylic. It was only a little more than two years ago that I knit my first pair of socks. Shortly thereafter, I discovered Knit Picks and stashed my first KP sock yarns.

Because this yarn was so old, it was a bit more rustic, shall we say, than Essential has been in the last year to year and a half. This is still the generic wool instead of superwash merino, so it's not as soft, but I hardly think my father will know the difference. Socks knit from the same order of yarn were successfully tested by The Mister, the pickiest knitwear critic I know. The fabric will soften up with a wash, and I'm hoping a dip will cut down on the hairiness as well.

As long as I'm doing Christmas/Hannukah knitting in July, I cast on for some socks for my father-in-law in a much newer (and softer) batch of Essential Tweed in Flint. I'm sticking with a variation of my regular stockinette sock recipe for these so that I have to think even less while knitting.

There will be some more thoughtful sock knitting in my future, though -- my latest STR arrived today, with not one but two patterns!

Man Socks, with a Twist

Those of you who know The Mister, whether in real life or through my descriptions of him here, know that he's not very adventurous when it comes to wearing color. Sometimes I feel like I should call him Mister Shades of Gray.

While I'm happy to knit The Mister socks to fit his big feet, and I'm happy to knit them in nothing but stockinette or ribbing, it does get very boring very quickly to be knitting only in black or shades of gray. So, I decide to push the envelope this time, just a little bit. These socks aren't black or gray -- they're black and gray.

Pattern: Gentleman's Plain Winter Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush
Yarn: Knit Picks Essential (75% superwash wool, 25% nylon), colorway Carbon Twist, two skeins
Needles: two 12" US 1 (2.5 mm) Addi Turbo circs
Started/Completed: June 15/June 24
Mods: substituted ssks for k1 sl1 pssos

The subtle color-shifting quality of this yarn -- which makes the knitted fabric look a little like TV static to me -- is a result of how the yarn is composed. It's a four-ply yarn, with two plies of each color. The Mister seemed to really like how these were looking as I was knitting them up.

I think I'm now officially out of black and/or gray yarn. If The Mister wants more socks, I'll just have to go yarn shopping -- oh, darn!

Staying Green

My "knitting green" trend continues with my most recent FO:


Pattern: Gentleman's Sock with Lozenge Pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush
Yarn: Lana Grossa Meilenweit Mega Boots Stretch (70% wool, 23% nylon, 7% elite), colorway 713, one skein (with plenty of leftovers)
Needles: two 12" US 1 (2.5 mm) Addi Turbo circs
Started/Completed: May 5/May 14
Mods: sized the pattern down to 60 sts to fit my foot, eliminated "seam" stitch at the back of the leg, shortened the leg, and substituted an Eye of Partridge heel flap

I love the subtle color shifts of this yarn, and I found it especially fascinating to see how it is is achieved now that I spin. The yarn is a three ply. Two of the plies stay constant in the lichen-y green you see at the toes of both socks, while the third ply gradually shifts from a darker green to a blue to a purple and all the shades in between.

As complicated as this pattern might appear to be, it's actually very easy and intuitive. It's essentially a stockinette sock with a purls strategically placed to give the appearance similar to argyle. You really only need to pay attention to the written directions through one repeat of the purl pattern before you see how it's formed and can carry on without looking.

This pattern is, in fact, a man's sock, and I've knit it once before as written. There was no way, however, that it was going to fit my narrow foot without some serious modifications, so I eliminated 20 (yes, you read that correctly!) stitches for my sock. The purl pattern is a repeat of 10 stitches, making the math very easy. I substituted an Eye of Partidge heel for one in stockinette for some added visual interest (and added durability).

There was plenty of yarn in the skein for longer socks, but I worried about the circumference of the cuff being too small for my calves, so I kept the legs to a respectable six inches. I'm using up the leftovers in some very cute baby socks!