Bovary Blues

I decided to knit the Bovary socks from General Hogbuffer on Ravelry with some purple sock yarn my sister picked up for $2 at a garage sale. I thought the plainness of the solid-colored yarn would be a nice contrast to the extreme lacy zigzag drama going on in the pattern.

I cast on 64 stitches on size 1 needles for the medium size listed in the pattern and didn't do any gauge swatching since that's a pretty standard stitch count/needle size for me. I knit all the way down past the gusset with only minor problems (missing a YO or a decrease here and there, etc.), only to discover the sock is very, very tight. I can just barely squeeze it onto my foot.

The socks will turn out too snug for most adults, so I'll have to frog the project. It's sad to figure this out after I've sunk so much time into this sock. It'll take a bit more time to mentally prepare myself to rip it all out.

The fancy gusset and extended chain pattern down the length of the foot are new styles I haven't seen before. Maybe I'll attempt it in the larger size, since it's an interesting and fun (albeit intense) pattern. It's been nice having a small project that I can bring to work and do a few rows on each day during my lunch break.

Rose City Rollers, Round 2

I liked knitting the Rose City Rollers pattern so much that I knit another pair while on a rockhounding road trip with my mom to Utah last month. They make a perfect travel project since they're so small and packable.

I used Patons Kroy Socks FX yarn in Clover Colors, a nice fall blend of greens and oranges. It has a standard mix of 75% washable wool and 25% nylon but is thicker than other sock yarns I've used. As a result, the socks lean towards slipper-like and will be nice to wear around the house in the winter.

I thought I might be able to get away with one skein, but that was not the case. I got about one and a third socks done before I ran out of yarn.

The color of each skein varies quite a bit but I picked the closest match at Jo-Ann's and the second sock is only a little brighter than the first. I made these ones for myself, but future variations might be making an appearance at Christmas.

Rose City Rollers

After knitting my sister's socks, I had most of a skein left of the pretty Premier Yarns Grand Canyon. I was browsing Ravelry for an ankle sock pattern and the Rose City Rollers by Mara Catherine Bryner stood out. The pattern suggests size 1 needles, but size 2 needles worked fine with the medium size. I really like how the pattern was written and the explanations for non-standard things like starting the round from the side instead of the middle of the sole were clear and well thought out.

I didn't have extra yarn to start the yarn at the same point in the pattern, but by some miracle it worked out and the stripes line up almost perfectly!

At least until the toe on the second sock, where I ran out of yarn and had to finish with a little leftover gray Zitron Trekking yarn.

The roll top is fun and way more aesthetically pleasing than ribbing but still provides enough material to keep the socks from sliding down. These socks are quick to knit up and work perfectly with my hightops and ankle boots and would also look good exposed.

I think one skein of Premier Yarns Wool-Free Sock yarn would be the perfect amount for a pair of Rose City Rollers. I'll definitely be making more in the future, but as soon as I get more sock yarn I want to knit the gorgeous Seed Stitch Socks by handepande on Ravelry.

Self-Striping Socks

I'm sure I can't be the only one who takes a little break from knitting and then suddenly gets an insatiable urge to create something NOW! That feeling took over my brain recently but I didn't have a clear idea of what I wanted to make. Luckily, a pretty yarn (and, let's be real, the cheap price tag) caught my eye and there was a pattern for basic socks on the label. The yarn is Premier Yarns Wool-Free Sock in Grand Canyon and it's a really cool combo of colors and patterns. I love the turquoise and purple mixed in with yellows and orangey browns and the changes in color made knitting the simple pattern more interesting.

As much as I like the colors and the end result, there were a few annoying things about the yarn and pattern. Some strands of the yarn kept getting bunched up and it was a real pain to readjust the tension every few stitches. There's also an error on the pattern printed on the yarn wrapper in the first row of turning the heel (It looks okay in the online version). I tried turning the heel about five times before using a different pattern and realizing it was the pattern that was wrong, not me. Even after these frustrations I'm happy with the end result, and I'm sure my sister will be even happier to wear them!

River Rapids Socks

After knitting my first simple pair of socks last time, I was looking forward to trying a more complex pattern. I went with the River Rapids pattern by Sockbug on Ravelry. It's not hard, but the faux-cabled lacy pattern looks fancy. I made the socks shorter than the pattern calls for since I was worried about them being too tight on my calves, but I don't think they would be. Overall, it's a really nice pattern that's not too difficult!

My First Socks!

My grandma taught me how to knit over 15 years ago, but I've never quite had the patience for intricate projects. I usually tend towards small, quick projects and I've whipped up a lot of iPod cases, doll clothes, and thick, lacy scarves over the years. But I recently happened upon some really nice variegated orange/red/purple Fortissima sock yarn for $1 a skein (it had a sticker giving the original price as $20.95!) so I decided it was time to knit my first socks.

This yarn is a washable wool/polyamide nylon blend and it has a really nice feel to it.

I picked the simplest pattern I could find, but even that gave me a run for my money. I probably could have knit a pair of socks in the time I spent messing up and ripping stitches out of the first sock. After that the second sock was a breeze and I feel like any future sock knitting endeavors shouldn't give me too much trouble.

Done! And (almost) the same size to boot!