20 July 2011

FO: Neutral Lace Socks



Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll in Pearlescent Tonal
Needles: US 1 (2.25mm) dpns, set of 5



 Pattern: Improvised. I did a 2x2 ribbed cuff on 64 stitches, then started a simple ribbed lace pattern with alternating yarn-overs paired with k2tog decreases.  The heel flap uses a straightforward slip 1 knit 1 pattern, and the bottom of the foot is all stockinette.  The simplicity continues with the toe, which has paired decreases every other row and a kitchener close. I made these slightly smaller than my own feet, so they'll be a gift for my mom.




Verdict: The yarn! Knit Picks can just keep releasing new shades and weights in their Tonals line, and I will probably buy them all. Even this neutral shade of off-white has good dimension and a nice balance of blue-gray with an almost khaki beige.  If I use this particular shade for socks again, I might stick to a plain stockinette, because I love that the color changes do a bit of a stripe on the instep.
In terms of process, these easy socks made great library knitting, except that the knitting went way too fast! Either I need to slow down (unlikely, because sometimes I just get into a good knitting rhythm while I'm reading) or I need to buy a heck of a lot more sock yarn. That second option obviously sounds more appealing, except where my wallet is concerned. Or! I need to make a guy friend who likes to wear wool socks and has very large feet. Add that to my list of goals; it will be the perfect solution. I can think of a few candidates right now, actually...
Rav project link


And what's next? As of this morning I've got an Ishbel (#3 of this pattern for me) on the needles and a lacy sweater languishing in the yarn closet that could really use some attention. Only the shoulders and button band are left to knit. I also have what I think will be a neat colorwork hat design bouncing around in my head. And that circle scarf pattern to finish writing up.
But back to that Ishbel. The stockinette portion was wonderful in the library yesterday, except my 5 hours of reading and hour and a half of knitting and chatting with the lovely Pippa (Rav project page! She makes adorable baby things!) means, um, I have only 3 more rows of the stockinette part left before charts and lace, which is a bit too hard to handle while reading...
What's on your needles or in your craft lineup right now?

4 comments:

Julie said...

What a gorgeous pair of socks, congrats on improvising such an awesome pattern!

kathy b said...

allison

great color. I just finished a pair of footies in nearly the same color....love your details.

Anonymous said...

Wow, these are so pretty! I am so impressed. I am pretty much a beginner but I LOVE knitting so much, and socks are next on my list of things to accomplish. It's so cool that you just invented the pattern yourself! And the yarn is beautiful. You are my knitting role model :)

Allison said...

Thanks, everyone! I'm already dreaming about the next pair of socks...

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...