Finally! It was a very frustrating knit and I am glad that it is done. I followed the pattern pretty religiously which is odd for me. I think I just wanted to prove that I could follow one. The only alterations that I made were in the heel. I used a strap heel and it knitted the cable and rib pattern down the back of the heel. One thing that I really liked about doing this is that when I picked up and knit the flap stitches it blended in really well with the purl background. The cables look like they pop up out of nowhere.
I knit the toe as directed and I like/don't like it. At first I thought the triangle of p2togs on the toe looked strange and then I really started liking it. I might try it with k2togs and SSK sometime. The thing I dislike about it is that I can feel bumps inside the end of the toe. I think it might be from the P3togs at the very end. I have no "princess and the pea" issues with knots, purl bumps, and the like in my socks. So I think this might really bother someone who is sensitive to texture on the bottom of their socks. On the other hand it could be my knitting. Perhaps my mojo isn't fully replenished.
Pattern: Nancy Bush's Rib and Cable Socks from IK Fall 2005
Yarn: Shepherd Baby Wool 4 ply in 100 (blueberry)
Gauge: 7.5 sts/inch, 10 rows/inch
Needles: US4 DPN's for top of sock. US3 DPN's for the foot.
On another note: I recently bought some lovely new sock yarn from Lisa Souza Knitwear & Dyeworks. This yarn is called, Sock! in the color Shade Garden. It's a great blend of greens, blues, purples, and shadow black. I really dig darker hand paints which you don't see that often.
I had visited her site once before and just fell in love with her colorways, especially South Pacific and now Deep Pacific. But at the time she was just selling 8oz skeins of fingering weight merino. I didn't exactly need 1700 yards of sock yarn (but, oh, I really wanted it!). So I'm glad that there is now an option to try her yarns without buying so much at one time.
I have to say that this yarn is quite soft to the touch and I think it will only get softer with a washing. Also the shipping was fast. I will definitely be buying more yarn soon from this online seller.
Comments
Spectacular socks!!!!
You are certainly braver than I ! - socks terrify me!
Oh, and that Sock! yarn is gorgeous!!!!
Thanks Sapphyre! I'm sure you'll enjoy it the second time around. You know what you're getting into. It's a good pattern to practice cabling without a needle.