Not In A Rut

My second pair of Jaywalker socks are done.  Depending on how you define "successful", (i.e. fits like a real sock with anatomically correct toe shaping vs. floppy, schlumpy, saggy, oversized sock with weird wing-toe shaping) this pair is infinitely more successful.  (Yeah, but I still love the schlumpy first pair.  They're getting a lot of around the house wear.)  I think I've tweaked the pattern successfully to my style of loose knitting.  (Okay, and reading the pattern correctly also helped.)  Because I had only one skein of Lorna's Laces Shepherd sock yarn in the Lakeview colorway, which means I only had 215 total yards to work with, I had to do some careful knitting.  I've found that I can get a single pair of an average woman's size socks out of only one skein of Lorna's Laces if I only make the leg part four inches long.  This pair was very, very close.  I was sweating it out towards the end, wondering if I was going to have to order a second skein of Lakeview, which probably wouldn't match well, but the Lorna's pulled through and I kitchenered the toe closed with literally a few feet of yarn left over.  It was really close.  In fact, I think I've only had one other project, a baby sweater, come out with as little yarn left over.  Waste not, want not, right?  These Jaywalkers are bright and crazy looking.  I love them.  I'm gifting them to a friend who is equally as psychedelic. 

So, what do you do when you've finished your second pair of Jaywalkers?  Immediately cast on a third pair.  My husband declared I was in a "sock knitting rut" last night.  I disagree.  A few pairs of socks in a row does not a "rut" make.  I think he was grumpy because I was making him hold my skein of yarn in his outstretched hands while I rolled it up into a ball.  (Nope, I don't own a swift or a ball winder.  I have a cute, usually agreeable husband who holds my skeins.)  Personally, I'm feeling rather self-satisfied with myself that I'm actually knitting up some of the many (many, many) skeins of gorgeous hand-painted sock yarns that I own.  Usually I just admire them spread out on my guest bed instead of on my needles.  This pair of socks is out of some incredible yarn called Claudia Hand Painted Yarns in a colorway called Passion Fruit.  It's a merino wool and the label says it's a product of South Africa, which is pretty cool.  The colors are absolutely amazing.  We had a tiny bit of snow this morning, but it's already gone now, so I took the yarn outside to try to get an accurate color photo in the natural light.  There's a bright bold red, a brown, and a purple in it.  So far, I'm in love.  And NOT in a rut.

Comments

[Tracy]

Crikey...one minute there was one, then two now you're heading for number 5!

[minnie]

i'm s l o w l y knitting my jaywalkers. i left it here last night while i spent the night at mark's, because i need to get training (swatching) for the Knitter's Olympics. i'm going to do my trick that i told you, and see how much i get done this afternoon.

your jaywalkers look gorgeous, and that claudia's yarn is delish! you go girl, you are NOT in a rut!