Flashback Friday: The Year of the Sock-Three Little Singles

Well, well, well...lookie what I found in my drafts on Blogger. Ah, memories. The Year of the Sock. Good times, good times.

Why didn't I ever publish this?

Post date and time before I changed it: 3/28/09 10:38 PM.

*****

I am very proud of myself for knitting two PAIRS of socks. I did not suffer from second sock syndrome.

Until this:

From left to right: a solid colored sock (!) and two attempts at toe up socks

I thought of many things while working on Socks: Part Deux. Most importantly I thought about making a solid colored pair of socks. This took precedence over the idea of a toe up sock.

Had I been scientific in my approach, I would have also made a solid pair using stockinette stitch. That way my comparison could have been equal. But I was so tired of stockinette and I couldn't bear the thought of another pair of stockinette socks.




For Whitey Righty I did the usual cuff-down, magic loop cast on of 48 stitches. The pattern was the alternating 2x2 rib in Sensational Knitted Socks.

• I used Bernat Hot Sox...which should only be used for children's socks (and then only for children you don't like.)
  
• For this sock I went with the German cast on instead of a long tail cast on. I will forever more use this method to cast on my cuff-downs.
• Because I was using a solid color I decided to use the garter stitch heel edge that I had become so enamored of. Now that I've done it, I find it doesn't float my boat as much as I thought. It looks lovely next to the slip stitch pattern, but when the sock is actually on my foot I'm lukewarm about it.
  
• Again I used the French Toe, because I will never do the kitchener.
• While making this sock the desire to do a toe up grew even stronger which may be the reason it never got a mate.

The Pink sock in the middle was one of many toe up attempts that survived to be photographed. More Sensational Socks by Charlene Schurch has a "Loop de Loop" cast on that I used and then directions for a round toe up sock. Those are 4x4 cables running up there, too. This was one of those "Prove it to yourself" knitting sessions. I never had an intention of finishing Pinky. Once I made the point to myself, I pulled out some Wool Ease Sport weight and set to work on the third pair. The third sock in the picture is...

What Could Have Been
Before setting out to make the third pair, I did a lot of internet research and spent a lot of time reading my reference books. I was ready for the toe up challenge. I settled on Queen Kahuna's Aloha cast on.





The picture isn't so great, but there are little purl bumpies on the outside (and the inside, too.) I like to call that visual interest.