I finished these a few weeks ago and I’m so chuffed with them I thought I’d share.
It all started back in November when I contacted Karen from Wildcraft, a wonderful UK dyer of fibre, and asked her to dye up some sock batts for me. I got some lovely superwash BFL/nylon batts in the Calendulas colourway.
Soon after the batts arrived I started spinning the singles:
And within the week I had finished spinning:
Being the middle of November, we had some lovely colour falling off the trees, so I thought a glamour shot was in order:
It took a while to cast on, mostly because I was trying to get other priorities out of the way, but I finally cast on the socks in February. I chose the Journeyman Socks pattern from the Summer 2008 issue of Spin-Off magazine.
And a pair of socks is born:
The details:
Fibre: superwash BFL/Nylon sock batts in Calendulas colourway by Wildcraft
Yarn: 3ply worsted spun 19WPI
Pattern: Journeyman socks by Kristi Schueler via Spin-off Summer 2008 (Ravel it)
Needles: 2.0 mm
Mods: I reworked the number of stitches for the heel as I wanted the cuff to be the same size, but I wanted a narrower foot, and with this particular sock construction those calculations need to be done before starting the heel flap. I also knit through the back loop of all the knit-like stitches in the cable pattern.
Project page on Ravelry
I really like the sock architecture of this pair of socks and it’s something that I’d be happy to do again, although I must admit that standard heelflaps are easier to just wing a narrower foot. However, with just a small amount of math I have an interesting sock that fits nicely. I also really like the look of the cable pattern. Simple, elegant and effective. It was both interesting and enjoyable to knit whilst being easily memorized for knitting with company.
I’ve worn them a couple of times now, and they are so lovely and comfortable. The BFL is just so soft and I think I’m now sold on handspun socks. :)