AuburnChick's Adventures

Last summer, I had the good fortune of taking an Alaskan cruise and finding yarn shops at every port.

While in Sitka, I came across a hobby store that had a few skeins of yarn in it.

That’s when I spied this…

I fell in love with the rich colors.  Despite the hefty price tag ($29.50), I splurged.  The yarn is Bear Feet, and the colorway is Jewels of the Czar…fitting given that Alaska was owned by Russia way back when.

I finally got the chance to cast on a project with this yarn, so after much searching (choosing patterns is DIFFICULT work), I decided to make Wendy Johnson’s Lacy Ribs Socks from her book Socks from the Toes Up.

The pattern was super-easy.  In fact, I memorized the lace pattern after only a few repeats.  I used size 0 needles and made the small.  I began the project on March 15 and finished on April 27.  I would have finished sooner, but as you know, I have a hectic schedule.

I should have stuck with the medium size I started out making, but I was concerned that the socks would be too big.  They’re not too small, but a medium would have been just right.  This project only took 90 grams of yarn to complete.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the yarn stripe.  I do like striped socks.  In fact, I went through a knitting spree when I bought tons of striping yarn.  heehee

Something very bad happened, though, after I turned the heel of my first sock.

The yarn stopped striping and started pooling.

Oh my goodness.

It was ugly, and I considered frogging.  What happened was that at first, the patterning only ran across one needle…the top of the foot (these were made toe up).  When it was time to start the patterning around both needles and, thus, around the entire leg, the length of yarn required for each round increased, throwing off the striping pattern.

I was not happy.  I figured this would be the ugliest pair of socks ever.

I persisted, finished the first sock, and began working on the second one.

Something really strange happened.

After turning the heel, the striping resumed.

Great.

Now I really do have the ugliest, mismatched pair of socks ever…

Oy.  This will probably drive me nuts every time I wear them.  I’m that anal.  However, I am not about to go back and reknit that sock.  No way, Jose.

So, I think I’ll stick with my mismatched socks.  It won’t matter once I pull a pair of pants over them.  All people will see are the lower legs and feet.

Enjoy the rest of the pictures!

Oh, and for the record, yes, the pictures are a little off-kilter.  I propped my camera on a small box, and I didn’t realize that it wasn’t sitting evenly on the concrete.

Oh well.

The socks are off-kilter too.

It’s just par for the course.

Filed under: Knitting | Tagged: Bear Feet, Jewels of the Czar, Knitting, Lacy Ribs Socks, Sitka, socks, Socks from the Toe Up, Wendy Johnson | 3 Comments »