After Sunday’s snowstorm, I’m more than ready for Spring. What better day to finish a pair of socks that had been languishing since the week before Christmas?
The Peony socks were invented at my Mom’s house, when I saw two beautifully pink skeins of Claudia’s Handpainted fingering weight yarn. I false started on Marigold socks in the past, but wanted to take another stab at them. I had tried a provisional cast on and was left with a row of baggy stitches large enough that when I attempted to re-distribute the excess yarn I had about 6 inches hanging out in space. Frog pond.
This time, I decided to reinvent them as Peony socks, since that’s the name of the colorway and well, I can’t very well call Marigold socks Marigold when they are pink. I worked a crochet provisional cast on, which went swimmingly. And by swimmingly, I mean it served its purpose. I really don’t think I’m a short row toe kind of gal. Same way I’m not really short row heel kind of gal. Or a toe-up sock kind of gal. Sensing a trend?
I was going to try a gusseted heel, but the instructions ended up sending me on a wild goose chase so I had to rip back to my (handy dandy even though I rarely use them) lifeline. And this was all before Christmas! In fact, my first heel was turned on Christmas Eve and the second sock started before I came back home. I didn’t finish the second heel until February 9th. And the socks weren’t completed until March 30th. Boy, now those were some socks that just didn’t want to get finished.
But they are! Finished, that is. And for all the annoyances of this project, I’m quite pleased with the result.
They fit well, never mind the fact that I accidentally knit them on 2.5mm needles when I always knit my own socks on 2.25mm needles, and also never mind the fact that I made them longer than usual (this being the only obvious benefit I see to toe up socks so far) without increasing the pattern or needle size. I can’t even tell you how happy I am to have these babies DONE.
Oh, and in case you’re not sick of cute shoes and pink socks, here are my Monkeys, completed last summer. (Shoes last week.)
Very cute pictures of very cute shoes
comment by alexandra on March 31, 2009 at 06:54 pm