My three-month socks

You remember my personal sock challenge in 2008, right? A pair a month.

Ha.

I did fine, as you can see in the sidebar, until I hit the April socks, Ann Budd's Diagonal Cross-Rib socks from Interweave's Favorite Socks book. Made with my own handpsun, no less. Well, they're finally done and I'm relieved to say they were totally worth the struggle:

They are comfortable and fit well. And the yarn was special, as it came from a small amount of superwash Merino:

 and a lot of dyed Border Leicester:

I blended the batts myself:

 

The Border Leicester is special because it belongs to my Sophie, shown here without it:

Keep in mind this is Border Leicester, not Blue-Faced Leicester. Big difference. BL is a long curly lock, almost like mohair. It takes dye beautifully and is almost luminescent. It is strong but not particularly soft. It was surprisingly fluid to spin but the final yarn is a bit coarse. Probably overspun, but that's okay.

The pattern itself was not hard, although I question why I chose something requiring me to twist every 7th stitch every other row for the whole damn sock. (No offense to Ann Budd intended; this is a wonderful, straightforward pattern, in the right hands.)  I faithfully made the twists in reverse for the second sock, so they are mirrored. For some reason, I just didn't get into a rhythm and it appeared I'd never finish.

But I was motivated: We're going camping tomorrow and I needed a new sock for the trip. My daughter wanted spending money so I hired her to dye a skein of merino/bamboo. This girl is good:

Same skein, other side:

I'm resisting my desire to make another patterned sock. This one's going to be plain and quick, and I'll be able to work on it while lounging by the lake or chatting by the campfire...

...when I'm not spinning this, that is:

You can't tell from the picture, but I made a whopping 16 two-ounce batts of 60/40 gray wool and black alpaca. It's delicious! Besides going crazy updating the shop, getting ready for camping, and all that, I managed to blend two pounds of fiber on the carder. Then I recarded each batt once. Then I split each batt four ways and recarded each quarter with a quarter from a different batt. There is still quite a lot of depth to the color but hopefully the dark and light are distributed evenly enough so I won't end up with one black sleeve and one gray one.

In truth, I may not end up spinning at all. I may start the Putney Aran instead. Or maybe both. I have spent more time packing up patterns, yarn, needles, and notions than I have sorting clothes, camping gear, and food. We'll starve but I'll be happy.

Now, I did update A Piece of Vermont Yarn & Fiber yesterday. I hate to give a full recap because there is a mailing list specifically for people who want to be notified of new yarn and fiber. And not everyone who reads this blog is interested in buying stuff. So, I'll keep it brief. I put up new Merino/Bamboo/Nylon superwash sock yarn in six colorways, including these:

   

 

I also put up a bit of the new "Bristol" Real Vermonter. I had more, but I ended up wholesaling it locally. I have just these, Wisteria, and Undyed:

 

I have some spinning fiber, too. Bamboo/merino top:

 

In case you've forgotten, this fiber spins up like this:

   

And last, I finally uploaded the note cards I had promised. Here's one of the eight available:

One thing: Any orders placed after Friday at 11:00 a.m. won't get shipped until the 7th.

Have a great weekend and Fourth and all that. I'll be knitting and spinning in the great outdoors, weather permitting, until the 6th. See ya.

Socks of Eternity, you are vanquished. 

Comments

[Carrie]

Great socks! Lovely.

[Carrie]

Great socks! Lovely.

[margene]

Woohoo! Good work on the eternal knit! Enjoy your Holiday!

[trek]

Gee, it isn't like you like those socks or anything, is it? ;o)

Enjoy the great outdoors!

[Dave]

Definitely worth three months of hard labour -- they're lovely!

Enjoy your "vacation"!

[Kristen]

Three months for a pair of socks is speed knitting to me. They are gorgeous; Sophie must be proud. Have a wonderful and relaxing time!

[Sherri]

Sophie must be proud - I've always wondered if a sheep would recognize their fleece?

I've gotten distracted (as usual) by a gagillion different projects and for some reason spinning has fallen by the wayside (although stash enhancement of fleece has not...).

Well done my friend.

[Julie]

I was just going to let you know that your socks are beautiful, and appear to be well worth the time & effort. But I got distracted by a skein of the merino/bamboo/nylon superwash in Darkness Falls, so I took a detour through the shop site.

[Jane]

Fabulous socks. Definitely worth the trouble.

[Teyani]

Such lovely socks. They need a nice name :-) Perhaps Sophie's bounty ?

Have a glorious time (and relax!!) huge grins.

[JessaLu]

Love the socks - have a great camping week!

[juliet]

Wow those socks are just the prettiest colour, a cable twist every other row can be such a sod if you're not into the rhythm. I think your daughter is a natural!!! Mine is a natural at making a mess in her room....

[Manise]

Awesome socks! Nice job- well worth it in the end. Will have to visit the shop once my yarn fast is over in late July. Hope you're not cleaned out by then! Enjoy your time away!

[Angie]

Your socks are fantastic! I'm thinking about the same pattern for a future pair of socks. I have the perfect yarn in mind, your Colonial Superwash in "You Don't Say...".

[jackie]

Sophie looks as beautiful as her fleece! I've never experienced Border Leichester but it sounds wonderful!
And my! That is a lot of carding that you have done with the wool/alpaca! I am in the process of blending wool, alpaca, and silk and it is certainly a long process!
As for taking three months to knit socks? Pah. That is knitting at the speed of light as far as I am concerned! I'm still working on the ones that I started just before Christmas! Not working on them very much, I will admit. But they peek out every now and then.

[Robin]

Sophie is beautiful and so is her fleece! The socks look wonderful - even though that every 7th stitch thing sounds painful. The skein your DD dyed is just gorgeous! She really has a knack. Have a great weekend in the wild.

[Carol]

They're gorgeous! And I can personally vouch for "The Kid's" dying talent! She's a natural!

[kitkatknit]

After years of averaging a pair of socks a month, this year's to date total is 3.65 single socks (1 pair plus part of one)