Finally, Spring Rib Socks! And Extreme Close-Ups!

Our first extreme close-up is of the socks I just finished. The pattern is called Spring Rib socks, and I got it on Ravelry. The close-up shows how beautiful the Creatively Dyed Luxury yarn is (and I have already gone on and on about it in previous posts, so I'll stop). It also sort of shows the cable. It's got a seed stitch border, then a little cable. It's on the outside of each sock.

I will say that I modified the pattern a lot. So much so that the second sock is just one of my standard top-down socks with the cable pattern placed on the side to match the other one. I was too lazy to repeat the complex sizing things I did to the first one. And heck, you can hardly tell the difference.

Here's one of the socks in a more normal view. I made them rather short, because there is only 360 yards in a skein of this yarn, I guess so it wouldn't cost too much, given its content. In the end, I had quite a bit left over. I could have made them at least two inches longer and still had leftovers! I guess these will make pretty additions to my mitered square blanket that I haven't worked on in a long time (but a bunch of my knitting friends started their own versions recently, making it hard to resist working on it--but I want to wait until I got more samples).

I did a better job grafting the toe on the second sock, but I think I pulled the yarn too tight, due to using the knitting needle method of grafting. I'll keep working at it. At least this one looks "proper."
This extreme close-up is the sock I started today. I just don't feel like doing a complex pattern, as I mentioned yesterday. This tweed yarn has a base of white with a blue strand, which has been overdyed with black, red, orange, purple and pinkish. It's Lana Grossa Meilenweit Colortweed that I got at the LYS some time ago. Very happy, I'd say.

The funny thing is that after the Creatively Dyed socks, this yarn felt all scratchy and rough. I haven't knit with "normal" sock yarn in so long I forgot what it felt like! Actually, this is sort of scratchy for sock yarn. I figure that means it will wear well and last a long time. Fun knitting, not knitting that is a test of skill and intellect. Everyone needs that sometimes!


This extreme close-up is the little hat from yesterday up close, since EMJH had asked to see what the topknot looked like. If you look at the original, you can see the individual hairs on the Blossom. It really is a cute little design element, where it gets small then gets bigger again. Easy! the last two rows are in the fuzzy yarn, which makes the flower effect.