This is where I’m at with the socks…

Have only snapped one needle so far ("Why are you knitting with cocktail sticks?" – they might have something there… ) and am about to turn the heel.

Think I was a bit too generous with the sizing and so the question is; will there be enough yarn to finish it??

So.. You might have seen I picked up a few balls of beautiful, colourful yarns when we were over in NY… oh how they got me with their seductive stripes, their collusion of colours…

Now to knit with them…

I had been determined to knit socks and had dutifully done a class sock from the very helpful Sensational Knitted Socks, so now – with a overflowing choice of pretty yarns to play with – to find a pattern…

I looked through the SNS book for a toe up pattern as I was a bit scared about running out of yarn. I found one, and very useful tutes online about provisional cast on and picot edging, so thought I’d start to swatch…

Oh dear…

It started off well – the picot edging worked and the colours were coming out v pretty… so I moved onto the suggested 5 stitch patterns in the SNS book for the toe up socks; Yarnover Cable; Beaded Rib, Laburnum… aie… these + variegated yarn = vomit socks!
I did a quick search online and saw that this was quite common problem… beautiful yarn in the skein snagged you, but it was a cruel taskmaster.. what pattern to choose to show off the colours (but not bore you to tears with endless st s?).

I did a search for more 5 stitch patterns but it was the same problem.. In the end I found a few ideas (of course, now I look for the links, I can’t find them..) and plumped for a slip stitch spiral pattern. So just a fleck of colour and texture every so often to a: break up the stocking stitch and b: (fingers crossed) break up any pooling…

Wish me luck!

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Pattern: Toe up pattern from SNS but using a slip stitch spiral for the instep / leg
Yarn: Claudia Handpainted Yarns (2 x 180 yds @ $12 ea.) – Red Wagon, lot 009
Needles: suggested -  3mm, actual -  2.5mm

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ps. I might suddenly find that I end up loving this yarn a whole lot better – what seemed like a kind of ‘safe’ choice in the shop, suddenly seems like a great opportunity to use whichever stitch I fancy and not have to worry about it!