Mismatched Mermaids
Posted by limedragon | Filed under knitting, socks
I finished upgrading WordPress this past weekend. I think everything works as it should. Do let me know if anything seems wonky. Thanks!
And now, may I present to you the not-quite-matching Mermaid Socks.
It’s hard to see the toes in the above picture; so here’s a closeup.
I rather like how the one toe where I had to add in yarn alternates between blue and green stripes. The name for this colorway, “Regatta Blue,” is perfect, as it reminds me of the Head of the Charles regatta, sailing, and nautical flags. Oh, and lest I forget… these socks qualify for PS2!
As I already mentioned, one modification I made was to change the direction of the spiral on one sock. It was fun, though I struggled with ladders before the SSK decreases. During the middle part, I tried K2togTBL, and it didn’t help. Finally, on the last part of the instep, I switched to SKP and finally saw improvement. I would never have expected that, since I usually have loose, elongated stitches when using this left-leaning decrease.
Very briefly, I considered knitting only the instep in pattern and keeping the sole plain stockinette. I decided not to do this, because I wanted the all-around swirl. The stitch repeat is very easy to track, and I may try that another time.
Lucy Neatby’s instructions emphasize knitting the garter fishtail cuff with needles a size larger than those used for gauge. I should’ve gone with my instinct and used US 1.5 instead of US 2—these cuffs stretch out way too easily for my taste. The fishtail pattern in stockinette is stretchy and snug at the same time, certainly it could hold up on its own.
Pattern: “Mermaid Socks” by Lucy Neatby, Cool Socks, Warm Feet Size: Women’s medium Yarn: Lion Brand Magic Stripes, Regatta Blue Stripe Needles: Clover bamboo US 2 DPNs and Crystal Palace bamboo US 1.5 DPNs Started: January 25, 2007 Completed: February 7, 2007
Tags: knitalong, lucy-neatby, mermaid, project-spectrum, socks
February 12th, 2007 at 11:01 am
I like the mismatched toes – these are gorgeous socks!
February 12th, 2007 at 11:32 am
I really like your socks like that :)
February 12th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
Those socks turned out great! I’ll bet they look cool on, with the swirls going in opposite directions.
February 13th, 2007 at 6:00 am
Very nice. I really like how the stripes work with the pattern stitch. How do the socks feel with the pattern on the sole? Can you feel it when you walk on them?
February 13th, 2007 at 7:29 am
I really like the pattern of the socks – the yarn is perfect.
February 13th, 2007 at 9:17 pm
your mermaids are fun and I like the different toes.
February 13th, 2007 at 11:12 pm
Those are simply stunning. I’ve not looked at that book before. Will have to check it out!
February 14th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
Gorgeous!
February 14th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
Socks aren’t supposed to match! Socks are like people — they have more character when they’re each unique! ;-)
btw – That pattern’s too cool!
February 15th, 2007 at 7:59 am
Please let us know how these socks wear. The pattern looks very tempting, I just wonder if its comfortable with the swirls. Maybe it depends on the yarn used?
February 19th, 2007 at 6:41 pm
I love those socks! The not quite matching just makes them all the more intriguing. Wonderful!
February 20th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
I like how they don’t exactly match up. Great socks!