Mismatched Mermaids

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