Sleepwalker socks in BMFA Rose Quartz

It’s always a thrill for me to finish knitting a pair of socks! I started these on July 18th, and got them done this morning. To me, these are really like a little work of art  that I’ve thrown myself into - the colours, textures, composition….they are NOT just functional, stick these on your feet and walk on them staples…they truly are my objets d’arts…The pattern “Sleepwalker Socks”, designed by Monica Nappe, was super easy to follow and knit up quickly.  Not totally mindless, but certainly not difficult. The yarn, BMFA Socks that Rock  in the colourway “Rose Quartz” was pure bliss to work with. I don’t necessarily pooh-pooh the cheaper less expensive commerical yarns available, and some folks would think that some of us are nuts to spend small fortunes on  hand dyed yarns, but, you just have to work with this stuff to realize that, YES, there is a BIG, BIG difference.

The colour, Rose Quartz, was more in the purple-y zone -I took some photos of the socks along side some purple cone flowers, and the colour is pretty close. I had been looking for something more pinky, but in the end, I really like this colour. So, I got these finished just as we come to an end of our mid-summer long weekend. Next long weekend will be for Labour Day, and honestly, but not officially, summer will be over. That’s a little sad. We’ve had awful weather so far this summer - NO SUMMER - so far….We got 50/50 this long weekend….that’s better than it’s been.

It’s now time to start thinking “autumn” colours…and  to decide what new sock project to start (don’t mention that I’ve got like 4-5 plain jane socks already on the needles)….

Two more weeks at work, and it will be holiday time for us, and son and his GF will be coming home for a 3 week visit.

Can’t wait…………

These are three socks that are currently on my needles. Can you guess which is the good, bad & ugly one?

Hint: The good is one of my favourite colours (purples). Well, no guessing there. The purple sock is a Trekking XXL yarn - very nice to work with, knits up quickly and the colours are gorgeous. My gauge is a little smaller than usual on these - not sure why.

Hint: The bad one is a new pattern that I am learning. Yep, I came out of my box of plain stockinette knitting of self-patterning yarn - and I am trying a pattern. It’s the yellow/brown/peach combo, a pattern called “Jaywalker” and is quite easy. I had to learn a couple of new stitches, and after awhile “got it”.  However, this sock is “bad” because it’s got a bunch of mistakes that I made knitting it (the mistakes don’t affect the integrity  or structure of the sock), plus I don’t like to frog. So, I left in the mistakes and my daughter wants them mistakes and all. The yarn is a Brooklyn Handspun 100% merino, and is VERY fine, and knits up slowly - but very nice feel.

Hint: The ugly is the last one standing - the weird coloured one. Hence the least amount of knitting.  I completely dislike the colour combinations and pattern of this self-patterning yarn (Online Supersocke). I don’t know why I bought this colour - somehow in the yarn shop it looked nice. It’s a combinations of maroon/chartreuse/lime/blue. Again, my daughter says that she wants this pair, so it’s not being thrown into a dark closet.

Finally got around to finishing these off. They are luxuriously nice and soft. I think that it is the mohair and silk that makes them really soft.

Apple Laine "garden party"

They knit up quite quickly. I made these 1″ shorter in leg length than I usually do because each skein was 190 yds (174 m), which is less than others that I’ve knitted up. In the end, I would have been able to make them the usual length - there was enough left over. Hmmm..could this be a good case for learning how to knit toe-up?

A while back I started on an Online SuperSocke in a weird melange of maroons/greens -  oh-oh, I think I’ve run into an “ugly” sock situation. I don’t think I like these for myself, and they are too frightful to give to anyone.

To counteract this, today I’ve just casted with some Trekking XXL in nice shades of muted purple — can’t miss with those!

Finally got Erwin’s fourth pair done. These were knit with Regia Strata - Very nice robust yarn! The strands are a little thicker than the usual Regia and Opal that I have used - so it makes a nice, ever so slightly thicker sock. Needles used: Knitpicks Harmony 2.5 mm.

Regia strata

I finally finished Stephen’s socks. They were made with Knitpicks Essential in the colourway “terrain twist”. I didn’t particularly like knitting with this yarn. Because of the ‘twist’, I kept splitting the yarn as I knit. I had a lot of trouble with these socks — not sure why.

Knitpicks Essential

I’m happy to have finished these. Thanks to the owner of Janey H. Knits for the sock forms.

Last Saturday, Feb 14th, I enjoyed my first visit to Janey H. Knits in Perth, ON. What a wonderful find this wool shop is! I shop in Perth approximately once or twice a month, but had never been to this shop. They had some beautiful sock yarn from Apple Laine - first time I saw this yarn.  The yarn is 65% wool, 20% mohair, 5% silk and 10% nylon. words can’t describe the wonderfully soft, sheen feel of it. I bought the colourway “garden party”. I can’t wait to start with this yarn!

Apple Laine Apple Pie "garden party"

Apple Laine label

Here they are:  Harry Potter “Tonks”. Also, my first mismatched pair! These knit up very quickly, considering that I found the yarn to be quite fine. I used KnitPicks Harmony 2.5 mm DPNs.