Friday 27 March 2009

Socks Therapy

Socks Therapy

Mindless knitting can be one of the most useful things this knitter can do when her mind is spinning, the schedule overloaded, and patience is in short supply.

For me, that's usually been socks. Even though my contribution to this year's Fibre-to-Scarf wasn't exactly mentally taxing, I've been waiting to hear results back about projects, and needed something simple and soft to work on that would calm my brain.

Despite their not-exactly-subtle electric pinkness, these toe-up, short-row heel Rambouillet socks were the perfect thing to work on.

Socks Therapy - Detail

Here's a better look at one of the feet: I knit these on 4 mm needles, which gave me five stitches to the inch on the foot section (on my long narrow foot, that's 40 stitches).

After working an inch or so of plain knitting on the cuff, I switched to knit two, purl two ribbing for another inch, and then started increasing two stitches every inch on the cuff to fit my calves better.

After the last increase, I worked another inch of ribbing (now on 52 stitches) and then worked a sewn bind-off to preserve the stretchiness.

These didn't take me a week from start to finish, and after a good washing, they feel just wonderful.

Now, if the weather would only improve enough here to let me wear the Birkies....

2 comments:

  1. EXCELLENT socks. Such pleasure can come from mindlessness!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks much, Deb -- high praise indeed, coming from you.

    The more I knit, the more I realize that it's not how complex the pattern or shaping is that makes one project "better" than another: it's the execution.

    ReplyDelete

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