Summer and Socks

We had two days of summer here in the SF Bay Area this week – it was quite a shock to the system, I must say.  This is probably the two days that we will get, so I’m not complaining, even though I was pretty darned warm.  Fortunately for the knitting, I had some socks to work on.

First, I have finally worked with the Madeline Tosh Sock.  A lovely yarn with glowing colors.  Sure it’s 100 percent wool and may not last all that long, but you buy this yarn for its beauty.  I was a bit dismayed to see some dye bleed in the blocking, but maybe that will settle out.  I’m just very happy with them!  See?

The use of this pattern is an ode to the Yarn Harlot – who created a sock club for herself by pairing yarn and pattern at the beginning of the year for each month.  Her most recent update showed that this was working quite well for her.  I don’t have this kind of sock yarn stash, but I was hemming and hawing about how to use this Tosh yarn, and she got me off the dime, and I went to Wendy Johnson’s Socks from the Toe Up and found the lovely Ribbed Ribbons Socks (rav link).  It’s a pretty pattern, and a very stretchy fabric – I thought it might be too big, but it fits perfectly.  You can also easily modify the stitch count, which is something to appreciate in a sock pattern.

I’m also starting to work through the dyed yarn for Afghans for Afghans, and have now finished these (even though only one sock is showing). A lovely mosaic stitch pattern called Caesar’s check from Sensational Knitted Socks. Other than the stitch pattern, this is a toe-up sock based on Chrissy Gardiner’s Toe Up! book.