More Socks on the Needles

I must thank you all for your lovely and kind comments about my Bella Paquita, horrid photo and all. I'm going to take clearer, nicer photos as soon as I can.

I realize I am becoming more than a little obsessed with socks lately. At present, I have four pairs on the needles.

The first I meant to post a photo of back when I started them. I was kind of stunned that I couldn't find any mention of them (haven't I shown these before??), as I cast on the same day I cast off my toe-up Magic Stripes socks, using the same pattern and the Regia Design Line Kaaffe Fassett yarn in Landscape Carribean.



I'm more than a little in love with the way they're coming out. They have been my between-projects project, as well as my current portable project.

I've shown the second pair, my Seduction Socks. I decided to go with short row heels, and I'm falling more and more in love the longer I knit with the luxurious wool/silk Gloss yarn.

The next two socks are also products of the Sock Knitters Anonymous Sockdown challenges on Ravelry. It is so fun to participate in these, and I find the group really supportive and entertaining.

The March themes were a design by Ann Budd (my Seduction Socks) and/or entrelac. I've never done entrelac before, but I was hoping to get a chance this month.

I cast on Entrelac Socks by Eunny Jang in the spring 2007 Interweave Knits around 11:30pm on the last night of March, which just lets them count for the challenge but does not give me much time to knit complex knee-high socks.



I am double-dipping with these, as they will be my second project for a Knitting 19th Century Novels group, also on Ravelry. This group is a new incarnation of the recently and mysteriously deleted Knit the Classics blog, and it's a lot of fun so far. We're currently reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, so I thought the blue and white colors and checkerboard aspect was fitting.

I was also inspired by the crazy bodysuits and checkers in the Wonderland-themed Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers video for "Don't Come Around Here No More."



Entrelac is incredibly addictive and lots of fun. The yarn I'm using is Elann Esprit, an elasticated cotton. It was really tough to work with for the SSKs in the set-up triangles, but it loosened up and became quite agreeable once I moved into squares. I'm hoping that the stretchiness of the yarn will help these socks stay up around my calves.

The fourth and final pair of socks currently on my needles is just a toe, but it will become toe-up Spring Twists (Ravelry link) by Jeanie Townsend. She is the featured designer for the April sockdown, and I'm pretty excited about this pattern.



The yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy in the color Petal Shower, and it is absolute heaven to work with. I seriously love this yarn in practically indescribable ways, and I'm very much looking forward to focusing all my attention on these socks.

I would be quite busy if I were only knitting socks, but as it happens I'm also working on a handful of other projects at the same time, which we'll talk about soon.

It feels really good to be knitting so much and making so much progress. These knit-alongs are definitely helping me stay focused and push myself toward a challenge, so I'm happy to keep them up.

Now back to sock-knitting!