Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Cable Rib Socks

Cable Rib Socks

Pattern: Cable Rib from Interweave Press Favorite Socks
Yarn: Yarn Pirate's merino/tencel blend in Malamute
Needles: Size 1 & 2 Knit Picks circulars


I was so happy to finish the Cable Rib socks this morning that I went right outside in the below zero temps to try to get a good picture of them. I have found this colorway difficult to photograph and I wanted the pattern to show up too. I just parked my butt in my driveway and took some photos.

I don't usually worry about running out of yarn on my second sock but I started worrying as soon as I finished the first sock. I made these socks longer than my "normal" socks (a little over 7 inches from top to heel) and the ribbing and cabling use lots of yarn. Thankfully, the worrying was for naught as I had a nice ball of yarn left over.

When I first started knitting with the merino/tencel yarn I wasn't too fond of it. It felt kind of stringy. As I got used to it, however, I came to love it. I'm not sure what the purpose of the tencel is but the socks feel wonderful. The cables and ribbing make these very leg hugging socks - no worries about these puppies slipping down. I really enjoyed the pattern. It was simple to memorize by the first repeat. I love so many of the patterns in this book but I was looking for something that would work with this yarn. I think I made a good choice.

This will be my last Project Spectrum project for this triad of blue, gray and white. Truth be told, I am bone tired of these icy cold colors. I'm ready for SPRING and some new, brighter colors. My current sip is not very colorful but it is greenish in a khaki sort of way. I'm using Claudia Handpainted and going toe up because this time I know to be worried about the yardage. I'm almost to the heel of the first sock. I'm feeling confident that this short row heel will go much more smoothly than my last short row heel that had me pulling my hair out.

Just wait until you see my new yarn for my next project. I promise it's bright and cheerful and very, very springlike. It's made by Perchance to Knit - I bought it when The Loopy Ewe had their giant update a few weeks ago. It's certainly not like any yarn I've knit with before but I needed to make a drastic change to chase away these winter blues.