My initial feelings were real upbeat & excited, but now I'm experiencing swap buddy anxiety.
I have lots of sock yarn in my stash but I wanted to buy yarn *specifically* for my swap partner. I went to Lettuce Knit & bought 2 skeins of Lorna's Laces in a great colourway called 'Mixed Berries'
A great bundle of deep reds, blues, pinks & purpley.Then I spent lots of time flipping through my issues of Interweave Knits, Vogue Knitting, all my books & the binder where I keep patterns that I've printed off from the internet trying to find *the* perfect pattern.
I needed something to show off my skills, after all, my sock buddy apparently has many years of sock knitting under her belt. I've only been knitting socks for a little over a year now & while I think I've created some pretty primo socks, I still have lots to learn. (that, I think, is one of my favourite things about knitting & craft in general) Also, I needed something interesting that would compliment the yarn.
Then I found the Shimmer Socks pattern from Magknits. Perfect! The stitch pattern was new & interesting to me & from what I could tell it would do a great job of showing off this bowl of berries.
And so I began. I did my first provisional cast on using the helpful tutorial at Knitty - the cast on was nice - it took me a really long time, but I was pleased with the end result. Then I began the pattern.
I was thrilled! The stitch pattern is great for hand painted yarns & I motored on with high hopes. It started getting a little lop sided, but I paid no mind, hoping it'd sort itself out as I went along.
It never did. it got worse - the pattern got wonkier & wonkier as I went along, no matter what I did to try & straighten it out....
The sock was lost to me. I was no longer in charge - the sock told *me* where it was going, I was just a willing victim. I finally put a stop to it. Gave the Shimmer sock the finger.I took the other yarn cake & cast on for my second pattern pick. 'Anastasia's Socks' from pepperknit blog.
The pattern is easy & quick going - but I'm worried. Is it too plain for a sock swap? Shouldn't I be knitting socks that will astound the recipient? Should I try & fix the Shimmer sock?Should I try a whole new pattern altogether?
honestly, if I were the recipient, (and I'm not.) and had lots of years of sock knitting under my belt (which I don't), I wouldn't care if my partner gave me a simply patterned sock or an elaborate sock. Just that she (or he!) took the time to think about the yarn choice and pick something especially for me and took the time to knit me a pair of socks, makes it special.
ReplyDeleteas an aside, I like the Anastasia socks better. :)
Here's the thing (assuming I had any say in this matter what-so-ever):
ReplyDeleteWhile interesting patterns are great, I'm loyal to the yarn first. For all it's this-pattern-was-designed-for-hand-paints, I'm of the opinion that the best way to display great multicoloured yarn is to have large chunks of stockinette stitch.
So, yeah, the Anastasia gets my vote.
~Angela
Hey Lady !
ReplyDeleteMy question is have you tried on the rogue sock on your foot ?
Maybe it was designed that way to accommodate for the shape of the foot ? I think both patterns are great, but I must admit I really am fond of the texture created by the Magknits pattern. Btw, you did a perfect job of the provisional cast on. I must say for socks, that is my personal fave.
You're freaking me out, I'm knitting relatively plain socks for (I assume) the same swap! When I think about getting my swap socks I get excited about the surprise aspect, I don't think I'd care about the fanciness of the pattern. They look gorgeous either way!
ReplyDeleteToo plain? Gaah! I'm a novice sock knitter and decided to tackle a pair of Anastasia socks because they were supposed to be easy. After I turned the heel all hell broke loose and I keep screwing them up. I would be honoured to have someone knit them for me!
ReplyDeleteI think they're awesome and I wish I were your partner!
ReplyDelete