Pattern: The Firestarter by Yarnissima
Yarn: Plymouth Happy Feet (Rav link), color 5, 2 skeins
Needles: Susan Bates US 1/2.25 mm
Comments/mods: These socks were the first project I started for PS, way back in the beginning of March. The first sock went along very quickly - I increased the number of stitches for the foot to 68 (up from 60 given that I have size 10 feet), and the number of foot repeats from 5 to 8. Once I turned the heel, I worked the heel flap in sl1/k1/purl back to give the standard ridge heel flap look. I also kept the front and the back of the leg in stockinette instead of the ribbing called for in the pattern. After a couple of pattern repeats, I increased 12 stitches (4 sts per round, 3 times) spaced out over a couple of repeats to give a bit of calf shaping.

When I got to the top of the leg, I decreased 8 sts evenly all the way around before working ten rounds of k1tbl/p1 ribbing. I decreased stitches in order to keep the twisted stitches from the side panels flowing smoothly into the ribbing. I really enjoyed this pattern, and I'm very glad I did this one before attempting something like Bayerische. Once I got the hang of working the twisted stitches, they moved along pretty quickly. I love the purl texture of the gusset next to the twisted stitches, and the pattern was very well written. They're nice and cozy, just in time for Houston summers!

The only slight downside to this project was the yarn. The colors are beautiful, but it was a bit splitty to work with. I've been thinking alot recently about spinning sock yarn, and how tightly spun/plied it needs to be to wear well. This stuff just seemed too softly spun to hold up well, but maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised!

In the interests of science (geek alert) I also kept track of how long it took me to knit one sock. Details are in a Flickr set if anyone is interested. Suffice to say I won't be making a living knitting socks for sale anytime soon!

Given my goal of knitting one pair of gift socks for every pair I knit for myself (the kid socks don't count), the next pair I cast on will have to be for someone else. There's enough options in my Rav queue to keep me busy for quite a while.

Porpoise Fur