Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Socks redux

It's ages since I knitted socks: more than a year since my last completed pair.



I think these fall into the category of plain socks. The pattern is the 'Lichen Ribbed Sock' from Nancy Bush's incomparable Knitting Vintage Socks. According to Nancy Bush the socks include 'a Welsh Heel and a Star Toe of Three Points'.



I think these classic ribbed socks are ideal for variegated yarns such as the beautiful yarn from the Australian dyer, Skein that I used for these socks. I bought this yarn a year or so ago when visiting Amsterdam so it bears the burden of many yarn air miles.

I began these socks on my trip to the USA and Mexico late last year but made very little progress on them. I know most people think that travel is an ideal time for knitting, but I think I'm too easily distracted. Nowadays, the minute I board a plane I search for the movies on offer. I can happily spend the endless hours of cross-Pacific flights watching movies and anyway, the light just isn't good enough for me to knit. I get motion sickness if I knit on buses, and even though I can knit on trains I'm usually too distracted by the view outside the window (and sometimes inside the carriage). But enough excuses, I didn't finish these socks until after my return.

Finally, a photograph to add to the controversy of socks with sandals.



I have no intention of wearing my socks this way - if it's warm enough for sandals it's too hot for knitted socks - but they do look quite spiffy.