befogged

Pattern: Spring Forward Socks, by Linda Welch

Yarn: Yarn Yard Bonny, in ‘Fall’

Well. Either my knitting has suddenly speeded up or that was a very quick pattern! It’s a really nice simple-but-effective pattern which zoomed along. The yarn was a pleasure to work with, too - and nice and summery, considering it was decidedly grey and soggy for much of the time I was knitting these!

I was sorting out my overflowing sock drawer earlier and thought now would be a good time to take stock of the handknitted socks I now own:

Arranged in rough order of knitting, clockwise from the striped ones at the top. I thought the differences in wear were useful to know, so here’s the detail. Bear in mind that I’m fairly kind to my handiwork - sturdier socks with nylon in will go on a gentlish wash cycle, ones without are hand washed, and only the really hardy ones like the Lana Grossa and some Opal I’ve used for Alan’s socks ever make it anywhere near the dryer when I use that (Opal, incidentally, softens loads on washing and wears like a trouper even in the tumble dryer. Total workhorse sock yarn.).

Basic Ribbed Socks - 21 months old - the Lana Grossa Meilenweit has held up pretty well. A little worn looking, but would probably hold up better at the tighter tension at which I now tend to knit socks.

Anastasia Socks - 17 months old - still holding together, but the Lorna’s Laces has a tiny hole coming and is bobbling a bit.

Vine Lace Socks - 16 months old - Posh Yarn Lucia. These have bloomed a bit, but still look pretty fresh. One of the best wearing yarns I’ve used, and it involves cashmere. Well there you go!

Corded Rib Socks - 11 months old. Silkwood Sock Yarn. These have a bit of a tendency to shrink in the wash but stretch out to normal size again on wearing. Looking a bit the worse for wear, but not too bad.

Chevron Socks - 13 months old (this is where my memory slipped up in the photo!). The Bright Dyes yarn is wearing ok but not as well as the Lucia, and has lost some of the vibrancy of the colours. Still going strong, though.

Yarn Over Cable Socks - 7 months old. I’m sorry to say it, but the HipKnits Merino has worn by far the worst of the lot, and obviously these socks have had much less wear than some of the older ones. These are fuzzy to the point of losing some stitch definition, and just generally look very worn. Still very soft and comfy, so I suppose at some stage I might use my remaining skein for slouchy socks with a simple pattern that won’t be obscured by fuzz.

Spring Forward Socks - er. About 3 days old. The yarn was great to knit with, and funnily enough shows no signs of wear whatsoever yet! This could be because they’ve yet to be worn, of course…