Recently in BF's Cosmic Dawn Category

Pair #2 done!

Pattern: Simple stockinette for such a wildly-variegated, highly-contrasting yarn. Judy Becker's Magic Cast-on. Gusset and heel flap guidance from Judy Gibson's Generic Socks form. Sewn 1x1/tubular bind-off.
Yarn: Fleece Artist Merino Basic Socks (100% merino; 115g/4oz; 325m/355yd) in Cosmic Dawn (scroll down for colorway)
Needles: US2 dpns; bamboo

Nope, that isn't some Photoshop work. Those are a pair of socks from the same ball of yarn. I kid you not. I knit one sock from each end of the yarn, thinking to meet in the middle in case there wasn't enough. So I knit the first sock (the duller one) past the heel flap, rolled it around the yarn ball, then knit the second sock. When they were both at the same point, I unrolled the first and that was when my eyes bugged out.

Here's what I think happened: the yarn was layered on itself when it was dyed, and the colors didn't penetrate as far down to the bottom lengths as it did on top. Hence the varying saturation and intensity. It took me a while to accept it, but BF didn't mind. I guess this is the type of surprise and spontaneity you get with handpainted yarn! Makes you second guess a bit, doesn't it?

Curiosity got the better of me and I tried heel flaps. Judy Gibson's toe-up version is a trapezoidal flap, a tapering pyramid shape that I thought imitated the bottom of the human heel better than the rectangular flap. Incidentally, Denise Powell's toe-up sock tutorial has clear directions for the rectangular flap version (also known as the Reverse Dutch heel). I did a slip-stitch heel flap, which makes a good cusiony back that BF likes quite a bit.

Which leads me to my next sock project for him: flip-flop socks. I cringe at the sight of flip-flops and socks (so, so wrong), but BF is stubborn. I might as well make him look stylish, you know?

So there you have it, 2 pairs for Socktoberfest! I'll save the Koigu for the Norwegian/Colorwork KAL.

Speaking of the KAL, I'm thinking a December launch date, to last 4 months or so. If you're planning on doing colorwork of some kind, keep this in mind. More details to come from either me, Mary-Heather, and Andrea! (I should've made Eunny's Deep Vee Vest so at least I'd have a handle on steeking...)

Have a good week; happy Halloween; bye-bye Andrea; back on the 4th!

Progress on BF's sock goes well. I may have a pair finished by the end of Socktober! I think it's the progression of colors that keeps me going. All that variegation can be hypnotic!

Of course, there was a bit of that annoying pooling/flashing/whateveryoucallit. You can obviously see the trail: it's a spiral progression as opposed to colors stuck in one area. At the very beginning it pooled in areas (turquoise on one side, magenta on the other), but I did something that changed the tempo and made it go spiral: I went down a needle size on one quarter turn. That's right: a change in needle size means a change in diameter. It means that with a smaller needle I'm using less yarn than usual on a set amount of stitches, so the flow of the colors is interrupted for a few stitches. It's not as drastic as switching two different balls on every turn, but it works for me in this case.

On a further note regarding variegation: BF and I decided not to go with any pattern, even simple rib. I had touched on cables, which BF nixed, of course, and in the end decided to let the colors take center stage. Too much can be a good thing!

I owe emails to a few people so I'm closing comments until I get to all of them! Have a happy (Rhinebeck) weekend.

I signed up for Lolly's Socktoberfest. I don't know why, actually; perhaps it's because I didn't have any set projects for the near future? This knitalong, it's huuuge, along the same lines of the Knitting Olympics. It's like being in an elevator packed well beyond capacity, but the ride may be a thrill. Or I may end up squashed and deflated.

Lolly's posed some questions:

◊ When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class? I started knitting socks last year, in late May or early June. I learned from an Interweave Knits project.

◊ What was your first pair? How have they held up over time? I made a pair of baby socks with wee cables running up the leg and gave them to our friends' baby daughter, who was about 6 months at the time. They fit. I imagine they must have held up.

◊ What would you have done differently? Nothing. It was a learning experience. I found I didn't like having to kitchener the toe box closed. It's rather fiddly, and I'm very clumsy with sharp (or sharpish) objects! Anyway, I'm all about toe-up, short-row heel, sewn bind-off.

◊ What yarns have you particularly enjoyed? I loved the Lorna's Lace's Sheperd Sport (colorway Somerset) of those first (and second, and third) pair of socks. I wasn't particularly in love with the Lane Borgosesia/Baruffa Aerobic I used for my first pair of adult socks, but the subtle heathering was beautiful. Zitron's Trekking XXL was soft and so elegantly variegated. I'd knit with Lorna's Laces and Zitron yarns again, but I want to try the others, naturally.

◊ Do you like to crochet your socks? Or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method? Mm. I knit, period. Clover bamboo double-points all the way, baby. However, I'd like to have a set of Holz & Stein US1s and US2s in both ebony and rosewood. One day.

◊ Which kind of heel do you prefer? Short-row. Both the standard and yarn-over variations.

◊ How many pairs have you made? Heh. Five. The trio of baby socks which was an Interweave Knits pattern; my self-designed toe-ups, Mirabella, combining lace and cables; and BF's monstrous toe-up socks with the bit of ribbing in the arch area.

I set a goal of 3 pairs, using 3 entirely new (to me) yarns. While I doubt I'll finish all three within a month, I should have, at the very least, one of each.

One pair will be in Koigu: wildly variegated berry colors tamed by an elegant mulberry shade. Now, for Fair Isle, or uneven striping with a bit of purled diamond texture?

Another, in pink yarn with some cashmere content for luxury. I already have a pattern for this: argyle-ish. On to swatching!

Finally, some Fleece Artist Basic Sock in Cosmic Dawn, described as "Black with magenta, tourquoise [sic] and gold", with a bit of grey. That turquoise is unreal, isn't it? Gifted by Mia last year and appropriated by the BF. I'm thinking very simple cables, maybe a 2- or 4-stitch variation with ribbing in between, because I want the striking colors to play out. And, BF likes them plain and simple, or low-profile. I'm quite shocked, actually, that he's willing to wear pink. I owe it all to you, Mia!