Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Knitting socks for the washing machine

Have you ever let your colour decisions be influenced by that old rhyme, "blue and green should never be seen, except in your mother's washing machine"?  I have to admit I've second guessed myself every time I've paired these two colours, even though everybody knows that forest green cardis look fabulous over a good pair of blue jeans.


That's why, when I cast on these socks over the weekend, it seemed like a good idea to throw in some pink stripes.  And then as soon as I did it, it seemed like it was a really, really bad idea.

Naturally, I kept going, because you can't really tell when you only have a little bit of cuff to judge by.  I went all the way to the heel,


and I'm still not sure.  Is there enough of that periodic hit of blue in the green part to draw in the contrasting heel and cuff?  Would it do a better job if I didn't have bubblegum pink stripes confusing things?  Have I somehow hit upon a sock-based manifestation of 1985?

Gah, except for that last question - Yes, it's 1985 in these socks - I don't know.  All I can tell you is that this sock


is just as chompy as the others.

Well, it's chompy in a good way: it's pretty much eating up the yarn as fast as I can let it go, I'm that obsessed with finishing it and its mate.  Why a heavy mohair-blend sock should be that riveting when it's getting so hot out again I do not understand, but I can't seem to knit anything else since I cast them on, and I just want them nearby all the time.

How come knitting gets like that - all obsess-able?

Hope your day, whether or not it's occupied by a project you're obsessing about, is awesome.  See you tomorrow!


p.s. these socks are so not going into the washing machine, unless it's on 'soak': they'd felt in about ten seconds.

5 comments:

Leslie said...

I like the pink stripes...but I'm a "color" girl...put some around the toe to balance things out.

Trish said...

I love the blue and green together. Leslie's got a great idea about putting in some matching pink stripes around the toe.

N.C.Fabric Junkie said...

O.k. I have been watching you knit socks for a long time now. I have some questions. first of all does it drive you crazy to get one done and then have to start all over again to do the second one? do they turn out exactly the same when you do them separately? and what about doing them magic loop two at a time? Is it just because you started out on dpns and don't want to switch or do you actually enjoy working on the dpns more and why? lols can you tell you are influencing me and I am thinking about socks. ohhhhhh one other question what is the very best sock book for a beginner that you could recommend.? I knowwwwww I am sooooooo long winded. but when you are on a roll" you just have to go with it.Linda

Mary Keenan said...

Fortunately I'm always longwinded myself Linda! Crazymakingness: I keep double sets of dpns on hand so I can set up both of a pair at once and switch between them periodically so I don't have to start the second after the first is over. Bonus: I always have one that's portable and not on some tricky gusset or too near the toe to last while I'm out. I love dpns, they are very organized and let me parcel each round into four equal parts and natural stopping places. also they pack well ;^) magic loop on the other hand makes me crazy - I hated having to shift the stitches over the needle all the time and wrangling the cord out of the way even to pack it up. A good friend recommended Ann Budd's 'Favorite Socks' - it's on Amazon - and she has made some gorgeous socks from it. Ann Budd is genius and straightforward so that's another perk. One of my first pairs was Cookie A's Monkey Socks (swiftly followed by no-purl Monkeys) and they were a good introduction too. c'mon over the brink Linda - don't listen to Trish about socks being boring, heh heh heh

Mary Keenan said...

Linda, I forgot to address the sameness issue - yes, even when I do have to knit one sock after the other they turn out the same, but to be sure I make a note of anything I change on the first, like the number of rounds on the leg or something, so I don't forget when I'm doing the second. Also, I just noticed Favorite Socks is available for Kindle so I've finally bought it - couldn't face finding shelf space before, so thanks for asking that question!