Monkeys!
Pattern: Monkey, by Cookie A, as published in Knitty. Worked cuff-down.
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Mediumweight in colorway Fru-Fru. 380 yards/5.5 oz, superwash merino wool (although I will probably handwash them; other people have reported that they sometimes felt up)
It was given to me by the lovely, talented, and generous Ms. Zoe (go look at her gorgeous red sweater!) Thank you Karen!!
I used almost an entire skein for my women's size 11 feet.
Needles: Lantern Moon 2.5 mm/US 1 DPNs (yo, I knit loosely, peeps)
Gauge: about 7 stitches/inch. I'll have to go measure my row gauge.
About the pattern:
Yeah I know, these are the knitting flavor of the month, but for good reason. The pattern is fun, quick, easy, and easily memorizable. The big repeat makes matching the sock lengths effortless. I'm not generally a fan of hole-ey socks (just say no to the yarnovers) but these yarnovers are unobtrusive and kinda cute.
Each repeat adds another inch or so to the height. It's easy to length or shorten the foot in smaller increments though, just start the toe a bit early and work some plain stockinette rows. The pattern is also flexible enough that you can stop at any one of 3 of the last rows and the pattern will still appear coherent.
I worked cuff-down and kept the ribbed top. I've got muscled calves and the ribbing helps keep 'em up (As an aside: I love my calves. They're big and strong and well-proportioned and as K complimented, "they're calves that show that person works out in the gym 6 days a week." Hell yeah!)
Changes to the pattern: I worked a typical slip-stitch heel (row 1: slip, (K, slip) repeat, row 2: slip, purl to end) instead of the plain stockinette the pattern uses. I need the reinforcement. I also have narrow heels (but wide feet. lovely) and the slip stitch pattern helps make that heel flap narrower.
About the yarn:
Soft, sproingy, fabulous to work with. I really like knitting with this stuff. It's very comfortable to wear as well.
I used up almost an entire skein. I had a little game of Chicken going with these socks. I've NEVER cut it so close before. I had a backup skein, so of course I made it. You want to see how much yarn I had left after I cast off?
About 4 feet.Some people find the pooling insufferable, but I think it's kind of charming. I like how when I stand with my feet together, it looks like one sock is pooling into the next. Where could I buy a pair of socks that looked like this? NOWHERE.
About the needles:
My trusty wooden DPNs. I broke one of these trying on the too-small Pomatomuses so I subbed in a bamboo one. I just like DPNs. They were really really awkward for the first couple inches on the first sock I ever did, then they grew on me. Don't be a hater.
Randomness:
These were my commuter knitting for a bit. One day a woman sat next to me and expressed how much she liked the colors of the yarn and started asking sock questions. She was also a knitter but hadn't ever attempted anything circular. I gave her my usual "it looks complicated, but it's not, but it IS awkward at first" spiel.
She expressed trepidation that the stitches might fall off the needles, so I pulled out one of the DPNs out of a couple of stitches and she gasped. I demonstrated that even if I tugged at it the most they dropped was a couple rows and they were easy to pick back up and do again.
She asked me, "but doesn't the yarn get dirty, knitting it on the train like this?" I replied that I'm intending to wear these on my FEET when I'm finished, and give them a good wash anyway.
She was so excited when I had to leave that she said she was going to try a hat, knit circularly. Win! Another one pointed toward the sock-knitting fold!
Pink Monkeys in the Daylily Jungle
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