By now I actually have a backlog of FO's waiting to be photographed and written about in the ridiculous amount ot detail I like to provide to my very patient readers. Writing about knitting is fairly easy. But photographing shawls and wraps on myself is such a challenge that I am, as usual, solving the problem by procrastinating. Socks are easier. I don't like the way my rather large feet look, however, so we will make do with a non-glamorous, flat-on-the-blocking-board shot.
Beware the $5 sales bin! I bought the yarn because I found it there. Did I stop to consider my storied history of disappointment with variegated yarns? No. Did I remember that when there are strong color contrasts, and when the variegation comes from small dabs of color instead of longer repeats, I end up with something impossibly busy and invariably disappointing?
No. The lure of the sale-bin caused instant amnesia. On the skein, the colors reminded me of an old-fashioned beach ball, only with navy blue replacing the usual brighter shade. On the needles ... not so much. Way too busy, although I still think that longer repeats of the same busy colors would have translated into cheerful stripes.
That said, the socks are very comfortable. I knitted them for moi, using Charlene Schurch's garter-stitch rib pattern which I find very comfy to wear. And for all its business, the yarn, Lana Grossa Meilenweit 50 Fun, was pleasant to handle, not splitty, just right. I have over half a skein left over, possibly enough to strand with a solid fingering-weight yarn and turn into a pair of socks for a small child.
I get lured into the same variegated purchases--they invariably become my easy-peasy sock knitting for travel and conversation times, so they serve their purpose, I suppose. I have found Carol Sulcoski's book to be helpful in teaching me how to make better selections.
Posted by: Marie | November 12, 2012 at 09:07 AM