Mystery Socks

Posted on | May 15, 2009 | 13 Comments

A mystery no more! You may remember that Kirsten of Through the Loops worked up a mystery sock pattern for last fall for Socktoberfest – and here it is nearly June. I kept up with the clues, at least on the first sock, right up through week three, despite a very busy Autumn, and then it all fell apart. I blame the yarn. What a sad thing to say! I have never felt this way about a yarn before, but this one and I, well, we simply weren’t a good match. I had heard that this could happen, but never actually met a yarn that wasn’t for me. I do love the subtle creamy colorway, it was the base yarn itself that was the issue – a superwash/nylon blend that to me seemed pretty splitty and uncomfortable. Which is really too bad, because from a pattern standpoint, these socks were totally enjoyable (well and clearly written, as always, cables for fun and repetitive but pretty openwork = enough challenge to keep it interesting, but not so much that I couldn’t knit&talk!).

So they sat for awhile, but I was compelled to finally finish them. This reminded me of my sometimes frustrating approach to reading. When I find after a chapter of a novel that this is not the book for me, I may sometimes take a break, but then I bullheadedly plod on, until the last page. No exceptions. No matter how frustrating. Why do I do that?! Square peg, round hole, wash, rinse repeat.  There’s a lesson to be had there somewhere, I’m sure. One of the last books I attempted to read & disliked I actually DID put down though (and have no intention of picking it back up again) – this gives me hope for myself. Change is possible!

These socks would have been better served by ripping and reknitting in a more enjoyable yarn, and at some point, perhaps I will. Or not. Kirsten has tons of other great patterns that I would love to knit – and now having done two of her socks, I would love to work through some of her mittens, or maybe a vest.

Vase/Feet(?) – And a bit of bagginess at the soles.

A friend of mine had suggested that maybe after washing, the yarn would soften up and I would fall in love, and they do feel quite nice on the feet – though there was another slight issue – not so much as to be a huge problem… But. You have heard of this phenomenon of superwash that stretches in the wash? These fit perfectly in the knitting, but did loosen up a fair bit with soaking – enough to be rather slouchy when worn for a little while, but very comfortable. I think they will be relegated to bed socks (as most of my knit socks are, it’s hard to keep them nice with all the fur around here!), though very pretty ones at that.

I finished these socks on the way to New Orleans, but somehow I neglected to take shots while I was there (that would have been SO COOL!) But alas, I was distracted. Still, it’s a neat tie in to have worked on them on that trip, and a nice way to wrap them up. I started them on another great roadtrip too – unintentional to end the same way, but life is nice like that sometimes.

Pattern: Through the Loops Mystery Socks
Yarn: Chameleon Colorworks Footsie, I believe. This is the original yarn that came with my Rivendell kit back in the Fall of 2007 – I had my heart set on making that lovely pattern in green, so this skein sat in my stash looking for a good mate. And I think from a color/pattern standpoint this was a good fit for the mystery socks. I want to emphasize that I love the dyeing, and have heard great things about this and other yarn from Chameleon Colorworks. Just because this yarn wasn’t a good match for me doesn’t mean it won’t be for you, or that I may not love other yarns in their line, I think I’ve just come to it that superwash and/or nylon content may not be for me – if you knit with and love these type of yarns, there’s a good probability that you’ll love this one to.
Needles: US2 DPNs
Time to complete: 8-ish months!
Results: The finished socks are a relative win – as described above, very pretty, very pleased with them aesthetically, not so much from a fit standpoint.
I learned: That superwash can grow!

Now, all you sock knitters out there, can we discuss sock yarns for a minute? I’ve knit with superwash that I’ve enjoyed and also nylon content, but the only other yarn that combined the two I also remember as rather splitty and not particularly fun (Lang Jawoll) – so maybe it’s just the combo of the two that isn’t for me. I loved Jitterbug, and also Gryphon’s Bugga! (Rav-links). I have to admit that I feel a bit weird about superwash though. Since I am not a “serious” sock knitter, am I asking too much? As my knitting and designing efforts and all evolve, I’m trying to work through the things that are important to me in yarn – I think there must be some sort of balance between what’s accessible and what I want to support. Ultimately a gently processed small maker/from the farm or indie-dyed yarn would be my utopic ideal, but will these hold up well under wear without nylon content? I’ve been doing some research, but am interested to hear your experiences and what you think? Are there any good sock yarns that are non-superwash? Maybe a silk blend? Or something else for durability? Just for research and future reference you see, as I have some work to do on my stash before investing in more yarn! Maybe in the meantime, this will be spun for socks?

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