Not for the faint hearted

I knit some socks! I'm immensely proud of these. Not only did I make a PAIR (yes TWO socks) but I also managed to make an "extra spicy" pattern with a nonstandard construction.

These are the double heelix pattern by Jeny Staiman from the Deep Fall 2011 knitty. When I first saw the pattern I thought they were very cool, but way too difficult for a not very experienced sock knitter like myself.
















Then the other week at my knitting group the shop had a big box of knitsch yarns just begging for me to have a look through. When I saw the purple (colourway - supernova) and the yellow (yellow brick road) together I was reminded of the socks one of my Ravelry friends made: thegoodwitch made hers in yellow + mulberry and that was that. The colours are bright and bold and a lot braver than I normally choose but they look so great, I think I'll have to try and step outside my colour comfort zone more often. I intended to stash these for awhile while I finished off some more urgent things but... you know how it happens.


















The socks are knit heel out. You start my working a Judy's Magic Cast on and then cleverly work a spiral by switching colours and working JMCO increases at the edges. It's reasonably complicated and I suggest doing this step when the children are in bed. There is an accompanying video to help you cast on and get through the first couple of cycles though. Once the heel is complete there is a PCO and then very easy knitting for the foot and cuff. They are like the perfect combination of learning something new/concentrating hard and then easy peasy knitting. A thoroughly enjoyable knit (which should be obvious from the lack of second sock syndrome)!

I've some other Knitsch (New Zealand hand dyed merino sock yarn) colours stashed but this is my first time knitting it. I love the brightness of the colours and the lovely even dye job. Its a tightly plied merino so does have a tendency to wind back on itself which is not so helpful when you are working with 4 live strands but other than that the yarn was a lovely knit. In 50g skeins it is also a perfect choice for this pattern.

DH says they are my "southland" socks but I don't listen to him - to me, they're my "I'm going to knit that pattern again one day" socks!