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I must warn you that I’m almost obscenely proud of these. The photos (or rather my crap photo skillz) do not do them justice. They are exquisite - a perfect melding of pattern and yarn.

The pattern is ‘Crosshatch Lace’ from More Sensational Knitted Socks, and the yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy in ‘Blue Lagoon’. I made these over 72 stitches on 2.25mm needles.

I only wish you could see them properly! The yarn works beautifully; Smooshy is dyed so that it won’t pool or stripe, and that makes it fabulous sock material. The pattern was slow till I got it memorised halfway up the first sock, then it went very quickly; I made the second sock over the weekend and today’s train knitting.

I have two other pairs on the needles for the SSS challenge, but I’m waiting till they’re complete till I reveal them

It’s hot here today. The laundry smells like wet wool, because I have many pairs of handknitted socks hanging up to dry

I am stressed out of my mind at work, a situation not helped by the resignation of one of my most valued co-workers. I have a brand-new workshop to give this week and I haven’t finished writing the content yet - it’s all in my head but not yet down on paper to prompt me in case I dry up while I’m doing it. So I am stressed and a wee bit grumpy. And I’ve got a bruise on my left index finger from “helping” the needle through tight loops when doing SS2Ks. Dammit!

Anyway, here’s my latest for the Southern Summer of Socks challenge: Shaka Banga.

Pattern is Garter Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks; the yarn is Stone Barn Fibers in ‘Poison Ivy’ colourway purchased from The Loopy Ewe. Needles were 2.5mm KnitPicks circulars. I knitted these on the train and part of one of them under the table at a work lunch They’re on 60 stitches (I fudged the pattern a bit), toe-up with the usual gusset heel.
Why Shaka Banga? That’s my favourite pizza, from Shagy’s in Elwood. It’s a spiced lamb pizza with red onion, jalapeno peppers, yoghurt and HEAPS of fresh spinach. The edges of the spinach sometimes get a little black, and the result looks a little like these socks

May I present… Sarek!

Pattern: S(p)ocks, by Wendy Johnson. Purchased from The Loopy Ewe.
Yarn: Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock Multi, in the ‘Irving Park’ colourway
Modifications: Turkish cast-on, gusset heel

I love these! I called them Sarek, because the red colours are so evocative of strong emotions - passion, anger - and reminded me of the episode of TNG where Sarek goes all emotional overload and has to mind-meld with Picard. The pattern and yarn melded well for this The pattern was a lot of fun to knit, too.

Here’s my first pair for the SSoS Challenge!

I have named them Jitterbugging at Dusk. They’re the On Your Toes socks from Interweave Knits Summer 2007, done in Colinette Jitterbug (’Dusk’ colourway) on 2.5 Addi circulars. I was amazed at how few stitches I needed with this yarn; normally I cast on 64 or 66 stitches for a 2.5mm needle, but I easily went down to 56 sts for these socks. It helps that the pattern is decently stretchy, of course. I modified the pattern to use Wendy Johnson’s gusset heel. I was also pleasantly surprised by the fact that I got a decently long cuff, despite the short yardage on Jitterbug. Would knit again

(Jitterbug reminds me very much of Socks that Rock Mediumweight - same kind of weight, texture, roundness of strand, twist and springiness).

I am now hard at work on two pairs, one in Lorna’s Laces and one in Stone Barn Fibers. I hope to get pics of these up soon!