Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Socks for Autumn

Not only have I had a cold in Socktober, but when this October hasn't been inappropriately up in the 70s, temperatures have dipped down into the lower 50s - a cold month - perfect for hand-knit socks!

Cherry Tree Hill Feather and Fan socks
I finally finished some socks for Socktoberfest!

Pattern: Feather and Fan socks from Socks Socks Socks
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in "Cabin Fever"
Needles: size 1 and 0s on the pattern; size 0 on the bottom of the foot and on the toes (bizarre, I know)
Time: October 8 - October 24, 2006
Thoughts: I really enjoyed making these socks. The pattern is super easy; you only have to pay attention 1/4 of the time, for row 1 of the 4-row repeat. I actually just borrowed this row 1 from the book; I didn't follow the pattern otherwise and just made socks with an ordinary heel flap and wedge toe. I ended up using a combination of needle sizes because size 1 seemed a bit too loose (and resulted in more pooling) and size 0s were too tight, but didn't pool as much. A combination seems to have worked well.

Cherry Tree Hill Feather and Fan socks

I really like the Cherry Tree Hill yarn; it's soft, very very squooshy, and the colors are just gorgeous. You can't tell well in the photos, but the darker colored areas are actually deep shades of navy blue, green, and purple. They seem to come out in sunlight and fluorescent light; under ordinary indoor light it looks black. (I haven't worn the socks yet, except for the photos). The colors here, as my friend S. says, are brighter than my usual, except for that whole fall leaves thing, which I adore. I've heard that CTH bleeds a fair bit when first washed, so I think that I'm going to give these a little bath and a "lying flat to dry" before wearing them for real. I can't wait, though!

Thanks for all the well-wishes about the cold. I think it's gone, which is fine by me! May it be the last for a while. I hope all of you get through fall without succumbing!

7 comments:

KODACHROME said...

Lovely socks, especially the colours. And I'm glad you mentioned that CTH might bleed a fair bit on first washing. I'm just about to finish a clapotis using CTH and am looking to give it a soak, and then a block, this weekend. Now I have the head's up!

PS: Thanks for your kind comment earlier this month about identities and graduate school--:) I appreciate immensely the support of the knitting blog community.

Anonymous said...

Your socks turned out great! What a lovely color, it reminds me so much of autumn.

Sheepish Annie said...

Oh, those are soooo pretty! I love the way the colors work with the pattern. I guess I have to add Cherry Tree Hill to my "must try" list.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely beautiful socks - I actually have sock envy! Wear them in good health!

Anonymous said...

Those are perfect October Socks. I love CTH, and I'm glad you're now a fan, too. Is "squooshy" a technical term? :)

Zarzuela said...

They came out great! Love the colors! :)

Jessica

Lone Knitter said...

Your socks are so autumn! I like the pattern and the colors. I haven't tried CTH yarns, but I hear they are a dream to knit.