Knots and Rings Socks Take a Bow

And they're looking rather nice, I think!

I got the Knots and Rings socks finished a few days back. Despite the dangers along the way, they came through just fine, I'm happy to say.

This pair of socks is my good-humored-brother's Christmas gift, albeit a bit late. That is, all but one cuff is late. On the day, he actually opened his present to find a single cuff, still on the needles, along with a big ball of yarn. This worried him a bit, as I have a penchant for offering to teach everybody to knit. But that was not my intention. This time.... :)

Anyway. The Knots and Rings socks are my own design, with a cabled cuff, ribbed foot, and contrast toe. I chose not to make a contrasting heel, mostly because it might peek out of a pair of shoes, making the socks look a little too casual. I was envisioning something businesslike and handsome.

They're knitted in Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Lightweight. The main body of the socks is in the Lagoon colorway and the contrast toes in Haida. The colors are more accurate in this picture.

I used US size 2 needles, for a gauge of about 7 1/2 stitches per inch, and made them in a men's large size. I used one full 4 1/2-ounce skein of Lagoon, and about one ounce of Haida.

The Lagoon yarn was actually a little stiff to knit with, which is why, after some experimental swatching, I went with larger needles than the label suggests. At first, knitting with the Lagoon, I wondered why people seem to like Socks That Rock so much. But, thankfully, the Haida yarn used for the toes seemed a little softer. After trying out Haida and a couple of other colorways, I'm a convert. It's pleasant, bouncy yarn, with beautiful stitch definition. And there are scads of great colorways.

And what about those dangers along the way? Well, let's just say it's good to think about what project you might make and how much yarn it is likely to take when you're making that impulse yarn purchase, not a month later and 3,000 miles away. But the contrast toe added of necessity makes for a more interesting sock, and the Haida colorway blends in beautifully.

All's well that ends well. I hope he'll like them.