Socks From All Angles

My friend Doris tells me there are some FANTASTIC new MadelineTosh sock yarn colors. I may have to dive into that pool, though I have Opel and some Trekker to work on first. 

And she says madtosh Light is better for shawls than the sock yarn; doesn't stretch as much.

Anyway. The Robin's Nest Socks are complete. And modeled here for your pleasure. 

Head-on

Not bad for having photographed them myself. I give myself credit for being a yogi - I'm flexible! I wanted to show various looks at the swirls. And yeah, the decreases on the toes is slightly "elfin." I think I'd like to try a swirled decrease for my next pair. Or maybe just any other decrease. This is a Kitchener grafting, too. Maybe 3-needle bind-off next time? I know a knitter who uses 3-needle bind-offs on all her sweaters. She says it's more comfortable. I'll have to give it a shot on a sock. Not as much to bind off if I don't like it. 

And yeah, my feet are shaped funny; so the elfin thing kinda works! One foot is a full size smaller than the other, which makes shoes interesting. Oh well. None of us are perfectly even on both sides. I can live with it! 

Swirls

This is lovely yarn that was a treat to work with. I think that I didn't need to match the start exactly; it really is close enough. They're definitely clog socks, though. I'm not sure it's as sturdy as the hiking socks. Which reminds me, I don't think I actually took a set of pics with those socks. Will have to add that to my list.

Side view

Like I said, I'd do a "Doris Heel" or maybe the Strong Heel next time. Just because (a) I really like the Doris, which is her version of the Eye of the Partridge Heel with a set of K3 on each end. And (b) I want to have some alternate skills when I'm on this Sock Journey. Helps to learn new stuff. Not that you'd always tell which pattern or whatever I'm using because the yarns are so vastly different. With the Opel, I'm sticking to a fairly straightforward leg; the yarn patterns itself and there's no sense fighting it. After all, you're buying it because of its self-patterning colorway. Why would you put a complex pattern of stitches in there? Kind of over-kill, in my opinion. 

In the midst of the knit-fest, I have to confess that I screwed up a yarn-over on the Chandelier Lace. I have nothing to show you because I frogged it. I was 1" in and I tried to backtrack. That didn't work, and I figured it would be easier on my blood pressure if I just took it all out and started over.

Other side view

And I found something at Hobby Lobby for my student workers. I was going to knit them a scarf each (they're both girls) but I wasn't interested in spending a ton of money. Not because they're  not gems. They are. But because they're students. If the scarf doesn't get left somewhere, it'll be washed and perhaps turned into Barbie clothes. I just want easy, simple yarn that nobody has to think about. I was going for a ribbon/DK kind of match, but then I stumbled upon Paton's Lace with Sequins. 

Heels

They didn't have many colors left. I didn't like the navy or the peach. I don't like knitting with dark colors if I can help it, and the peach was blah. So I ended up with one white and one red. There was a free cowl pattern. One ball each. Done. The cowl is knit in the round on size 4 or 6 needles; I can't remember. But it should go fairly quickly; the yarn does the work and I'm hoping the little bit of mohair won't make me insane. 

Also bought some half-pint canning jars. The ones I have are pints, and that's cool, but the 1/2-pints are good sizes when you have small batches. My friend Sue usually gives me peaches for a French-style soft jam, but never enough for say 3 or 4 pints. I find that the 1/2-pint jars for this type of soft jam are actually better anyway. 

Speaking of jam, I finished the Rosemary (see picture) and yeah, it does have food coloring in it. I was going to leave it plain but it reminded me of the medium you find in petri dishes. Ick. It's worth 3 drops of green. And there's a small sprig of Rosemary in there. 

Rosemary Jelly

I had to re-do the Basil because it didn't jell after 24 hours. It did this time. And I also re-did some Cranberry-Pineapple Jam. That's cooling now. Good thing; it's a sticky one today! 

I'm hoping to maybe do some other savory jellies. I'd love to do a Shallot relish or something like that. I love jams and preserves. Don't like the sugar. 

I have a fairly robust Rosemary plant, so there will be more of that in the future. It's a skimpy recipe (note the head space?) so I could double it and use those nice 1/2-pint jars. There's also a nice garlic and rosemary preserve. Yummmmmmmmm - as a spread on some crunchy bread??