The snow has nearly all melted today and we are having a rather gray day. A perfect day for some nice indoor sock knitting! In the best Blue Peter tradition, here are some I made earlier:
These are made from the same yarn as the bullet proof socks, alpaca blend sock yarn (60% alpaca, 20% merino, 20% nylon) from Alpaca Plus , and using the same two stage cable pattern. 
I knitted the brown sock first and then discovered that it weighed 65g which didn't bode well for getting two socks out of a 100g skein, which explains the choice of a green foot for the second sock. This is very robust yarn and I actually snapped the tips off two of my Brittany birch sock needles while performing the cables!
Talking of birch sock needles, I have been having a think about sock needles generally and was wondering which were your favourites? I like to knit on 2.5mm needles and because I have wide feet and so quite a lot of stitches on the needles I prefer the 20cm long needles rather than the little short glove-type needles. I think my current favourites are Susanne's ebony needles bought from Scottish Fibres (I notice this size is out of stock at the moment), with the Susanne's rosewood needles a close second. I have a set of Brittany birch needles which really I am not that keen on, even though lots of people seem to like them. I have a pair of straight Brittanys in about a 6 or 6.5mm and I quite like them, they just don't really seem suited to my way of knitting socks. I recently bought the Susan Bates pretty coloured set of small metal needles, and while I love them, they don't come in a 2.5mm so they are not favourites. Also lurking somewhere I have a set of Inox bamboo sock needles but it has been so long since I used them I can't remember whether I like them or not! So what do you like? I am a total sucker for needles of different sorts and would love to have recommendations for different ones to try.
Thanks for visiting my blog. I can't imagine going 6 years without snow. It is a normal occurrance here during the Winter. But this year it took longer than normal to really arrive properly. LOL
ReplyDeleteI love the little cable stitch you used in your socks. I am going to try it myself and I hope mine comes out as well as yours did.
You asked what needles to others like using for socks. My choice is Knit Picks Classic circular in size US#1, 32" cable. I don't use the dpn's unless it is absolutely necessary these days.
I have to tell you that I adore your Avatar photo. It implies a cheerful and playful nature, which I think is a wonderful way to face life.