Wednesday, August 6, 2014

FO: Bandit's Honeycomb Socks.

Started: July 26, 2013

Finished: August 4, 2014

Yarn/yardage used: Two skeins (175 yards each) of Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino (KPPPM) in the lyrically named colorway P613. I enjoyed having one skein for each foot, avoiding dividing-ball-into-two-equal-portions shenanigans. Contrast toes, heels, and cuff accent in Kraemer Yarns Saucon Sock; I kind of just have a big ball of this kicking around and don't bother to measure yardage.

Needles: DPNs in sizes 1, 2 and 3 (the latter two for the toes only).

Notes:

Well, these socks have been a long time coming. They were supposed to be a birthday present for Bandit last year, and then when I picked them up again recently, they were supposed to be a birthday present for him this year. Apparently late sock gifts have just become de rigueur around me.

They did not, of course, actually require over a year's worth of actual work. I cast on the toe of one sock, knitted an inch of the foot - and then stopped. Yarn and needles languished in a project bag in my bedroom for month after month. I finally picked them up again in late June, and finished them surprisingly quickly.

I don't remember exactly why I put them into hibernation for so long, but it probably had something to do with mortal dread of the heel fiasco that occurred the last time I tried to knit toe-up socks for Bandit. I had no idea when or how quickly to start heel increases, and my attempts to wing it resulted only in lumpy, uncomfortable sock heels. (Bandit says that pair of socks is in his closet. We never use or even venture into the closet.) I associated toe-up socks with guesswork, frustration, and bitter recriminations. After this pair, though, I shall never fear toe-up socks again. The Fish Lips Kiss Heel is really quite a miracle. It's easy to determine when to start the heel, easy to memorize and knit, and even easy to incorporate a contrast heel. It's worked in the same way both toe-up and cuff-down. Best of all, Bandit says that it's the most comfortable heel I've knit yet.

I think it's safe to say that I'm getting my sock mojo back at long last. Now... do I dare attempt Pickle's cursed socks for the fifth time?

15 comments:

  1. Your honeycomb socks look great, hopefully Bandit likes them too!

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  2. They turned out wonderfully! You must be feeling so productive having finished them too. The heels are perfect, go you!

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    1. Thank you! Finishing them does feel pretty great, especially since they've been in hibernation so long.

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  3. They look beautiful. Bandit will have nice, warm feet this winter. :)

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    1. Thank you! I hope to knit at least one more pair of socks for him in the next few months.

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  4. They look awesome! I love the contrast between the gray and the warm honey tone :) I'm going to have to try some toe-up socks...still not something I've tried! And you can do the Pickle socks, 5th times the charm!

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    1. Thank you! I like this color combination too :) And I'm so glad that this heel technique lets me insert a contrast heel without super-complicated colorwork techniques.

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  5. Your socks look lovely, how was the pattern? I did a similar stitch pattern a few years ago and one of the stitches was so painful to do and I bent the hell out of my needles doing it. I like your color choices.
    Knitting in Pearls

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    1. It wasn't too bad! I lifted the honeycomb pattern from the Apis Dorsata shawl (available on Knitty) and while the left-leaning slipped stitch was slightly fiddly, it wasn't difficult at all. As soon as I memorized which technique produced a left lean and which produced a right lean, it was easy to read my knitting and carry on without ever referring back to a pattern.

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  6. Do the socks for Pickle, is my vote! These are gorgeous, I will get round to doing some socks soon and I may try that heel as I have only heard good things about it.

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    1. It's really an excellent heel technique, well worth the $1 pattern cost.

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  7. I love the FLKH too! It's such a great heel! :-)

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  8. I'm going to need to try that heel! Like you, I associate toe-up sock heels with frustrating and confusion and stabbing blindly in the dark. Maybe I'll attempt my next pair toe-up.

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