Two Steps Forward

I've made up the ground I lost by ripping out a few days ago. These socks are going to be pretty vivid! Indoors, at night, they don't look as interesting, but in the daylight the colors really pop. It's quite an adventure waiting to see what will happen next -- and the second sock will probably look entirely different.

Every color but blue is represented -- and I still don't know why it's called Christmas balls, but I sure would like to see the color namer's tree.

Here's something interesting that happened with this sock. See how it looks as if I intentionally managed the colors so the first inch would have that distinct straight edge, after which the colors begin spiraling? It had nothing to do with any planning or manipulation -- that's what happened when I had to interrupt my knitting to accommodate the first knot in the skein. It's fascinating how the simplest thing can affect the way the colors fall. I suspect that once I do the heel flap and pick stitches up again for the foot I'll get yet another change in patterning.



I'm using a slip-stitch rib for the leg -- very stretchy, and fun to do. One row is k3, p2 all the way around; the second row is k1, slip 1 as if to purl, k1, p2, and follow that all the way around. The picture above shows the sock unstretched, as it looks while I knit. See how the slipped stitches emphasize the column effect of the ribbing? I especially like that section where the white is dominant. And here's what it looks like when stretched out, as if being worn:


Tonight the heel. . .