Monday, April 9, 2007

Easter socks

I finished my socks yesterday, and ... I am amazingly proud of them! Why?

Well, in my last post I had cast on my pal's Monkey socks with the handpainted merino sock yarn that just arrived from an Etsy seller. While the color combination was beautiful, and the yarn felt very soft, by the time I reached the heel I was having second thoughts. not only were the colors pooling, the gauge on 2.5mm needles felt too loose. I re-checked the specifics and the yardage was over 800yds/4 oz skein. A very generous yardage, more than enough for two pairs of socks, but I think the yarn is more suitable for delicate lace items, especially since it's not superwash. I do love the yarn, especially the color combination, but it's just not right for the Monkey socks, which is sort of sad because I got two skeins (combined shipping $9).

So I had to re-t(h)ink, and fast. Well, I decided to give sock dyeing another go, and the result is this pair of Monkey socks in what I consider a beautiful color combination ... and what I really like about it is that not only is there NO pooling, but the two socks are almost identical twins. It's 100% merino sock yarn, but unfortunately it's also not superwash. Do you think it will be a problem? My pal has so far only used 75% wool sock yarn, and while this yarn is way more cushy and comfortable, the question is, would she be ok with handwash? I probably still have time to knit a pair in standard 75% wool sock yarn. I wouldn't have time to order more but I do have some stash English handpainted sock yarn that she might like. Tell me what you all think, is non superwash a problem? I won't post any pictures coz I don't want to spoil the surprise yet.

9 comments:

KrisW said...

just my 2 cents, I think that handwashing a beautiful pair of socks is a small price to pay for the gorgeous and soft socks! :)

KrisW said...

oops...didn't finish, which means...from above comment I made...I don't think it will be a problem, as long as you let her know that the socks must be taken care of as wool.
:)
Kris

Cheryl said...

I agree...I would go down to the river and wash the socks on stones if someone knit me a pair and that were the washing instructions :)

Anonymous said...

what they said...........I would be grateful for whatever I got because we all would appreciate the time and effort that went into them.

Lovs2Knit said...

I have the same opinion here. It's worth it to handwash socks. I hand wash all mine anyway. :)
Just let you pal know that they are handwash only.

debbie said...

i agree with everyone too! i would definitely not mind handwashing a pair of socks made with me in mind.

Phara said...

Stick with what you've done. If she's anything like me, I don't wash my socks all that often anyway. Don't tell anyone.

The Imperfect Knitter said...

When someone spends so much time knitting something for me , I hand wash it ( or them ) . In fact I rather love the ritual of squeezing the suds through the knitted , rinsing, and gently pulling into shape ( In England we don't have the fabulous sock blockers that everybody in America seems to have ) .

Jen L said...

Most of my handknit socks are made of non-superwash wool. I put them in the wash machine with cold water and woolwash on the handwash cycle and then lay them flat to dry. I've had no problems yet with this method. I wouldn't have a problem actualy handwashing them myself, either... It's just that the machine seems to work just as well and it saves me some time/effort!