The Sabrina Sock!

I finally finished my niece, Sabrina's socks.  So, I decided to name the pattern after her.  It is a simple lace pattern that gives really nice results.  I used my hand painted yarn, pink frosting, it is merino/silk sock yarn.  One of my favorites to work with. 

As you can see by the three pictures the sock is pretty.  I love the three shades of pink in this one.  She mentioned to me that she loves pink. So, she is getting a pair of pink wool/silk socks.  Now, I just need to make the tag and washing instructions for her.  These are hand wash, cold water.  No heat whatsoever. I can't state this enough to my family members who do not seem to realize that putting them in the washing machine will shrink and felt them.  After this fiasco has occurred, you are no longer on the sock list, you are banned from ever receiving another pair.  Two weeks goes into a pair of socks.  I just love the fact that one of my nieces, didn't realize how long it takes to knit a pair of socks.  She thought I could zip a pair out in a matter of days.  Uh, no!  I have a life other than knitting. 

I was inspired by a pattern in a lace book.  I can't remember which one it was but, the pattern struck me as beautiful on a sweater and I knew it would be impressive on a sock.  I used a Dutch heel for this sock since it gives a more tailored fit to the heel.  It is very simple to do.  Almost mindless and when you have knit as many socks as I have, mindless is wonderful.  No counting involved.  So, as your husband or wife is yacking in your ear, you won't have to count loudly to let them know you are in the middle of a short row.  If you know the signs to look for, the Dutch heel will become your go to heel.  I even do stockinette heels for my socks with a nice garter stitch edge, it gives it some interesting texture.  I do love the eye of the partridge heel flaps, they are awesome looking in a hand painted yarn. 

This sock was knit on two circulars.  It is my preferred method of sock knitting.  They were knit one at a time since this is the way I knit socks.  Two at a time isn't enjoyable in my book.  I would rather take the time to enjoy knitting each sock.  It is after all my exercise in patience. 

I am also researching my next sock pattern since I have another pair to knit for one of my nieces by marriage.  She has a small foot( a size 6), love small feet, they are so much easier to knit for.  I am trying to decide if I should do a lace sock for her or maybe do some left twists or right twist patterns for her.  I have the yarn ready to go.  Her sock yarn is merino/nylon.  She has two small children to deal with and she can just throw hers into a cold water washer.  Each yarn has their own qualities that make them unique.  These are my two favorite sock yarns.  Not only do I paint the yarns, I use them as well.