Mismatched mates

These were based on Nancy Bush's Hiiumaa Mismatched Mates in Knitting on the Road.  It turned out after knitting the first sock (on the left) that I had enough blue left over for an entire sock, so that I could stripe the second one any way I liked.  I find totally random stripes rather difficult to do, as my hands would unwittingly continue knitting in one color unless I knew ahead of time where to change colors, so these ended up with patterned stripes. The yarn is Jaeger Baby Merino 4 ply, one skein Indigo, plus one white dyed with Limeade Koolaid (lots leftover), and knit at 56 st on 2.25 mm needles.  They're for Y, the little one who wanted his own socks, just because his brothers had handknit socks. 

When I finished the first one, I was so sure I couldn't be happier with another stripe pattern, and yet, when I was knitting the second, it became my favorite. Put side by side, I can't decide.

I like the stripes on the reverse side too, but there was no way I could purl every row for socks. There're small jogs at the beginning of the rounds, but not so bad that I wanted to do something about them.

The round toes are becoming my favorite, especially since I'm not that fond of doing the K stitch.  After the socks were done, I started something new immediately.  It's Pampas, from Rowan 40:

Once in a while, when my stash becomes overwhelming and there's no space to stuff another ball of yarn in the cupboard or under the table, I have a great urge to knit up the biggest pack of chunkiest yarn.  The chunkiest was the Rowan Chunky Print, which I'd bought a few months ago to make Mist, thinking I could figure out the pattern without paying kit prices. (Never mind that it's on sale now, and I'm so kicking myself!) I still think I could figure out the pattern, but I just don't have the time right now.  I have to make room!

Pampas is written to be knit with Big Wool at 10 st/ 10 cm, while mine knits at 13.5 st/ 10 cm, using 8 mm needles.  I'm not totally sure of the gauge, as the thick and thin texture, and the somewhat loose stitches make it difficult to measure.  I erred on the side of small when deciding on the number of sts to cast on, because I think it'll stretch a bit with wear.  What you see above (back plus two front, with shoulders seamed, ends woven in, and half a sleeve) is two day's worth of knitting over the weekend, when I stayed home most of the time.  Don't expect it finished in another two days though, as I'm stuck at the sleeve cap shaping at the moment, plus I don't have the correct sized crochet hook to do the edging.  But soon, I hope.

Comments

[robyn]

damn. you figured that out without a pattern at all!?!?!? you are my hero.

[brooke]

Love the lime colored stripes on the socks. Pampas, I've been wanting to see someone knit this-you got a lot done in two days, looks great!

[Zoe]

Love the socks. Lucky son.

[Kai]

The socks are very cool.. :)

I'm not a major 'make it match' person.. so these sound like fun to make.

The Pampas is looking good too.. good luck with the sleeves.

[Agnes]

Hahaha ... the mismatched socks are kind of comic to look at ... I like that!

[Jen]

Those socks turned out just too cute!

[erin]

They're so cute, Joy! Somehow the one on the right with thinner single row lime stripes give the illusion that it is knit with thinner yarn. And thanks for showing the inside and how you carried the yarn up. I have been wondering if that is how it's done.

[lauray]

Those socks are so cute! I love the idea of mismatch pair. U r knitting Pampas so fast! Can't wait to see your version of it. :)

[Siow Chin]

Didn't know you were contemplating Mist too. I love it, had wanted to order it when it came on sale but realise it looks really like Maggie... I've got big crochet hooks, shall I bring them for you?

[marjorie]

you are so quick on your knitting? Pampas is nice and you did a right thing making the size on the small size. The Big Wool patterns run a bit bigger than the intended size.

[laura b]

I love that sweater! It's been on my mind a lot, if not yet actually on the "to knit" list. How do you like working on it?

[Maryann]

Those socks are so cute. The huge buttons on Pampas are so interesting, are they crocheted as well?

[Areli]

Cute socks. The stripes are very cheerful, and I love lime and navy for boys. It's one of my favorite color combinations. The jacket is so cool looking, what a great stash buster.

[Marie]

I love the twin socks! The color combination (you have such a good eye for color!) and the different stripes are just delightful!
Pampas looks so cozy!

[handknit168]

You have such a creative idea to knit this stripes socks. I seldom knit chunky yarn for it is too bulky to wear. I think DK or more even fine yarn.

[mimi]

It must be fun to create those cool socks! ;)

Oooh, I like those knotty button close-ups(?). Is it crochetted or knitted?

[Peggy]

Yay for more socks! Mist is very pretty but Pampas is cute too. Will you use the same buttons and "button holes"?

[yuvee]

Mismatched socks are really fun! Pampas is cute too, but there's no way I can wear such a chunky knit! I'm sure it'll look really nice on you though ;)

[Stephanie]

I love the mismatched socks. I wasn't drawn to that pattern in the book, but seeing them in the great colors you used makes me want to rethink knitting those up.

[klement]

i love pampas! and your progress is loking great!