No-Hayfever Watercress Mystery Socks

My first ever mystery sock.
What's a mystery sock?

It's a sock pattern broken up into clues. In this case, four clues over four weeks.

You get the pleasure of watching the pattern unfold without quite knowing where you are going.

It was certainly fun, and I love the finished socks. Except for the cuff. it's very ruffly and floppy, so I'm not sure it's my thing.

I absolutely adore the color though. Happy green spring socks!

The power of hexipuffs

Are you puffing? You know you want to. All the cool kids are doing it.
You know you want to.
Hexipuffing, that is.
Hexipuffs are bite-sized little knitting projects, perfect to use up those leftover bits of sock yarn. You know, that skinny, gorgeous yarn that you really, really want to work to the very last inch.

Enter the Beekeeper's Quilt, a gorgeous and colorful way to use up those odds and ends.
At least, that's the theory.
If you're a member of the tiny owl knits Beekeeper's Quilt knitalong on Ravelry, you know that mini skeins are quickly becoming an obsession in their own right.
For now, I'm resisting the lure of purpose-buying yarns, instead I'm actually using up some of my favorite yarns that I actually made socks out of.
It'll be a nice memory to make a puff for every sock I knit.
The Kitten Overlord seems a bit nonplussed by this new development, but she's taking it graciously.
And this is where my puffs will live. Because displaying them nicely while knitting the neverending blanket may be half the battle.

So. Do you puff?

Greyscale Penguin Socks

 I love knitting socks.
I've made a couple of pairs for myself and I wanted to spread the love of handknit socks.
So I convinced Mr. Mechanicalpenguin that he would really like a pair of handknit socks.
He greeted it with his typical enthusiasm (which is to say, mild).
But he says he enjoys them, and he's worn them a couple of times.
I like how the ribbing worked out, but the top of the cuff is a bit loose. This is a problem with all my socks so far. I need to try knitting more cuff at the top to see if that fixes the problem.

Bamboo Blush de Baudelaire

In a word: gorgeous.
 I love everything about these socks. The way the pattern turned out, the fit, the sheen, the feel of the yarn. So freaking soft and shiny and glorious.

I wasn't sure this was going to work at all. The bamboo yarn I used, Cleckheaton's Bamboo, is super soft and drapey, so maybe not the best choice for socks?
But the pattern came out crisp and clean, and the soft, silky yarn was a joy to work with.

The pattern is a Cookie A pattern, Baudelaire, which was first published in Knitty in 2006. It's the most complicated lace I've attempted yet, and it took me a while to get into it.
I'm very pleased with how it flowed once I got it.
There is a moment in every lace knitting where it just clicks. The stitches make sense and the inherent rhythm of the pattern makes everything flow along.
It took me three repeats along the foot to get it, but once I did, it was a joy.
It took me only a little over a week to knit these, and I'm very proud of that.
So far, they fit nice and snug, but I notice they tend to sag a little after a few hours. I haven't tried them in shoes yet.
We'll see.

I Dream of Melbourne Beaches (or at least mom does)

My first pair of socks for someone other than me.
Mom's been hinting that she would sure like a pair of cozy socks to admire while she puts up her feet and watches TV.
hint well received.
After all, it's my mom who introduced me to knitting.
She was a knitting fiend until she developed permanent RSI in her elbow from knitting too much!
She's made me many fabulous sweaters when I was a kid (how I wish I still had them now!), and when I found the yarn for these socks, I knew it would be perfect.
You see, my mom knit me a sweater in turquoise. I called it blue, she called it green. It was hilarious, and I loved that sweater a lot.
it was exactly the color of the blue (green?) in these socks!

I wanted a pattern reminiscent of the ocean and waves to go with the colors. I found the Sailor's Delight by Meliisa Morgan-Oakes of Two-at-a-time Socks fame. The pattern doesn’t show up well, but it’s making the overall sock appear wavelike.

Sent off across the world on Sep 6th.
Arrived November 24th. Slow post is slow. I was really worried that the socks hadn't made it. Fortunately, they have!

I'll never send knitting by slow post again. Way too stressful!