my year in socks - August

How did I miss the end of August? Life has been hectic, but no more than usual and I really can't quite fathom how I failed to notice the passage of time

You can read in this post why I am knitting a pair of socks every month.
 
I didn't really want to knit a sock in August. But I suffer a bit with "never give up" syndrome and plodded on, although not with much joy. Surprisingly the result is still pleasing. I had originally planned to give the August socks away because I do have so many pairs that I can go without washing socks for nearly two weeks. But I am tempted to keep them. What do you think?

I had a skein of Cascade Heritage sock yarn that I bought ages ago. It is soft and smells nice. The smell of wool is essential for my knitting experience. Often superwash sock lacks that lovely wool smell, probably because all the lanolin has been stripped off. I am speculating of course. Although the yarn smells nice and is soft, it is not my favourite yarn to knit with, it splits easily, something I find annoying.

The stitch pattern is super easy and here is why. What I really wanted to knit is a fancy zig zag pattern that meanders up (or down) the sock. The trouble was that all the zig zag patterns I know are written for knitting in the flat, and somehow I did not have the brain power to adapt them to the round. I am usually quite good with stuff like that but every time I thought I had cracked it I was disappointed after knitting one repeat. Somehow, the zig zag did also spiral around the sock, which is mindboggling and which I didn't want. I am still  trying to get my head around this problem but maybe I'll cop out and just use the zig zag pattern I used for my summer shrug.

The stitch pattern is knit over 11 stitches, all you need to be able to do is purl 2 together and place the yarn over the needle. Yes, it is really that simple. The pattern is called ridged feather stitch but to be honest, I don't think it looks anything like a feather, let alone a ridged one. Nevertheless, it is soothing to knit and pleasing to the eye.

 

Annie did some modelling for me but she was a bit more reluctant than last month. I could see her eyes rolling.... but she got to wear my favourite shoes, which almost fit her (how scary is that??).

For September I now knitting a pair of socks using my indigo "Hazel knits" yarn (you can see a close up in the photo scavenger hunt).

As always, the pattern can be downloaded from my sock pattern page. Please remember that I am just a hobby designer, the pattern has not been tested and may well contain mistakes. Just let me know if you find one and I'll rectify it.

I have decided after all, that I am going to give this pair of socks away. If you would like to have it, please let me know in the comment box. It can be machine washed on the wool cycle. The socks would probably fit a range from UK size 5-7. I am a UK size 6. I'll ask one of my charming helpers to pull a name out of a hat if there is more than one person who would like the socks.

Or you could just knit your own of course. Happy knitting! Cx