We’re having a beautiful warm spring day here in Salem (I have to gloat while I can; the rain comes back tonight), but I know much of the country is still locked in bitter cold. I was particularly concerned about the toes of my delightful cousin Heather in Ohio, so I sent her a little care package last week: two pairs of cozy wool socks. Maybe they’ll help usher in some relief from the deep freeze…
The reason I chose the yarn for the first pair of socks will be immediately apparent to anyone with Ohio ties: it’s Claudia sock yarn in the Buckeye colorway. This was my first experience with Claudia yarns, and I must say it was a pleasant one. The yarn was very soft and beautifully dyed. The skeins are a little on the skimpy side, however, so I took the precaution of knitting this pair of RPM socks toe-up. Other specs, mostly for my own benefit: I used the Easy Toe from Sensational Knitted Socks, starting with 12 sts, short-row heels; knit on #0 needles over 63 sts for the foot; worked the spirals in opposite directions for a matched pair.
The second pair of socks was knit because Heather is a big Harry Potter fan; of course she needed to have a pair of Gryffindor socks! I decided to do a stripe more along the lines of the scarves from later movies for this pair, and carried the yarn inside to avoid weaving in a bazillion ends. I used more of my lovely Lang Jawoll yarn for this, and I couldn’t be happier with the colors. Since I knew I had plenty of yarn, I knit these top down. And some specs: #0 needles, 64 sts cast on, modified long-tail CO from Nancy Bush; 2” of 2/2 ribbing for the cuff in red; traveling jogless jog; stripe pattern: 5 rounds yellow, 3 red, 5 yellow, 11 red; short-row heels and standard toes in red.
Enjoy them, Heather, and stay warm!
Great work, Julie. Your knitting skills amaze me!