FO: Pomatomus Socks

Presenting the Pomatomus socks!

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Once again, my deepest apologies for the shoddy photos that were once again taken with the teeny camera on my macbook. They actually are very nice in person. I really, really like them.

Yarn - 2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock (75% wool, 25% nylon; 215 yards) in the black Pearl colorway. I luuuuuurve this yarn. I got it way back in January and have been sitting on it while I tried to find the right pattern. My one concern with the yarn is that it's not particularly soft, probably due to the nylon. I'm hoping that it will soften up after a few washes.

Needles - 47" size 0 Addi Turbo circs. These are becoming my go-to sock needles for skinny yarn like this. I have to watch it though, because I'm noticing that my freakishly strong hands (seriously, I have some mad hand strength. I always forget and shake hands way too firmly. I once screwed up a job interview that way because I scared the would-be employer.) are bending the wee needles.

Pattern - Pomatomus by Cookie A. for Knitty. I adore her sock patterns. Like most of her stuff, this pattern has the virtue of looking a lot harder and more intricate than it actually is. The only tricky part is the modified chart for the top of the foot, but I figured it out pretty quickly. Here are the modifications:

• I worked them toe-up using the figure-8 CO for the reasons described here. I also did the toe-up version of the heel flap (from Widdershins) with the twisted ribbing written into the pattern. Can I just say that ribbed heels rock for people with narrow feet? Cause they totally do. The nice thing about doing these toe-up is that I didn't have to rewrite the lace pattern since it looks the same right side up and upside down. See?

• Since the yarn kept going and going and going, making the socks taller and taller and taller, I added some calf shaping. I did it by adding and extra repeat of the lace pattern by working an extra YO without an accompanying decrease over 12 rounds, and working the stitches according the pattern. It fits well, but the extra stitches shifted the yarn from striping itself to spiraling.

The red arrows show where I added the extra panel. See what I mean about the spiral?

The return of knitting content

Ok, as promised, here's some actual knitting content!

The Exchequered scarf is clicking along at a decent pace. I'm now to the checkered midsection, and I'm planning to keep chugging along until I'm out of yarn and then graft it to the other end section. Since it's a ridiculously easy pattern now that the check is established, and since I kind of totally hate knitting scarves (the length! The utter lack of any variety! Gah!), I've decided it will be my travel knitting. There's no real rush for a squishy double-knit scarf now that the temperatures in the mid-80s anyway, right?

Since the scarf is on the backburner, I started a couple of new projects. First, I'm working on a pair of pomatomus socks. I started them last week when I was sick and have since already completed the first sock!

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I've been wanting to make them for awhile, and the pattern has not disappointed me so far. I also decided to use this as an oppurtunity to further my appreciation fro toe-up sock construction. I wanted to be able to use the entire skein for once, and not get left with a whole lot of yarn at the end. Man, this puppy turned out tall! Also, the cats gave their stamp of approval when they carried it off in the middle of it's inaugural photoshoot.

I also started the puff-sleeved cardigan from Fitted Knits. I bought the book originally for this design, because it's just so damn cute. I'm using the organic wool/cotton yarn I got awhile ago that I originally planned to make into a Ribena-inspired vest. I swatched and cast on for the vest no less than 3 times, and it just wasn't working. It seems to have taken quite nicely to the cardigan though.


I'm about 1/3 of the way through the raglan increases. I ended up reworking the pattern a bit because my gauge was larger than the pattern called for. Which was soooo easy! Not only is it knit top-down in one peice, which automatically makes it customizable, but the author included a section in the book on how to resize garments....and used this sweater as an example! Funnily enough, I'm more or less following the directions for the 36" size, even though the finished product will boast a bust measurement of 43".

On a somewhat unrelated note, look at those stitch markers! I love them. Jon's mom got them for me when she was up in the Upper Peninsula. Heather, if you're reading this, I'm also grateful for the saffron bread you left here when you passed through last. It did not last long.

In really exciting knitting news, I now have knitting buddies who don't live hundreds of miles away! I went to brunch with a wonderfully sane and funny person in my program (which, I'll have you know, is quite a feat in my cohort. Some of them are just nuts.), a friend of hers, and her sister. It was lovely and refreshing. On the way home I cut through the market and picked up this geranium.


It's a present for Jon. Our friend Van has several houseplants and each time we've visited Jon's mentioned wanting to get some for our apartment. I have no knowledge of plants and asked the woman selling them what would be best for an apartment and she suggested this. Jon was thrilled and has dubbed it Francis. Long live Francis!

PS - We've already established that I have a deep, abiding love of reality TV. Its not surprising, then, that I have become obsessed with So You Think Can Dance? It's got everything you could really want: acrobatic moves that make someone getting hurt a real possibility, attractive young people in ridiculous outfits, and a judge that is quite probably drunker than Paula Abdul. Seriously, Mary Murphy is just insane! Lots of weird screaming and swaying. I feel bad for the judges sitting on either side of her as she must smell like a barrel of paint thinner.