Three more 2007 FOs to go!!! This one is a relatively recent one.
Tyrolean Stockings
Date:
Oct 7th - Nov 4th, 2007
Yarn:
2 skeins Green Mountain Spinnery Maine Organic Grey (I had 11g left at the end)
Needles:
Addi Turbo US#3 40" circulars
Pattern:
Tyrolean Stockings by Ann Budd from Interweave Knits Fall 2007, available for purchase here
The story:
I fell in love with the oatmeal colored version of this project shown in the magazine (I think I'm a sucker for good photographs of projects!) and mistakenly thought the Maine Organic Grey would be a similar color (they were out of the Vermont Organic Natural Grey specified). The snapshot on the Green Mountain Mountain spinnery website is very deceiving - as you can see from my photos below, it is a much darker grey. Actually, I'm pretty surprised that a yarn called "natural grey" would be as light as it looks in the magazine either... I do wish magazines would try and make their photos match the actual color of the yarns they call for. I know it's not always easy - but they're professionals!
Anyway, I am totally over the initial disappointment because I loved this project - both the process and the final product. This was my first pair of socks so that was very exciting. I don't really consider these "typical socks" that I think of when people say they knit socks as generally they mean using much lighter weight sock yarn. It also seemed like a relatively challenging sock project to start out with, but actually I found it quite straightforward, and I enjoyed following the instructions not quite knowing exactly what was going to happen and then having it all click as the construction revealed itself.
The cable pattern was also pretty easy to memorize, although you do have to make sure you get your cable twists in the right direction. However, one major error I made gave me the opportunity to try dropping stitches in order to fix it and it came out beautifully.
I still haven't figured out what shoes to wear these socks with were I to actually wear them out of the house, but I have been wearing them around the house and I love the snug custom fit and the overall look and feel of them. I highly recommend this project!
In progress shots:
Finished shots: