Caution: Post May Contain Actual Knitting Content
by flowergirlknits
Look! Actual knitting! Actual finished knitting! Very exciting times indeed.

actual knitting content
Pattern: Sunshine Socks by Cookie A.
Yarn: ShiBui Sock, color “Kiwi”
Notes: Once I got settled on a yarn, these socks went quite quickly. The pattern repeat is intuitive and easy to follow. I like knitting socks with repeating charts like this, since they seem to go quickly. Also, so long as I remember to make a few notes, it seems easier to make the second sock a perfect match.
My main struggle was with settling on the right yarn. The first two yarns I tried turned out to be splitty (I’d never used either before); they couldn’t hold the cable twists and they were extremely frustrating to work with. Both were lovely, so I’ll try them again with a lace or plain pattern.
For this sock, the third yarn was the charm – my beloved ShiBui Sock in a luscious lime green. I heart ShiBui! It has a nice firm twist that works beautifully with fancy stitches, it’s soft but sturdy (so far – the finished socks I’ve worn are holding up well) and it comes in beautiful, semi-solid colors. I’ve read some complaints that it pools, but I’ve found that the lighter colors perform beautifully with no pooling and I don’t mind the pooling on the darker colors so long as it doesn’t distract from the pattern.

toe study
I used just two skeins (191 yards each) of ShiBui for these socks. Depending on the pattern, I sometimes need to dip into a third skein to accommodate my long feet. The length of the leg and the type of stitches used makes a huge difference – a shorter leg (Twisted Tulip) takes less while cables or twisted stitches (Pomatomas) takes more. I know – this is Knitting 101, but it seems the light is just dawning for me.
I also struggled a bit with gauge again. I dropped down to a US 0 for these, which isn’t too far out of line (the pattern calls for US 1 1/2; I usually drop one or two needles sizes for most patterns) But I also changed needles in the midst of this project, going from the super-slick Knit Picks Harmony’s to the slightly less slick Clover bamboos and the fit of the socks came out perfect. I’m thinking that the additional drag – minuscule as it is – is just enough to slow down my stitching so that I tighten the yarn more as I go. Hmmmm. Well. That theory might not hold up to scrutiny but I like it, so I’m sticking with it. And with the Clover bamboos.

green sunshine
These socks were knit as part of the Sock Innovations KAL on Ravelry where a different pattern is knit each month. My idea was that I’d knit the chosen sock right at the start of the month, then work on other things – other socks, gift knits, the English Rug, summer knits – in the vast amount of time left over during that month. Ha Ha! I have three days left before the next sock begins…..hmmmm, maybe this isn’t going to work the way I’d planned…. (well, there’s a shock!) but I’m going to continue for now, especially since I really want to knit every pattern in the book. The yarn issues really slowed me down this time, and I’m still spending a lot of time in the garden, but that’s easing up. Maybe this plan will work in the future?! Only time will tell!
Gorgeous socks! Now you just need to wait for it to cool down enough to actually wear socks!
Lovely socks! Shibui is a great sock yarn.
I’m planning on knitting every color ShiBui produces! Thanks for the compliment! Ann