Year of Projects 4: Farmer McGregor 01

SOCKTOPUS :  Farmer McGregor

KNIT. SOCK. LOVE. : BFF • Clandestine • Cusp • German Stockings • Gothic Spire • Hedera • In and Out • Lissajous • Marilinda • Mona • Monkey • Pointelle • Rhombus • Sake • Stalagmite • Stricken • Thelonious • Twisted Flower • Wedge

... or camouflage socks as they've come to be known. Seriously! These socks are almost invisible in the grass of my backyard!

The pattern is Farmer McGregor and it's the last pattern of the Socktopus KAL. Nice to go out on a high note - this pattern is gorgeous! With all those twisted stitches I worried that the knitting might be painful, but it moves along at a nice pace. I'd be further along, except I borrowed the 2.25mm needles for some secret Christmas knitting. By this aft, those needles should be free for me to cast on sock two.

All that crisscrossing creates a fabric that's somewhat thick and inflexible so you need to cast on more stitches than you might think. For patterns like this with unusually high stitch counts, I add a decrease row at the top of the heel flap and another to finish the instep to take up the slack and transition smoothly into a fitted heel and toe. Works like a charm.

That high stitch count also means I have to pay attention to yardage so I don't run out. Yep, yarn chicken again! Not to worry though; sock one weighs in at 51 grams, leaving me with 54 grams for sock two. The yarn is a "Frog Prince" colourway on a based called "Twisted House Cat" from Wandering Cat Yarn. The extra twist of this sock yarn makes it lovely to work with and the stitch definition is fantastic. And, as you can see, this colourway is also fantastic.

I've got an out of town guest coming later this week so I'd better get moving to get the spare room ready. And I've signed up for the "Seasonal Sock Syndrome KAL" over at Revelations of a Delusional Knitter so I need to think about what socks and what yarn for fall. So far we're having THE most gorgeous fall weather ever, so I'm a huge fan of autumn at the moment. I think my inspiration may come from that old April Wine song: "Red and yellow, seasons changing gear ..."