Year of Project 4: Wedge 02

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

Ahhh, Wedge socks! It's a beautiful sunny morning  - although that -2° temperature isn't ideal - and I can't find tell you how much I'm loving this pattern!

It's been a difficult path getting here, but that's all my fault and I won't hold it against the pattern. Ignoring the warnings in the Ravelry notes about how big these socks knit up, I did my usual and cast on a large size leg on smaller needles. It was huge, but I reasoned, maybe that width is needed at the calf? and maybe the additional ease will be needed to get the sock over my heel? Stubbornly I knit on until I turned the heel, tried the sock on and admitted defeat. It was HUGE. Not to mention that I was likely to run out of yarn. Nothing for it but to rip out and start again at Medium size as recommended by oh-so-many Ravelers. Sooooo much better!

Dee asked for a review of the Wiakiwi yarn last week, so I can speak to that. It knits beautifully. It's very slightly fuzzy, perhaps due to the alpaca and possum content, but smooth enough that the stitches shine through. And it knits just fine after frogging. I find it reminiscent of Kroy sock yarn, although perhaps a bit finer than Kroy, in the sense that it's not very soft, but it's not scratchy either. The variegation is well done - it doesn't seem to want to pool and it doesn't entirely overwhelm the pattern. In fact, with Wedge, I think it emphasizes the direction changes in the pattern. I'm almost through the first ball with no knots, not even a hint of unevenness in the thickness. Just two concerns left. First, the yardage feels a bit tight to me on what is not much more than a vanilla sock with some garter stitch wedges knit on 64sts. And second, I wonder whether the alpaca and possum content of the yarn will make these socks too warm for everyday wear.

Now I'm just trying to decide whether I have enough foot length remaining for another wedge before finishing with a garter stitch short row toe, and whether I have enough yarn. One way or another, sock one should be off the needles later today, and sock two should be done by mid-week. There's really nothing to this pattern except a lot of counting under your breath once you get going. And then I need to decide about whether to cast on Sake, Lissajous or Hedera next ... I've got tentative yarn choices for each of them.