I finished the third sock in the Handmade Sock Society with yarn that I dyed in the Crockpot.
The name “Wild Bees” is the perfect name. The lacy pattern looks like bees and the yarn color reminds me of honey. I think they turned out great. I just have to weave in the ends.
Details
67 grams of yarn
US #1 (2.25 mm) needle
Began March 31, 2021, finished April 20, 2021
Size medium
The 33 grams of yarn leftover will plenty for at least a contrast for another project.
Unfortunately the socks are too snug for my foot. But one of the twins has narrower feet and will be able to wear them. Now all I have to do is knit a pair of socks for the other twin…
Helen Stewart released the third pattern in the fourth season on the Handmade Sock Society early and that’s OK with me. This is called Wild Bees Socks. The stitch pattern looks like bees and she chose a honey color of yarn.
I’m trying to use stash yarn for as many projects as I can but I didn’t have any color that would work. So I decided to dye a hank of Knit Picks Stroll Bare yarn in a Crockpot/slow cooker using food coloring and Easter egg dye. I’ve tried the microwave method before with great success, however, Mr. Aitch doesn’t like the smell of hot wool and vinegar thus the Crockpot technique. On the deck. Because it was a warm, sunny day.
I didn’t take any pictures of the dyeing process but I added water and vinegar with the yarn and turned it on high. My Crockpot is a small one (3 1/5 quarts) so I only had room for one skein. I added the dye (in three, four, or maybe five batches) while the water was hot. The yarn grabbed the dye as soon as it hit the water.
I got some great golden-yellow tonal yarn. Exactly what I wanted.
You can see the various tints, shades, and hues ranging from pale yellow to golden yellow to pale apricot and a bit of brownish yellow.
I couldn’t wait for the yarn to dry to cast-on this sock pattern.
Here are two repeats of the pattern already. Blocking will be key to this pattern to even out the yarn-overs so the “bees” stand out more.
I love how the plain back shows off all the tones of the yarn.
I think I have 15-20 more skeins of yarn I could dye. So many options. Plus Easter egg dyes should be on sale after Sunday! That’s a great time to snag some great deals on non-toxic dyes.
Ok. WordPress updated their platform and I’m lost. Please bear (or is it bare?) with me while I try to post this.
Back to what I wanted to talk about. I finished the brown socks. I still don’t like them but I’m sure someone in my circle of friends who appreciates handmade socks will LOVE them!
This pattern is called Picnic Blanket Socks from the second in the Handmade Sock Society season 4 series.
I started off with 67 grams of Knit Picks Stroll sock yarn in Fedora (brown) and 21 grams of Basalt for the contrasting heels and toes. I have been using the German Twisted or Old Norwegian cast-on and it has a nice edge and is stretchier than the long-tail cast-on I used to use. Staci from Very Pink has a great video on how to do this cast-on.
Easy, easy, easy pattern as it is mostly knitting in the round. I think it was the puffy parts and the solid brown that made me not like these socks. Perhaps if the yarn was heathered or a tonal color, I would have liked them more. I started them on March 4th and finished the pair on March 20.
I played yarn chicken with the Fedora brown and I won. I had less than one gram left which will be enough for any repairs that might be needed in the future. I still have 10 grams of the lovely greyish-taupey heathered Basalt, which is, unfortunately, discontinued.
Other than weaving in the ends, I’m calling these finished.
Have you finished anything recently?
Happy knitting. Or crocheting. Or other crafty things.
Helen Stewart’s Handmade Sock Society season 4 got underway earlier this month. The first sock pattern, Curling Mist, was a joy to knit with an all-around texture.
(c) Helen Stewart
Knit Picks Hawthorne Multi yarn in the Cully colorway (color discontinued) is a soft green with hints of blue.I pretty much followed the pattern except for the heel flap. I have two favorite patterns that I like to use: the Slip-stitch heel flap and the Eye of Partridge heel flap. I decided on the slip-stitch one as it would flow better from the ribbed pattern into the heel flap.
Helen suggested in her pattern to reverse the cabling from leaning to the right to the left for the second sock so they would be mirror images. So I did that as well.
The socks fit my feet perfectly.
Isn’t it funny that you can look and look and look at something and not see a missed stitch until you have a picture of it?
And with that missed cable crossing (oops) I will keep these for myself.
Do you have works-in-progress or finished anything lately?
Now all I have to do is knit a pair of socks for the other twin…
Knitting In Flashes 