Toe Up Socks

Spinner/Knitter: Peggy

Fiber: Blue Moon roving -- 70% Merino/30% Mohair in the colorway Pink Granite. Purchased at Madrona Fiber Arts in January, 2007.
Pattern: Basic Toe-up Sock pattern FREE from off the internets and, while free can be good, this one did not include the picot cuff - added that myself.
Spinning Details: Using my Chinese Elm wheel made by Betty Roberts, I loved spinning this fiber - it was so well prepared. I started spinning right at Madrona -- just couldn't wait to get at it. BUT FIRST, I pulled out a lot of the black to spin separately. I thought that the Pink Granite colorway had too much black in it and hoped by pulling a lot of the black out the resulting yarn would be pinker. With socks in mind, I chained the black singles separately from the pink/white/grey singles, and luckily the total yardage was enough for socks! However, the gauge turned out to be sport weight instead of sock weight. (Oh well.) The spinning and plying took about 8 days -- I was done by February 5th, 2007 .

Knitting Details: The knitting began on March 25th and I finished the project on April 11th. I started the toes with black and had every intension of black heels and black cuffs. By the time I got to the heels, I realized I would have more than enough of the pink/white/grey yarn for the rest of the socks - and besides, it's darned tedious to join colors when the yarn is sport weight and chained, too, so I just kept knitting with the pink/white/grey and decided against black heels and black cuffs.

Observations: I'm planning to wear the socks more as slippers for walking around the house and for when I'm spinning (instead of bare feet.) They are nice and cozy and don't come up too high on my leg. I will definitely look for more of this fiber in other colorways. Next time I will spin it somewhat finer, so when it is chained the yarn will be sock weight, and the resulting socks will fit into my shoes!