A monkey on my back

This is Peggys first and only Monkey

Austermann Step Sock Yarn
06-23 to 06-28

These are my Monkeys

(I can't stop)
#1.
Socks That Rock
06-11 to 06-23

#2.
Fleece Artist
06-23 to 07-10

#3.
Socks That Rock

06-26 to 07-02

#4.
Artful Ewe Sock Yarn
07-29 to 08-04

#5.
Dicentra Sock Yarn
08-04 to 08-07

#6.
Socks That Rock

08-07 to 08-13

#7.
Koigu

08-14 to 08-18

#8.
On Line Supersocke 100
08-18 to 08-26

#9.
Regia
Designer Line by Kaffe Fassett
08-19 to 09-05
and finally, because at some point
we have to post the Monkeys to date,
and ten was as good a number as any:
#10.
Mt. Colors Bearfoot
08-26 to 09-08

Knitters: Peggy and Rebecca
Time frame: Summer, 2007
Fiber: Various. We worked from stash yarn, although we purchased some during our vacation in June. I have to say that knitting with Socks That Rock yarn was great ~ it's the perfect bouncy type of sock yarn that makes it fun to knit on small needles ~ but my favorite is the Bearfoot from Mt. Colors. That Juniper color has been in my stash for years, waiting for the perfect pattern. Found it!
Pattern: Monkey Socks, by Cookie A. It's a great pattern, easily memorized. It's almost as simple as plain stockinette socks, which is probably why I made so many. All my other patterns are packed away until I land in a permanent place so I'm sticking with Monkey Socks until then.
Needles: We use 2.5mm, mostly, and usually have two pair going at any given time, hence the overlap in dates. We always knit both socks at the same time on two circulars; this results in the two socks being exactly the same and also satisfies our compulsive/obsessive natures. We have recently switched from 24" Addi Turbos to the 32" Addi Lace, with the gold needles/red cable. While the points are excellent for socks, as well as lace, the needles bend after awhile and the cable tends to get a permanent kink if bent too severely ~ the Turbo cable didn't seem to do this so much. Also, the printing on the cable wears off pretty fast, resulting in the need for a needle gauge ~ no biggy since we're all used to that anyway. We're still searching for the perfect sock needles although Peggy discovered that 32" is WAY better than 24" for knitting two socks on the same two circulars.
Embellishments and changes: We don't do regular ribbing for tops of socks. Right now we're into the picot edge ~ provisional cast on, knit ten rows, yo k2tog around, knit ten rows and then knit the provisional cast on together with the next row. Simple. On most socks I did 4 repeats on the leg, some had 5 repeats but the Koigu had just 3 ~ it had the least amount of yardage. With every yarn I could have knit another repeat on the leg, had I known how much left over I would have had. Forewarned etc.
Beads: Pre-stranded, we started with one row just after the picot turn and then went to 3 rows of two different beads. After that came smaller beads ~ two rows, off-set ~ or a single row of larger beads in the center of the outside ten knit rows. Most of the beads came from stash. The beads do not interfere with comfort because there is the backside of the picot hem to cushion them from the leg.
Notes: We needed new socks. We checked over the ones we've been wearing for the last years and wow, some are getting pretty thin. It was time to upgrade and it's nice, since most of them are for us, to not have to wonder what size to make, although some will end up as gifts.