I’m doing these with DPN since that’s my comfort zone. The cuff dealt me a few fits, mostly because I used the dark plum color, and had a hard time seeing my stitches. But once I got into the owl chart, things are going fairly smooth. The pattern is easy to follow once established.
I decided to go with two colors just because I thought it would add interest. I’m doing the cuff, heel, and toe in plum, and the body in mango.
Since the pattern was written to do on two circulars, there was a bit of adjustment, but the pattern is written so well that I haven’t had any troubles adapting it to DPNs.
07-30-2011: Still plugging away at the socks. I just reached the start of the heel flap on the 2nd. I got sidetracked with other projects, and also was just too tired in the evening to work on them without risking major mistakes. I hope to get through the heel and gusset this weekend, and then finish up the 2nd sock over the next week, still by the Aug 15th deadline!
I made a mistake on the first sock at the toe transition, and did all purl stitches, instead of knit. But it looked pretty cool, so I stuck with that “unintended feature”. I just have to remember to duplicate it on the 2nd sock.
08-02-2011: Finished these over the weekend, then washed and blocked them to make sure that cute owl pattern shows. Plus, blocking makes handmade socks fit my feet better, making them snug, but not so tight. When your feet swell up at the end of the day, that little extra room from a well blocked sock makes a huge difference!
I used approximately half a skein of the mango, and a quarter skein of the plum. I’m not sure I would make these socks any longer, but that’s personal preference for mid calf socks. If I did I would go up half a needle size, especially if I use a silk blend yarn again.
I love the feel of the Heritage Silk, but because of the silk content there isn’t as much give as merino wool. But the vibrant colors are gorgeous!
The pattern suggests beads for the eyes, but I’m just too rough on my socks to go for that. I will probably do fingerless gloves with the same motif, and will consider adding beads on that.
All in all, I’m very happy with the end result on this.