It all began some time ago with wool/silk yarn and some madder dyeing. There was madder root of antiquity. I soaked it overnight first. And tried to follow Jenny Dean’s wisdom.
It all looked good to me. Eventually I added wool to the vat to exhaust the dye, and got apricot shades on the wool.
The yarn came out rather nicely. So then I was looking for a pattern that might be suitable. Somehow I slipped a gear and thought I might not just knit the sock that lives in my head.
I cast on, on the bus to work one morning.
Here we are preparing for class and waiting for lunch.
Here we are at a break in a conference, admiring kangaroo paw. I knit the heel three times at the conference because apparently I can’t be trusted to read a pattern. The first time I knit as the pattern required, and then had a failure of understanding, so I ripped back, re-knit and then realised what I had missed on the first pass, and followed the pattern again! That slowed me down. I am prepared to knit in a conference but not to rip back and pick up live stitches! I had to do that in breaks.
Here I am on my way to a formal occasion, wearing a frock and knitting at the tram stop. I thought perhaps the rare occasion of me in public in a frock should be recorded for posterity.
Nearing the final moment… just prior to the grafting of toes…
And here is a less than wonderful mood lighting photo of the socks on their rather wonderful intended recipient, at last! The pattern is Treppenviertel by Nicola Susen. It is a rather lovely ode to the ‘stairs district’ of Hamburg. As promised, I managed to pick up the pattern after a while, rather than needing to count every row–and this is just what a public transport knitter needs! Three cheers for frieds, socks, and public transport.
Local & Bespoke 