Saturday 12 August 2017

Peacock Socks

Hello, thank you for dropping in.  I hope you have brought your cardigan because it's chilly here, and rather miserable.  I have been turning the lights on in the daytime all week and on Tuesday evening we actually lit the candles in the evening and made hot chocolate, which is unheard of for this time of year, but we needed some comfort.
 
So as we are cosying up, I thought I'd share some socks with you.  A few months ago I offered to knit some socks for a close friend, a woman with a big heart and cold feet.  She asked me where I buy my Drops Fabel and a week or so later she arrived at my door with two 50g balls of Green/Turquoise Print (677), a very uninspiring name for a glorious yarn because as I was knitting and the pattern appeared it became quite obvious to me that these are, in fact, Peacock Socks. 
 
All went very well with the first sock.  However, when I came to begin the second I realised that the long pattern repeat meant that I had to wind off an awful lot of yarn from the ball before I could even cast on if I wanted the second to match the first, which I did.  (I know that some people don't mind if they don't match, but I mind very much.  Each to her own.)  In fact, I had to wind off 10g, a fifth of the ball.

 
This meant that I only had 40g to knit with, so this happened -

 
Grrr!  I have to tell you that there was, ahem, language.  I was cross.  I retrieved the 10g of yarn which I had wound off, found what I thought was the right place and carried on BUT it wasn't the right place and the toes didn't match.  I really couldn't bear it so I frogged it and tried again.  It's still not right, but it's almost right and as my friend won't be wearing them with peep toe sandals, I decided that they were good enough and that if I tried again, I probably wouldn't match them any better.
 
So, having finished the socks, I wanted to knit a bag for my friend to keep them in.  I cast on 80 stitches with the unused Drops Fabel and knitted in the round until I ran out of yarn, finishing with four rounds of purl to make an edge, but unfortunately, the bag wasn't big enough so I found some charcoal grey 4ply in my stash, picked up the stitches from the cast on edge and carried on until it was big enough to hold two carefully folded socks.

 
Peacock!  Dark green, purple, turquoise, lime... I really do LOVE these colours.
 
I have been asked how long it takes me to knit socks so this time, I kept a tally and I now know that it takes me ... thirteen hours per sock, so twenty-six hours for a pair.  I am not a fast knitter and I make a bit more work for myself by knitting the cuff in double rib, but I prefer them that way.  So, gentle readers, if you are wondering why handknitted socks are expensive, do the arithmetic and work out twenty-six hours at minimum wage and you will find that any handknitted socks you can buy are an absolute bargain!!  (I know a demon knitter who can knit a pair of socks in sixteen hours but even that works out at more than £130.)  Alternatively, find a friend to knit some for you because once you have worn socks which have been knitted to fit your foot, you will find it very hard to go back.
 
My friend really is delighted with her socks, and with the bag and I have to tell you that because she really is a lovely woman, the bag of yarn she brought me contained not only two balls of Peacock yarn, but another two balls for me to knit some socks for myself.  I have the best friends.
 
 
See you soon.
 
Love, Mrs Tiggywinkle x
 
 

18 comments:

  1. You're a good friend to take the time to do all that work. They're so pretty.

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    1. To be honest Janet, I was glad to be able to do something for my friend to show my appreciation because she does so much for me. I have discovered that knitting a pair of socks for someone is regarded as a very good gift. x

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  2. Love that colour wool. Gorgeous. I agree about hand made socks. I could never return to shop bought. Love making them, love wearing them :). B x

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    1. There's no going back, is there? I get a bit twitchy now if I don't have a pair of socks on the needles, I find knitting them very therapeutic. x

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  3. What a pretty colour way. They look really cosy too. Looking forward to sering yours in a week or so! x

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    1. I do feel guilty now about throwing away the yarn ends I snipped off! x

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  4. What a fantastic idea to knit a bag to keep them in! We have Christmas Fairs and markets here where people sell their own crafts. How wonderful it would be to find something like your socks in a bag at one of those fairs!

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    1. The bag is very simple to knit but I do think it makes a big difference when the socks are a gift. I made socks in bags for my sisters one Christmas. x

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  5. These are very lovely socks knitted with lots of love. The little bag is so adorable. I have some new sock yarn waiting to be cast onto my needles. Happy knitting, Pat xx

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    1. Thanks Pat. You are right, they were knitted with lots of love. You'll have to show us your socks when they are done. x

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  6. They are beautiful! I actually love the look of mismatched so wouldn't mind at all if they were different. Glad you were able to get it all worked out. The storage bag was a lovely idea.

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    1. Thanks Tammy. I know someone who loves mismatched but it gives me the jitters! I wish it didn't because it would make knitting them much simpler. x

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  7. You have a lot of patience to sort out those problems but you have made such beautiful socks after it all and with their own little bag too. Your friend must be thrilled with them as they looks so cosy and comfortable and such a beauful colour too:)

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    1. Thanks Rosie. My friend loves them, which is the best thing of all. x

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  8. You did a lovely job of these socks and what a great idea to use up the oddments with a matching bag. I bought yarn for my first attempt at knitting socks (I've been knitting since I was young, but never made socks!), so these are on my to-do list. Do you have the same colour yarn for your own socks? I look forward to seeing them in about 26 hours or so...Marie x

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    1. Ooh Marie, be careful, sock-knitting is addictive! I have a different colour for my own socks, they are finished now but I need to photograph them and am waiting for the right kind of light. Have you got a pattern for your socks? x

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  9. Your peacock socks are really pretty!

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    1. Thanks Laura. I really didn't want to hand them over to my friend, I love these colours SO much, but thankfully, her feet are not the same size as mine so they wouldn't really have fitted me. Phew! x

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