Jubal Early Socks

One of the great things about being in a sock club is that it pushes you out of your comfort zone, a bit. This month, Cookie A pushed me out of mine.


Orange is, without doubt, my least favourite colour. I never wear it, and rarely buy anything that is at all orangey. I tore open my package last week to find an orange skein of yarn. It wasn't even yellowish-orange, or brownish-orange, or (one could only hope) pinkish-orange. It was Orange. Like, if orange was a two-by-four that hit you over the head, it would be this shade of orange. Nevertheless, I decided to give it a chance, and to my surprise, discovered that I even kinda like it. It's just so darn bright and cheerful and friendly, that I couldn't possibly resent it just for being orange. The yarn is from Hazel Knits, called "oh my darlin", and the funny thing is that the only other time I've used Hazel Knits yarn, it was also an orangey-pink yarn that I bought at the first Sock Summit.


The two patterns were a bit harder to choose from, since they are both pretty cool, but I chose the road easier traveled, and knit the ones Cookie called Jubilee Socks. For some reason, the word jubilee kept jumbling in my brain into Jubal Early, a bounty hunter ("So you're a bounty hunter..." "That ain't it at all." "So what are you?" "I'm a bounty hunter.") from Joss Whedon's Firefly. Jubal Early isn't particularly orange, but his is as unlikeable as he is likeable, which suits, I think.

The socks themselves were a simple 6-row repeat, with purl welts alternating with a little lacy faux-cable. Easy to knit and very quick. They fit well, and what better way to brighten up a rainy day than with some bright cozy socks.

Boysenberry Socks

Once again, I've been completing projects here and there, but just not showing any evidence of it on the blog. I present you with some evidence: a completed pair of socks.

These ones were from the April installment of Cookie A's sock club. Once again, there were two patterns to choose from, and once again I chose the simpler one. This one has a variation on a feather & fan lace pattern, with twisted ribs in between. Nothing terribly complex about it, but it certainly creates a lovely sock, especially in this bright berry purple colour.


The yarn is from Lorna's Laces, and is called Solemate. It's some sort of fancy space-age yarn, with a fiber called Outlast in it, that is meant to help control your body's microclimate so you don't get too hot or too cold. When I have mentioned this to other knitters, most of them have said "but wool already does that." It's true, and I haven't worn these socks yet, to find out if they really do make a difference that way. Today is a nice sunny day, so maybe I'll try them out and see if my feet stay cool.

In any case, the yarn is thin and strong, as Lorna's Laces tends to be, in my experience, and the colours go from lavender to magenta to a bright exciting pink. I really enjoyed knitting these socks. Even though they took two months because I only worked on them at cafe knitting with the girls.


Finished them just in time, too, since yesterday a parcel arrived in the post, containing the June shipment of Cookie A's club. I can't show you yet, in case some clubbers haven't received theirs and don't want spoilers, but it is bright and mouthwatering and not at all my usual colour. I wound it immediately and already have a couple of inches of sock cuff knit. Awesome.