Boreal Socks - Finished!

Woohoo!  I kept to my schedule and finished my second sock tonight.  And just in time, too.  My next club shipment arrived today and the next club pattern is released tomorrow.

The pattern is Boreal, by Janel Laidman, 2012 Knitterati Sock Club.
The sock is Hazel Knits entice (70% superwash merino, 20% cashmere, 10% nylon), in Iceland.  I used 83 grams.
Needles, US 1, 2.25mm
Construction:  Toe Up

Boreal Socks - 1 down, 1 to go

I've been keeping to my schedule of 1 repeat of the chart every evening and tonight I finished one of my socks.  I have one more repeat to go, and my other sock will be finished tomorrow, just in time for the next pattern release on Friday.

I spent the day hanging out on a M1 Tank, talking to Marines and checking out a new gun mount for my job as a system safety engineer, and I finished a sock tonight.  It doesn't get much better than that.

Boreal Socks - 1 down, 2 to go !?

Hah!  I thought the title of this post would throw you.  I am referring not to completed socks, but to completed repeats of the chart in the leg.  So, strictly speaking, it really should be 2 down and 4 to go, because I am doing 3 repeats of the chart for each sock.  I want to finish these by Friday, so my plan is to knit one repeat of the chart every day, which should have me finishing up Thursday.

Boreal Socks - Footies!

After finishing up my Tart Berries & Honey shawl I turned my attention to my languishing Boreal socks.  Although Bruce thinks my toe pockets are adorable, they are not exactly practical.  I also need to get these finished because the next shipment goes out next week.  So, I have successfully turned the heel with short rows.  I did not do the shadow wraps that everyone was raving about.  I tried them but I was getting holes, so I went back to the old wrap and turn, and got no holes.  Go figure.  I do like the shadow wrap technique, however, it is very cool, and I think it would be very good for shaping clothing (shoulders, darts, necklines...) so I am sure it will be getting used in the future.

Boreal Socks - Chart 2 - 3 repeats

I finally finished the third repeat of chart 2 and am within about 0.5 inches of starting the heel.  I only knit a couple of rows a day on these, usually in the morning before I go to work.  I love all of the beautiful sock designs out there, but I feel bad wearing them with shoes, hidden by pants.  I think it would be fun to bring back the breeches from the 18th century that the men used to wear that come to just below the knee and wear them with hand knit socks and flats.  Of course, to pull this off you would have to knit knee socks and most of the sock patterns I have seen don't come up past the calf.

Boreal Socks - Chart 2 - 2 repeats

Well, these are not getting finished as quickly as I had thought they would, but I have finished 2 repeats of the second chart.  I have at least one more repeat before I start the heel.  I am going to try a new (to me) heel technique from Alice Yu using shadow wraps.  Everyone on the forum is raving about how easy they are and how there are no holes.  I do love the leaf pattern, it is so organic and sinuous.

Boreal Socks - Chart 1: It's a toe!

I actually cast on last night.  I just couldn't wait any longer, the yarn and the sock pattern are both so beautiful, even though I have plenty of projects in progress.  I worked through the toe increases, Chart 1.  Now I am going to rest my eyes and my hands and work on something fairly mindless and on larger needles for a while.  Before I go on to Chart 2 I will cast on the other sock onto another set of needles using the yarn from the other end of the ball and knit that sock through Chart 1.  I will then alternate between the two socks in an attempt to avoid the one sock syndrome.  I used the make 1 right and make 1 left increases where you pick up the bar between the stitches, and I made sure to work the stitch in the pattern.  I did find that going from the sole to the instep I had some trouble maintaining tension.  I think that is because the sole is worked in stockinette stitch and the first stitch of the instep is a purl stitch.  I did not have the same problem when I went from the instep to the sole.

The yarn is Hazel Knits Entice (70% superwash merino, 20% cashmere, 10% nylon).  Needle size is US 1 (2.25 mm) and I am using 2 16 inch circulars.