February Pomatomi

I finally, finally, finally finished my Pomatomi. The Pomatomi I started in October when I was in Sock-a-Month2. The reason I only finished one pair of socks for Sock-a-Month two. And gleefully, my first pair of socks for Sock-a-Month 3. These are actually my February socks. I finished them a few weeks ago, but haven't had time to photo and blog.

Although I'm making it sound as if I didn't enjoy making these socks, I really did. The pattern is intriguing and engaging. And, it looks pretty wicked, too. But they're not exactly mindless knitting, so they simply took a while. I couldn't pick them up during my weekly lectures, and they sort of simmered for a while as I was focusing on a wee bit of holiday knitting. I enjoyed making them, love the look of them, and I'm glad they're done and I can start some different socks.

A photo montage:

The yarn


Better colors in this shot


The yarn, on my new, totally radical Nostepinde by Hello Yarn

I've been using my Nostepinde for a couple of months now. I got it from my mom and dad (who henceforth shall be known as Ole and Lena) for Christmas. No, it's no fancy, shmancy ball winder, but I like the low techiness of it. I'm starting to get very even, very appealing balls of yarn from it. And it definitely beats by previous low-budg solution: winding it around my index finger.


Close-up of the yarn on the Noste


#1, in progress, on 2 circs


Close-up of los dos finished Pomatomi


Gusset, heel, and ankle


Are your eyes going buggy yet?


Vertigo

Ok, I will be the first to acknowledge that this was perhaps a busy yarn choice for an already busy pattern. But, you know what? I don't care. I wear scrubs to work almost every day, so socks are my way to spice things up a bit. The Pomatomus pattern still looks awesome, and this yarn is one of the best I have used so far. Very soft, very squishy, very durable with no pilling or other ickiness after a few runs through the washer AND dryer.

The Specs:
The Yarn: Spunky Eclectic SUPER SOCKS. Hand painted Superwash Merino Wool. Fingering weight sock yarn. 100 g = 420 yards. Colorway is Aztec. I won this yarn in a contest on Jennifer's blog. I really love it. It's durable, soft, and very comfortable. The colors are fantastic.
The Pattern: The famous Pomatomus. This is the first one of Cookie's patterns I've knit. I'll agree with the pattern description in that it's a bit of a challenge, as far as most sock patterns go. But if you've knit lace before, or you know how to read a chart, then it shouldn't be much of a problem. The pattern is repetetive, so you do get the hang of it after a while. The only problem I had was in Chart B. Make sure you note the highlighted stitch in row 1. It says: Slip 2 st. Place two slipped stitches back on left needle. Knit three together tbl. I had mistaken it for a similar symbol for "Knit 2 tog tbl" for a while and it was messing up my pattern and stitch count. Overall, the pattern in the work of genius.
The Needles: As per usual for my socks, socks on two circs. Addi Turbos #2.
Thoughts: This sock is very, very stretchy, and is very comfy. I would lean toward a tighter versus looser guage. I made my feet a bit too long, as well. But they're very, very comfy, and I will enjoy them very much. On their virgin voyage out in the real world, I received several compliments from non-knitters.

Part of what was stressful about these socks was knitting them cuff down from one large skein of yarn. I don't have a scale, so after sock #1, I felt I had enough for the second sock, but no objective way of knowing. As I knit down on sock #2, I started to have the sinking feeling that I would run short. Since sock #1 was done, this would mean ripping it all the way back, past the heel, to take out one pattern repeat in the leg (I had done 3). I decided to risk it, but I was really hoping to make it just to the toe of sock #2, where I would not be totally heartbroken to finish the toe in some other crazy leftover yarn. Miracle of miracles, I made it. I have a little bitty nubbin of a ball left. I'm so glad I was able to make it through both socks. After working so hard on these, I really wanted them to be near-perfect, but I would not have had the energy to rip both socks back past the heel again.

I'm elated with these socks and recommend the pattern to anyone up for an engaging sock-knit!

Cross-posted at:
www.rubybanshee.com
by Mandy
ruby_banshee@yahoo.com