Back in the Saddle

Knitting season has started again!

Just finished off the last pair of socks I started at the end of the spring: Cookie A's Pomatomus socks.

These are in Malabrigo Aguas, which is quite green / aqua (not nearly as blue as some photos might indicate).

[toe is my favourite asymmetric wedge]

[they are a little higher than my usual style...]

Took me a long time to finish them. They are knit predominantly in (K1tbl, P1) which takes a lot time. But I'm quite happy with the result. I used a dutch (square) heel and reinforced both the back of the heel and the bottom with slipped sts. Additionally, I reinforced the last few rows of the top of the toe (where my big toe-nail stresses the sock) with slipped sts. I did not add any nylon reinforcement thread, although this yarn is 100% merino (superwash).

Malabrigo, I must say, is becoming my favourite sock yarn. I've used it before and the colors are truly beautiful. The yarn is smooth and has a glossy finish. The end product is soft, elastic, and very comfortable. The socks wear very well, softening further in the wash and becoming a tiny, tiny bit fuzzy. They do felt (on inside of the foot), but not excessively (ie. doesn't ruin the stitch pattern). The yarn is a joy to knit with and rips out without damage. It is, however, expensive (at ~$20/100g hank), and hard to get (online shops are frequently out of stock). The colours are very difficult to judge from photographs, and, I suspect, not very consistent from batch to batch. I've seen photos of the two colorways I've used (Aguas and Abril) that in no way resemble what I've got (I thought either the photos or my wool were mislabled!).