action sock at rest

It’s a cool and grey morning here; thus the action sock had to make do with semi-optimal conditions.  Luckily, the Hundertwasser yarn is so BRITE and non-subtle, it practically creates it’s own illumination.

This is turning out to be a variation on Nancy Bush’s vintage madder ribbed socks: same stitch pattern, but I modified the ribbing, made the leg longer (I like my socks, like my women, tall and covered in bees), and went with an afterthought heel to preserve the craziness of the self-patterning.

In a way, it’s a shame.  Because, for me anyway, the fun of Knitting Vintage Socks is to be found in the different heel and toe constructions.  Sock knitting seems to have canonized certain methods: short-row or flap; wedge toe, whether grafted or from the toe-up; etc, etc.  And while this produces a very nice and functional sock, it isn’t always very interesting from a construction point of view.

Though if I’m honest, I don’t really like working the afterthought heel.  I find it fiddly and stressful: getting the stitches picked up correctly, getting the numbers to match, closing up the gaps … but I do love how it doesn’t interfere with the pattern.  So here we are.

At least this is pretty straightforward knitting, unlike the girasole-of-many-stitches.  Which is not difficult per se, merely unwieldy.  Especially when engrossed in the exploits of one Dog, bounty hunter.  But I found my mistake and can only conclude that one should not mix a new chart — however uncomplicated — with extreme tiredness and A&E reality television.  (Have I mentioned how excited I am about Parking Wars?  No?  Probably better not.)