Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Daylong Socks #2 - with added excitement!


Finally, I'm working on some socks for my friend Heidi.  When I first decided to knit these, I had trouble finding a pattern I wanted to use.  Which is kind of crazy, considering I just wanted something basic, and there are over 13,500 sock patterns to choose from on Ravelry alone!  Usually, my favorite pattern to fall back on for gift socks is Priscilla's Dream Socks, because it is so adaptable.  But this time I wanted something with a little more detail, but still not too fancy.  For one thing, through knitting patterns such as Cookie A's Monkey socks, and Grumperina's Jaywalkers, I've learned that socks with some ribbing or cables on the foot usually have a little more elasticity than plain stockinette socks, and therefore a better fit.  But I couldn't decide if Heidi would want socks with such an elaborate pattern either.

Now, here we are in July, her birthday month, and I've come up with what I hope will be a lovely compromise:
Heidi's socks with Hollyhock blossoms from my dye garden.

I am using the Daylong Socks pattern as a guide to end up with princess soles, but I added a cable for a little more visual interest.  The added excitement came as I turned the heel, and remembered that the Daylong Socks "princess sole" is made by turning them inside out and reversing the direction of the knitting.  Which meant I needed to continue the cable backwards!  Thankfully, it wasn't too difficult to do just that.  I hope to finish by Friday when I can tell you all you ever wanted to know about backwards cabling.

Do you have a WIP to share?  Join in the WIP Wednesday link party at Tami's Amis.
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34 comments:

  1. pinkundineJuly 13, 2011 at 12:54 AM

    They look fab :) Love the picture, they go really well with your flowers!

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  2. NatalieJuly 13, 2011 at 2:14 AM

    Oh those are just lovely - and the flowers too! x

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  3. Sam FindlayJuly 13, 2011 at 2:24 AM

    These look perfect! I love the colour, I think your friend is going to be very pleased with them!

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  4. UnknownJuly 13, 2011 at 4:07 AM

    Very pretty cables and the color is beautiful! Love the flowers too!!

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  5. Delusional KnitterJuly 13, 2011 at 5:08 AM

    Very cool, they look awesome! Love the photo, great backdrop.

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  6. CalophiJuly 13, 2011 at 6:46 AM

    The socks are looking good! Especially on the backdrop you gave them!

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  7. AffiknittyJuly 13, 2011 at 7:00 AM

    Thanks for the compliments everyone! Soon I will write a post about the plan for those flowers.

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  8. JeanneJuly 13, 2011 at 7:29 AM

    I think she'll love them!

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  9. Tami KlockauJuly 13, 2011 at 8:01 AM

    Okay, I am so jealous. I just read your trip post. Holy smokes, how fun and beautiful!!!! The flowers are amazing. They make your socks just pop (which also look amazing).

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  10. Sarah ~ Crafts from the CwtchJuly 13, 2011 at 8:15 AM

    Absolutely beautiful - the colour is just perfect and I love the way you've photographed them. Your friend is very lucky!

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  11. geeky HeatherJuly 13, 2011 at 9:00 AM

    GORGEOUS color!!!

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  12. ZondaJuly 13, 2011 at 9:22 AM

    Beautiful socks. Even better you've dyed the yarn yourself :)

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  13. FlorenceJuly 13, 2011 at 9:37 AM

    Very pretty socks! The color is lovely!

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  14. SueJuly 13, 2011 at 9:43 AM

    loving the socks, they go so well with the flowers. Thought it was strange that you had all those flower heads then read the caption to the picture

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  15. RugbyMadJuly 13, 2011 at 9:45 AM

    Your friend will be blown away by them. Such a beautiful colour and the pattern is amazing!

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  16. CaroleJuly 13, 2011 at 9:53 AM

    They look lovely - what a great gift.

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  17. AnotherJuly 13, 2011 at 10:25 AM

    Aww they are gorgeous and the photo is so pretty! I find it really hard to choose stuff on Ravelry too as there is so much! And I have OCD so I want to see all the available options before I choose what I want to do - which I know is impossible!

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  18. CraftyClareJuly 13, 2011 at 12:03 PM

    The flowers looks stunning with the socks. Is she receiving them like that? Backwards cables???

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  19. Yarn ChangerJuly 13, 2011 at 12:38 PM

    Wonderful socks. What an eye you have for color and photo staging.

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  20. behind the ivyJuly 13, 2011 at 1:03 PM

    Looks fantastic! The cable is great, I'm sure she'll love them!

    I love the fact that you have a dye garden too :)

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  21. AnonymousJuly 13, 2011 at 1:56 PM

    Ooh those socks are going to be well received! Looking forward to the FO :)

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  22. UnknownJuly 13, 2011 at 1:56 PM

    Very ambitious. Cable backwards!!! Ack! Very lovely.

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  23. nursenikkiknitsJuly 13, 2011 at 2:18 PM

    Backwards cabling. Wha??? That sounds like something that might make my head explode. Lovely socks though. And gorgeous flowers!

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  24. stephanni :]July 13, 2011 at 2:21 PM

    love the socks! what a beautiful color too. so jealous of the knitting cables! i know you can crochet them but they are so nice & tidy with knitting. :) i plan to learn basic knitting before the year is up though.
    thanks for leaving me a comment. :)

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  25. Crafty IntrigueJuly 13, 2011 at 2:31 PM

    I just learned to cable. I will have to see what backwards cabling is.

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  26. LeahJuly 13, 2011 at 3:01 PM

    Wild! I've never heard of princess soles - off to look them up. The socks look great so far!

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  27. Gracey is not my name....July 13, 2011 at 3:26 PM

    Very nice job! I love the color! I am still on book 3 of the Fire and Ice...it's a bit of a slog...doesn't help that I skimmed ahead and know some of what is going to happen and have been putting it off! LOL

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  28. Danielle July 13, 2011 at 3:40 PM

    Such a lush color!!! They look amazing, :)

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  29. StaceyJuly 13, 2011 at 4:48 PM

    Looking great!

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  30. Minding My Own StitchesJuly 13, 2011 at 5:04 PM

    Pretty, pretty colour! And I agree, a generous amount of ribbing does wonders for a sock's fit!

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  31. SandyJuly 14, 2011 at 6:51 AM

    Pretty, pretty pretty! She's love them.

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  32. Jeannie MarieJuly 14, 2011 at 7:56 AM

    I love the periwinkle color, especially next to the flowers! What a great way to photograph them.

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  33. AndreaJuly 14, 2011 at 12:06 PM

    Beautiful socks and flowers! Very pretty!

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  34. AngieJuly 14, 2011 at 3:14 PM

    Shannon,
    I love those socks! Now you'll have to write the addendum to add the cable for those of us who are too challenged (or lazy) to calculate! Heidi will love these.

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