O’zapft is!

Pattern: Oktoberfest Socken (my own design)
Yarn: Zen Yarn Garden Serenity 20 (70% Merino, 20% Cashmere, 10% Nylon) in colorway Midnight Blue
Needles: US 1 – 2.25 mm
Rating: Love love love!

My October synesthesia socks turned out great! You may recognize these socks as the Brezel Socken design from this past May. My original pair used a medium weight sock yarn which as it turns out I’m not super keen on. However I liked the cable detail so much I thought I’d try again using a lighter weight yarn.

This yarn is absolutely decadent! It’s extremely soft and cozy, and the colorway “Midnight Blue” reminds me of my favorite pair of blue jeans. So yeah, I’m pretty happy with my October synesthesia socks. Too bad I can’t keep them, though I do foresee a pair for ME in the future…

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brezel socks and biddle’s escape

I’m calling my May socks “Brezel Socken” because the cable is supposed to resemble pretzels, and I LOVE German pretzels. The yarn is STR mediumweight in the colorway saffron jungle that I bought at MDSW 2011. When it comes to working with meduimweight sock yarn, I get a huge mental block because the gauge is much larger than I’m used to for socks. I decided to design a ribbed sock with a pretzel cable which runs down one side of the leg to the toe. Sock #2 has the same cable on the opposite side. I’m trying a gusset construction that I’ve never done before and I’m not sure I’m sold on it, yet…

Today some of my knitting buddies and I went to a brand new coffee shop/bead store in Regent Square called Biddle’s Escape Coffee & Bead Shop at 401 Biddle Ave. It’s a great cafe with a sweet front patio/deck offering lots of seating and shade trees. It’s a perfect cafe for hosting knitting groups. Too bad I’m like on the entire other side of the city from this shop because I’m sure I would go there quite a bit if I lived closer. (Thanks for the ride, Rachel!)

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