Techniques

My Miss Marple Mystery socks are complete, not exactly as the pattern was written (I'll get to that) but completely wearable socks in two colors.

Mosaic knitting is not hard, each row only uses one color and you use that one color for two rows. Those would be right side and wrong side if you were knitting flat to bring you back to where you second color is patiently waiting for you to pick it up...when knitting a sock in the round you still knit the two rows(rounds) but just to make the pattern work out, not to get back to your other color.

I think that socks are the perfect medium for learning new techniques. Not a huge investment in materials or time. Deciding that you want to learn cables on a Fisherman Sweater could end up being torture if you don't like doing them!! Want to learn how to work a stranded design? Again a great opportunity to learn while not committing to a fair isle sweater.

I would prefer to knit socks than scarves for much of the same reason...scarves seem to go on forever where with a sock, you start and suddenly you are changing to the heel and either working your way up the leg or down to the toe and you are done.

Now to the more on that later bit....I had all the best intentions of making my socks exactly as the pattern was written. I knew that somewhere in my stash I had a second ball of the black yarn but to get started I would just work from the outside and the inside of the ball until I got to the heels. I got there and went looking...

I looked in the basement stash....no black
I looked in the living room stash....no black
I looked in the bedroom stash...no black

Hmmm.....double check, this time including the kitchen because I am sure that everyone has a bag of yarn on top of the fridge (if you don't, why not?) but still no black sock yarn.

While I was out looking for a specific, absolutely huge set of circular needles for a sample that I am knitting I checked my lys, the craft stores, even the discount store that sometimes has yarn......NO BLACK SOCK YARN to be found! I could find black worsted weight, black and gray sock yarn, dark gray sock yarn, sock yarn that had flecks of black in it, but not a single, solitary ball of black sock yarn and I wanted to finish my mystery socks before the end of the month!!!

I did the only thing that I reasonable knitter would do...when I couldn't work the pattern the way it should be worked I changed the rules!

The foot of these socks should be black lace, instead I switched to the stripes I was using for my contrast color and to make it look like "I meant to do that" I used the very last yards of that single black ball of yarn for the toes.

If you would like to knit the original pattern it is available through the end of the month for free here.

I am off to dig through my stash for some leftovers from other socks...do we want to bet that the black shows up now that I don't need it?

~M