nerd knits

I love Halloween, and I love Carrie, and rumor has it that Carrie loves Halloween as well.  Therefore, it seemed that the right thing to do was to knit Carrie and pair of spider socks for Halloween.

What?  It makes perfect sense to me.

Thus, at long last, I present to you the stealth project:

I assure you, they pop better in person.

Pattern: Spider Socks, by Terri Knight (Ravelry links)

Size Made: Women’s size 9.5-10ish

Yarn: Knitpicks Risatta (42% Cotton, 39% Superwash Merino Wool, 13% Polyamide, 6% Elite Elastic) in Ash

Needles: Addi Turbo Lace needles, US 2 (3mm), 47”

Opinions:  These were so much fun to knit!  The ever-changing pattern and excitement of watching the big spider develop made them breeze by.  The little spiders down on the feet weren’t nearly as tedious as I expected them to be, and they’re just so darn cute!  Really, a very pleasurable knit.  My only complaint would be that though the big spider is charted, the chart is not well-integrated into the pattern (i.e. the written pattern doesn’t tell you explicitly when the chart begins.)  For those who prefer written instructions, this is the pattern for you!  The whole thing is written out, row by row.  For those of us who prefer charts (that would be me,) you have to do a wee bit of thinking and planning to make sure that things line up properly, and to make sure the cables on the back happen in the right place.

Oh, didn’t I mention the cables on the back?

The yarn was nice to work with – soft and springy without being as elastic as, say, Cascade Fixation.  The wool makes the cotton easy on the hands, and I figured the blend would be perfect for someone who lives in the desert and might not need a thick pair of wool socks.

The pattern suggests using two circs or magic loop, and after thinking it over I decided that there was a good reason for it.  Despite my stated preference for dpns, I do like magic loop and used it here to great effect.  For something with patterning like this, it really is the best choice (in my not-so-humble opinion.)

All in all, I’m delighted, and I hope Carrie enjoys wearing them as much as I enjoyed knitting them.