Sockapaloooza Seconds

[Still catching up after yet more rain and fallen trees roundabout Exit 151 left me without Internet access for a while. Plus I went to Maine.]

Katherine's Trekking socks went on their last trek with me, to the Bar Harbor post office, where they jumped in the mail. Katherine was my Sockapaloooza pal, but it would seem her socks failed to arrive (shriek). As I failed to put a tracking number on the first parcel, I felt obliged to make her a second pair. Katherine's been going through a rough patch (please send her some knitterly love) and I hope these brighten her day, er, feet.



The socks are standard spiral rib tube socks... except they have a beaded ribbed cuff, beads spiraling around the leg, and a garter stitch heel to counterpoint the beady theme. The toes spiral around, naturally. (Click on photos to view larger.)

         

They're knit in Trekking #100, one of the famously non-repeating colorways. There was no way these socks would turn out identical. I was going to make mirror image socks (because handknitters can), but my SnB properly ridiculed the design concept talked me out of it. Group wisdom is a good thing.

When the socks are not on blockers (or feet) the spiral ribs close up, obscuring the beads. The spiral rib makes them look a bit odd, particularly the toes, which seem to be rotated 90° (ouch). It's only appearances (compare Alison's "perfect" orthogonal toe). Just goes to show one shouldn't go on appearances alone. The purl ground on the beaded leg helps prevent the beads from sliding to the wrong side of the fabric, which is more attractive esthetically and functionally reduces the possibility of skin irritation.

The socks went on a trek on Route 1 through coastal Maine, which for a long time has been a tolerant amalgam of working waterfront, posh resorts, and consciously quaint tourist attractions. In Kittery there are four big outlet malls and many small outlet stores for just about everything (notice the sock daringly dangling from the lower right of the sign).



There were stops at Stonewall Kitchen in York, which has a spiffy café and company store, and at cute-as-a-button Harbor Candy in Ogunquit. Things were more intentionally rustic at L.L. Bean in Freeport. The socks immediately realized that the shiny game warden's truck was a stage set and one reclined on the extremely clean spare tire.

   

The two-storey L.L. Bean boot seemed just a bit overdone, so no posing there. But down the road this unlikely sign was enough to make me pull over to take a closer look (I had actually driven past the shop before the combination registered).



I love Route 1.

Apart from these adventures, the socks also went on a glorious Trek-along trek (see July 5, also June 20). I enjoyed playing with variations on the classic spiral tube sock pattern. And I hope Katherine enjoys her socks in good health!

Categories: {Sockapaloooza}, {Trek-along}