Medicinal

I'm back from a great time in D.C. where there were all sorts of fun times (a man crashing the baby shower to take the stinkiest ... more about that later) and fun things like the world's best ice tea bag which for some socialist reason is unavailable "up north" and delicious cake with dancing babies on it ...




But, before I regale you with the good, I need to share the bad, or if not bad, disappointing.



What? You must be thinking, those socks are lovely, not bad or disappointing. But that my friends, is the power of photography. A little illusion, a little huggle muggle, a little bait and switch, or something. Because while those pictures look passable, only when you see the socks full on, no holds barred, do you see the bad.



Gahhhh! I have pooling. Ugly ass, where the hell did this come from, you can't hide it pooling.



I worked all of the pattern part of the first sock, the non-pooling sock, on the train ride up and while at Joan's and was feeling pretty good about the project. I started the bad sock on the train ride home and almost lost my breakfast. I could not for the life of me figure out what I had done different to cause such a horrific spectacle. But then, it hit me.



My skein was plagued by one of the common complaints about Colinnette Jitterbug. There seems to be two common complaints about this yarn: skimpy yardage and knots. The yardage thing wasn't a big deal to me since I knew about it going in. I also knew about the knot going in, as I had seen it when I was dividing and winding the skein into two balls. I figured it wouldn't be a big deal. Never in a million years (because maybe I am dimmer than I think I am) did I believe it would change the color flow and cause pooling. Had I thought that this was even a possibility, I would have started the second sock at the top so that the knot and subsequent pooling would have been on the foot part, the part no one would ever see.

Needless to say, I hate the pooling. If I loved the pattern or the yarn, I would rip this out and redo it upside down, but frankly the socks don't float my boat. They are okay, I guess. I like how the pattern made the side seam area wavy ...



But the pattern causes weird puckering (my ankles are swollen enough thanks to Lady Bean, I don't need to have my socks enhance this look) and the overall effect isn't anything to write home about. I still love the color and the yarn itself is an okay knit. It isn't splitty and it held up real well to multiple rippings I had when I was trying to get the right size/stitch count/etc. going. Will I wear them, sure. Will I admit to knitting them myself? Maybe not!



Yarn: Colinnette Jitterbug, color Raphael, 1 skein.
Needles: Knit Picks, size 2.75 mm (US 2)
Pattern: Two different feather and fan patterns mixed together used with a generic toe-up pattern.
Time: 24 days.
Care: Machine wash cold, machine dry low heat.