Socks Revived Entry: Winding Way

New sock pattern: Winding Way

Not very long ago, I reached a point in my knitting where I felt confident enough to try my hand at a few small original designs including my Step Lively Beret (Ravelry link) and an as yet unpublished colorwork cowl. Then I saw the notice from Wendee of HazelKnits about the Socks Revived contest where she most graciously offered a discount on a skein of her Artisan sock yarn for those interested in entering the contest. As I already knew her yarn to be lovely, I didn't hesitate. Instead, I ordered skeins of Chuckanut Drive and Spanish Wine thinking that they would look good together. The wild variegation of the Chuckanut Drive is lovely in the skein but maybe a bit bright for my semi-solid tendencies. The Spanish Wine meshed so nicely and made the colors in the Chuckanut pop. I had to fiddle about with a couple of patterns before settling on one that played to the strengths of the yarns together. I took my husband's comment on my first attempt that if he squinted he could see Andean llamas frolicking about as an indication that I needed to frog and try again!

I ended up with a simple overall zigzag pattern that was easy to work without being dull. I designed these socks in my favorite way, toe-up with a short row heel on two circular needles. I love being able to try on as I go, not have to kitchener, and use up as much yarn as possible. I am really happy with the final pattern and loved using the HazelKnits Artisan sock yarn. I made the smaller size and used approximately 65g of the main color (Chuckanut Drive) and 62g of the contrast color (Spanish Wine). These socks would be good for a first colorwork pattern as there aren't any long floats and the chart is easy. Pattern is available for free on Ravelry: download now