Source
NBK (North Bound Knitting) Etsy store
Material
- NBK store by Lisa Mutch from Ontario Canada, I used less than half a skein of Superwash BFL (Blue Faced Leicester) Fingering in Lavandula– a beautiful light purple color.
- This whole skein is 438 yards and 100 grams.
- One pair of ChiaoGoo size 1 (2.25mm) circular needles working in the 2-at-a-time method.
This is my first test knit! A work friend Ariel, who is the guru and inspiration of many of my knitting adventures, told me she has designed a sock pattern called Operon Socks and needs people to test knit for her. Normally a pattern designer would put out a “ear burn” on Ravelry’s Testing Pool and people can sign up to test knit. The designer then will choose his/her test knitters based on previous experience. But since Ariel knows me in person and have seen some stuff I’ve knitted, she kindly guaranteed a spot for me. The chosen test knitters will get the pattern and report back on a weekly basis on progress, suggestions, and/or photos. Basically the whole point is to figure out if the pattern will be understandable for general public and correct for any confusion to add clarity. The test knitters will normally get some form of compensation such as a pattern from the same designer, or sometimes even money. But in this case, we were offered a pattern designed by Ariel. Here are some progress shots:
I have started knitting lots of socks, so I invested in a sock blocker which in this case is a God send. Due to the nature of the pattern along the leg, all the cableing, and all the purl stitches that makes the cable show up, the sides of the socks curl up. This would normally not be an issue because when you wear it, it stretches out, but it presents as a problem because I was updating my Ravelry project page with progress photos, and it is impossible to take a picture of the cable without help. Sock blockers come to the rescue! Now all the photos look semi professional!
This pair is knitted cuff down on the circular needles using the 2-at-a-time method and the cable pattern is exquisite. Because of this yarn from NBK is hand dyed, you can really tell the 2 socks are of different colors, 1 is of a lighter lavender purple and the other one is a deeper darker purple. But hey, that’s just the nature of hand dyed yarns.
I think this will be a pair of gift socks! Now I just have to find someone who wears size 6-7 cuz spreading socks is basically the same thing as spreading joy. :P