Looking Ahead

Or is it looking back? To spring that is.

While it will be some time before old man Winter leaves, spring popped into my mind recently. Or rather a spring-y project, one that bears the clear, bright colors in which nature dresses herself in spring.

There now. Don’t those socks make you think of daffodils, tulips and willow buds? I knit them last year, but gave them only brief  mention here. They are Birch Leaf Socks, an excellent design by Nancy Bush. I knit them for Rose, who likes to wear spring colors.

True to my nature to modify practically everything I make, I made a few changes to the pattern. First, I knit a different lace design on the back of the upper leg:  the yarn-over cable from the book Sensational Socks. I like that the cable lies relatively flat, yet gives the textural interest that all cables have.

The bigger change – and one that was more difficult to figure out – was the toe. I wanted a more elegant way to finish the lace pattern than simply completing a repeat of the leaf lace pattern. I had recently knit a pair of Leafy Mitts and noticed that the leaf pattern on the mitts was a vertical version of the leaf pattern on the socks. So I charted a similar leaf, working a series of paired decreases and increases at the sides so that it looked like the edges of a leaf that fit neatly with the toe decreases. The finished socks pleased me and Rose liked them, which is important, yes?

And isn’t it also important to find something to cheer us up at the beginning of February when winter is all around us?

P.S. Welcome Knitted Bliss readers! Julie at KnittedBliss has complimented these socks with a post on her blog.