Sweet Valentine Socks Completed

They were knit from Opal UNI-Solid #11 using the February pattern in the Sock Journal.

The pattern is well designed to be beautiful and fit well. It's one of the few times I've followed a pattern without making any changes.

I've learned that there needs to be some type of ribbing integrated with a lace pattern for lace socks to stay up and be pretty.

When there is ribbing, the ribbing absorbs the difference in leg circumference and the lace looks even. I've made lace socks without integrated ribbing where the stretched upper cuff lace looks completely different than the ankle area lace.

I've also learned the yarn needs to be monotone or very close to monotone to show off a lace pattern.

A few years ago I knit Modern Romance, the February lace sock in the Sock Calendar, out of red Opal Crocodile II. The lace doesn't show because of the Crocodile and the Crocodile doesn't look pretty because of the lace.

After a lot of work - I even carried the lace pattern down the instep - I ended up with one of the ugliest pair of socks I own. Even though they are knit from a lovely lace pattern with lovely yarn, lovely plus lovely resulted in yuck.

If anyone wants to see them, I can dig out a picture. Let me know.

Here's Sunny sitting in my kitchen knitting chair.

"What are we going to knit next, Mom?"

If she could read this post, she would be surprised to learn that we're going to be using a patterned yarn to knit a pair of lace socks with no integrated ribbing.

Some rules are made to be broken. Picture soon.