Art & Yarn

These jaywalkers are my first complete pair o' socks:

Jaywalkers
Yarn: Colinette Jitterbug in Gauguin, 1 skein
Needles: Addi lace circs, 2.5 mm

Now, the drama behind the socks. I started one top-down and when I started turning the heel, took a look at the yardage of the recommended yarn in the pattern. Gulp. I only had approximately 300 yards while the Opal yarn has 465. Double gulp. I had a major panic attack, posted like a crazy person on Ravelry's technique forums and then decided to do the second sock toe-up. This way, I would be able to see how much I fell short and then maybe fiddle around with cutting off the cuff of the first sock and using contrast yarn to finish them both. It turns out, I just barely made two. The second sock is about 1/4 inch shorter, but at that point I didn't care. They're done. The pattern faces opposite directions, which gives them a kind of haphazard appeal. I love the yarn. I love the colorway. They are thick. Come winter, my toes will be toasty. No more reason for me to complain about how my toes is froze. The colorway, by the way, does not entirely make sense to me. I loves it, but it's called "Gauguin." Now, I don't know about you, but I never really see Gauguin as a huge fan of burgundy and sky blue. Mostly I think of muted blues mixing with lots of tans and yellows. But in honor of this beautiful colorway, I present my favorite Gauguin painting:

This painting hangs in the MFA in Boston. I saw it for the first time as a young, impressionable college student. It's called Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going? The words are painted into the top lefthand corner and the (very large) painting depicts the different stages of life. There's a babe in the bottom right corner, the strength of adulthood in the middle and an old woman in the left bottom corner. I can see echoes of the blue in this painting, but not so much the burgundy. Let's agree to call this an occasion of artistic license.

Opposing zigzags, up close and personal. Lots of people have complained about pooling with the Jitterbug, but aside from a small area in the second heel, I really didn't have any problems. I loved, loved, LOVED this yarn. I am sad that the yardage is so short, however. I have heard that the Socks that Rock yarn is similar in feel so I think I'll opt for that next time, just to prevent the coronary thrombosis.

I am a huge fan of the small blotches of cobalt blue and muddy brown/green that are scattered throughout this yarn. It was so fun watching them come up between the long stretches of burgundy and aqua.

Since I am now a sock knitter, I purchased some Artyarns Ultramerino 4 I've been coveting for a loooong time. This will be for my own personal pattern. I thought of something while I knitted the Jaywalkers and I think it's about time I try my hand at designing a (simple) pattern.