Friday, January 13, 2017

2017 FO #1: Jitterbug Rise Socks (or, In Memory of Socks Past)

When I first discovered sock knitting, my favourite sock yarn was Colinette Jitterbug. These were the days right at the start of Ravelry, before I know that sock knitting was a huge thing and before everyone and their mother became an indie dyer and gorgeously dyed sock yarn became easy to find (not having a go! I love indie dyers and more power to anyone who can make money in a creative industry.). I loved Jitterbug's tonal and variegated colours and style. You could only buy Jitterbug two places I knew of - Sarah Durrant's online store and Sunspun in Canterbury, so I stalked destashes looking for colours. My biggest demonstration of love was to knit someone a pair of socks from my precious stash of Jitterbug.

Over time, other favourites emerged. I discovered the indestructible Opal yarn and began to stalk that in destashes instead. The ease of being able to buy Patonyle everywhere made that a staple yarn for me. However, despite the many yarns that followed, I never forgot my first true sock yarn. I've kept all of my leftover Jitterbug yarn in a ziploc, waiting for the right project to come along. Finally, a few things came together that meant the time was nigh.

Firstly, I noticed that the Ozifarmer's Market Ozisock yarn I was using in my Outback Socks had a very similar feel to Jitterbug's bouncy high twist and I had a lot of it left over after finishing the socks.  Then, I was watching the Hey Sister podcast (if you don't watch it, you should give it a go - they're adorable) and Tabi was making a pair of Pixel Rise Socks out of a set of minis. I don't have any minis but I did have a baggie of mini sized Jitterbug scraps, so the idea took place...

Two months later, voila!


A gorgeous pair of Jitterbug ish socks.


I'm not going to lie - you will have a lot of ends to weave in after finishing these socks!


But it's worth it - they look really pretty and are a worthy memorial of great socks past.


From cuff to toe, the yarns are:
Ozifarmer's Ozisock in Outback (from 2015)
Colinette Jitterbug in Jay (from 2012)
Colinette Jitterbug in Vincent's Apron (from 2011)
Knit Picks Hawthorne in Conifer (from my Japan Sleeves pullover)
Colinette Jitterbug in Castagna (from 2009)
Colinette Jitterbug in Fruit Coulis (from 2012)



I really love them and I hope the recipient does too.


After this photo was taken, we drank two margaritas each and I discovered what I am sure is the incredibly authentically Mexican dish of chocolate tortillas. They were delicious!


And a fitting end to a very enjoyable pair of socks.

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