6.17.2013

Tyrolean Stockings by Ann Budd FO

Source: Interweave Knits Fall 2007
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca
Source: Eweknit Toronto
Colour: 62178 Lot: 1102
Needles: 3.25 dpns
Start: May 19 Finish: June 8, 2013
Modifcations: None

Fabulous Pattern! The handsome cable down the shin seems the show stopper the real brilliance is the back!

The decreases look good when the sock is without a calf but put them on and the structure really pops.


I particularly love how the tight twisted and 4-stitch cable motifs keep their shape as the surrounding ribbing provides all the "give". (The photos with the pattern present a bird-like leg and positive ease...my hefty calves fill things out!)
The way the leg design morphs into the ribbing on the instep lends nice fit and feel.
The slipped stitch heel matches the heel's visual scale to the rest of the sock.

Then there's the yarn. This 50/50 Alpaca/Wool blend is really nice to work with, carries the dye so as to allow a wonderful depth of colour and of course, feels great.

It has nothing of the rustic look of the pattern photos instead offering a cozy factor that's as much visual as it is tactile.
 Lots and lots of halo
While maintaining stitch definition
Up close the colour seems almost neon but then miraculously it softens from a distance albeit to a still surprising-for-the-pattern shade of salmon.

I've used this yarn once before and I liked it even more this time than last. I'll be using it again. As for the socks these were my first attempt at knee highs. They won't be my last!

Thanks for dropping by to check these out!

2 comments:

Brendaknits said...

I think all knitters should have a scatter rug that matches their knitting. I laughed about your hefty calves. It is no stretch to say that one can determine one's social strata by one's legs. Mine are peasant legs.

Steven said...

Lovely! The perfect combination of pattern and yarn -- wonderful when that happens. Just seeing the word "Tyrolean" makes me want to yodel, but I'll save it for my bike ride home!