Agate Socks: Captured in the Wild

I finished my Agate socks in plenty of time to wear them to Squam. And that was about the first time I had a good chance to photograph them.

I have belaboured the details in previous posts but will sum them up again here.

The socks were knit from Schoppel-Wolle's Fliegende Untertasse, which is a sturdy German wool/nylon blend. Two strands of the yarn are wrapped around a spool before being dyed. This will yield two identical socks. Some people are bothered by "fraternal twin" socks. I am not, but this was fun to try.

After a long false start (I got past the heel on both socks, since I was doing them two-at-a-time), I redid the socks and ended up with a pair that fit very, very well. :D That makes me happy.

*"unvent" as in invent or discover something on your own that has been done by countless other people already.The socks are very plain, as far as the knitting goes. The colours are happy, though, and they were fun to knit. (And the point was to try to get the pooling shown on the label.) I did get to unvent* a new short-row toe that is more rounded and avoids the sharp 45^ angles of my previous toes.

I did a heel flap heel with a small short-row area to round out the bottom shape.

The socks have several distinct pattern areas obeying the whim of the yarns's dye. Twirling candy cane stripes, narrow stripes, lightning pooling, and whatever you want to call the "agate" pooling.

Of course I can't finish without mentioning again that the dye didn't reach the center of the spool, and the cuffs are obviously lighter. They look like the colour has faded out. But really, that part is generally covered by pants and it's not really a big deal. Really. (One more time--really--and now you'll believe me.)

The wool was purchased on a family trip to the Lake Superior shores in the U.P. (Michigan) last summer--my sister insisted because the pooling looked like agates, which she is always looking for on the beaches there. Wearing these will be a lovely souvenir of the trip!

Project Stats
Started: 10 Sep '12
Finished: 1 May '13
Pattern: Plain stocking stitch sock from my own brain
Materials: Schoppel-Wolle Fliegende Untertasse (colour Sonnenfleck 2116), 1 skein ($23)