Can you believe it? I forgot to share my round 2 socks from Sock Madness. I was so happy to have them done that I snapped one picture and then threw them in the washing machine.

Rose and Thorn Socks, designed by Ronni Smith

The pattern is Rose and Torn Socks, designed by Ronni Smith. I used Berroco Comfort Sock yarn in colour True Red. And, the beads on the cuff were silver-lined crystal, but the washing machine destroyed the silver lining. Whaaa! Now they are just pretty clear beads. On the bright side, they won’t be noticeable under my pant legs.

Speaking of the beads, my goodness was the cuff on these socks tricky. They are cast on using Judy’s Magic cast-on (making it act like a provisional cast-on) with the beads on one side. Several plain rows are knit, then a picot row, and then more plain rows. The cuff is then folded in half at the picot row (so it becomes the top of the cuff), and the cuff is hemmed so the beads swing around the stitches and lay in front. I think casting-on with the beads was probably the hardest part, but once I got going it was pretty smooth sailing.

I finished the socks in just under 4 days, including an afternoon taken off to rest my poor elbow. Amazingly, I was the first person finished on my team, Team Engoon Edelweiss. There were several almost as quick knitters on my team that finished within a few hours of me (and many of them had jobs that kept them much busier than homebody me). I’m going to have to work hard to keep in this for a few more rounds.

Round 3 took me a little while longer. The pattern is a bit more tricky, with cables running all the way up the sides of the foot, branching off at the ankle, crossing at the front of the leg, and then coming together again near the cuff. I completed the pair in about six days, with a whole lot or procrastination. :/ This time I was the second person on my team to finish.

Waimakariri, designed by Sonya Newstead

The pattern is Waimakariri, designed by Sonya Newstead. I used Berroco Comfort Sock again, this time in colour Dusk.

The tricky technique this time around was the toe. It also started with a provisional cast on, and then a small cabled strip was knit; stitches were picked up along one side; the provisionally cast-on stitches were knit; stitches were picked up along the other side; and then we were knitting in the round. (It was a bit like the tab start for shawls, if you are familiar with that.) Once that fancy manoeuvre was done, it was smooth sailing all the way up to the cuff.

Round 4 is due to start sometime early next week. I suspect that it may be the last round I make it through, but who knows. I’ll keep knitting socks for Sock Madness as long as I can. 😉