Single-Stranded Flow Motion Sock

I have wanted to make Cat Bordhi's Flow Motion Sock since I first saw it in Vogue Knitting (Fall '06, if I recall right). It's also in Vogue Knitting's "Ultimate Sock Book".

But I didn't want to make it holding two strands of yarn held together, as the pattern calls for. I didn't really care to have a lacy sock in a heavy weight.

So recently I set about figuring out how to knit the same sock with a single strand of yarn. I used the Dream in Color Smooshy that I won as a prize a while back. Yum.

After a good deal of knitting, figuring and head-scratching, this is what resulted:



Sorry for the crummy pic, it's raining, raining, raining, and I have yet to build a light box or anything so fancy. The house is still very much in a construction mode and there is no room. DD, DH and I are all sleeping in the living room, and have been for several months. I can't decide which it reminds me of more, The Waltons or Little House on the Prairie. At least we still have our regular beds, and a working kitchen.

BTW, there is an error in the leg chart. Row 5, stitch 10, should be a YO. It's correct in the written instructions, and yet I first turned to knitblogs to solve my puzzlement over the chart error. Instead of just reading the darn instructions. Didn't even occur to me at first.

Naturally this pic, taken at my desk, doesn't do justice to the yarn. I love, love, love this yarn. It seems to have color changes / variations that would never pool or flash. Just lovely variation.

And here's a pic with flash, showing the stitch pattern a bit.



At first I didn't like the way the fabric was coming out -- all those twisted stitches. But it grew on me. I've cast on for the second sock.

Mods: Single stranded, knit on 2.25 mm circ Magic Loop style through the first repeat of the leg chart, then on 2.5 mm circ. Plain picot edge instead of seed stitch. 56 stitches around the foot, 64 stitches around the leg, with necessary fudging of heel turn and flap. I began the increases as indicated in the "Upstream" master pattern in New Pathways for Sock Knitters (this turned out a tiny bit too short for this particular pattern, which I have decided I can live with) and increased 3 times (6 stitches, 9 rows) before beginning the instep chart.

Then after the heel was done I had to match up the leg chart with the instep chart. This would ordinarily be clear if you were knitting the sock as written, but of course since I was throwing in 4 instead of 3 repeats of the leg chart, I had to work it out for myself.

I like this sock, but I don't think another pair is in my future. Knitting all of those twisted stitches in the charts is too troublesome. I had to really concentrate on loosening up my knitting, which no doubt would be a good thing in general.

I did very few holiday knits after the craziness I put myself through last year, and got through the holidays relatively sanely, for me. It helped that for me, my Mom and my brothers, we decided not to exchange gifts, but to spend a morning helping out at a center for the needy elderly. Before you think too highly of me for this, remember that I traded off a couple of hours of charity work for hours and hours of shopping and wrapping and returns. I think it was a heck of a deal, and we all had a nice time.

And we got very lovely knitted gifts from my buddy Liz --



Tiny sweater ornaments for the three of us with our first initials! They were perfect for the tiny tree we had this year, and will be great for years to come! Thanks, Liz!