Stained Glass Bubble Socks

It's finally official. Meet the cousin of the Stained Glass Bubble Hat & Scarf:


These colorful socks are worked toe up with short-row garter-stitch heels and toes. Bubbles ripple across the top of the foot and encircle the leg; the foot sole is a comfortable stockinette fabric. An example of dropped-stitch mosaic knitting, this pattern combines the look of two-color knitting with the ease and speed of only ever knitting one color per round. And, of the six rounds of pattern for one row of bubbles, five rounds are plain knitting. You’ll have a pair of bubble socks in no time!


The pattern is eight pages and includes instructions for sizes child through adult. The stitch patterns for the foot and leg are written out (there are no charts; the bubble pattern, once learned, is quite simple; charts really aren't necessary).


Yarns used are Zitron Trekking XXL and Louet Gems Super Fine fingering weight, 1 skein of each, both 14 wpi. Another variegated yarn could be used in place of the Trekking, although it may not give the same finished look. Or pick your two favorite colors and go solid!

Gauge: 36 stitches and 52 rows = 4 inches in st st & bubble stitch

Suggested needles: US 1.5 (2.5mm) & US 0 (2.0mm)

Sizes: Child S[Child M, Child L/Adult S, Adult M, Adult L]

At the above gauge,
~ Foot width: 2.75[3, 3.25, 3.5, 3.75]
~ Corresponds to U.S. shoe sizes Child 4-8[Child 7-11, Child 10-2, Child 2-6/Woman’s 2-6/Man’s 6-8, Woman’s 7-9/Man’s 8.5-10] according to www.yarnstandards.com
~ Foot length & leg height are easily adjustable.


The pattern sells for $6 US. If you are in Portland, Oregon you can pick up a paper version at either Close Knit on NE Alberta or at Twisted on NE Broadway. Or, from the comfort of your own home, you can purchase the pdf either through Ravelry (search for "Stained Glass Bubble" or see my profile under sunnydayknitter) or here:

(Note: clicking the button above will take you to Ravelry's Paypal site. Ravelry will delivery the pdf to your email address. If you have any problems, please let me know! And I'd love to see photos of any Stained Glass Bubble socks, in progress or finished--please share!)

Webs

Spotted while walking to the dog park this morning.

This is an amazing article about a tapestry made completely out of spider silk. Beautiful.

Happy owl day to me. Recent knitting-related birthday gifts (how do they all know I like knitting?):
This ceramic owl is from Oaxaca, Mexico. He is currently guarding my stash.

A beautiful slate-blue skein (richly variegated from being dyed over natural grey) from Sarah, acquired in person near her home in the San Juans. I met the lovely women who run Island Fibers at Madrona last winter. They have wonderful colors.


In August my friend Laurie went on a knitting cruise to the Baltic Sea. She gifted me this wonderful knitting bag from Estonia. (Front and back, above. Detail, below.) It is made with wool although woven, not knit. I am not sure if some of the stitching was done during the weaving process, or if it was applied upon the woven fabric. Either way, I love it. The bag is lined with a cotton fabric and is the perfect size for holding a pair of socks or mittens in progress.

Laurie also gifted me these booklets of Aino Praakli's:

I have two of her books, purchased through Wooly West. Some of these booklets contain the same mitten patterns as the books, but most include patterns new-to-me:

From Leigh, a sweet children's book with humorous illustrations:

I also received a gift certificate to Beaverslide Dry Goods, which I think I will save until I finish some current projects. It's always nice to think about what one might get--the gift lasts longer that way.

Laurie also brought back some knitting books which I promptly added to my collection:

A Russian book, published in 1957. It contains a variety of stitch patterns, some of which I've never seen, including this chrysanthemum-looking one which would make a wonderful summer shell or cardigan:

And this Estonian mitten book:

which is chock full of beautifully charted patterns, including some interesting cuff designs and some unusual (to me) color work. My favorite pair right now is cream and dark brown with a small blue motif at the top of the cuff.

And to help close my schizophrenic web identity, my sweetie gifted me this: go to either sunnydayknitter.com or sunnydayknits.com and you'll be redirected to rainydayknits.com. Thanks, sweetie!