WIP Wednesday: Something Different.

Last year I knit more than 12 pairs of socks. Of those, I can tell you how many differed from the straight up top-down, heel flap, round toe: One. I strayed from the familiar long enough to learn how to do an afterthought heel, and then went straight back to the same ol' same ol'.

Socks I have made

When I cast on for this most recent pair of socks, I didn't think anything of it, but when I got to the heel I realized how boring and predictable I am. So, I dug around in one of my sock books (I have 5 books on socks. Maybe it's the guilt of owning all these innovative sock designs and only working plain ol' socks that got to me) until I found something *new* and **exciting**!

I chose the banded heel from the Sock Knitting Master Class. It is shown in the French Market Socks, but here is how mine turned out.

 It was a very interesting technique, because after you turn the heel and pick up the stitches, there are no gusset decreases to work. Also, because it has been SO long since I first turned a heel, I got to feel that wonder one more time. I quite look forward to doing it again.
Now you might be wondering if that weird band thing gets uncomfortable when you stand on it. And I don't know yet, because I haven't done a lot of walking in my one sock just yet. In addition, due to the yarn's fiber content I think these will be reserved as bed socks so I'll never be able to tell you how this heel behaves in a shoe. I can only tell you that it sure was fun to make!

Then to further spice things up, I went with a star toe from Teach Yourself Visually: Sock Knitting. (Yes, in all the socks I have ever made I have never strayed from a round toe. I am ashamed.)

I had heard tell from a certain yarn harlot that spiral toes look nippley, but so far it hasn't bothered me. (Though I can definitely see where she's coming from.) I am also pretty excited about knitting the second sock(!), because it means I get to reverse the spiral. This is my first time NOT using kitchner stitch to finish a sock. One time I did a 3-needle bind off, but it disturbed me so much that I went back and "fixed" it.

So anyways, the details:
Needles: 0's,with 64 st CO
Yarn: Angels and Elephants Alpaca/Merino sock 329 yds/ 100g (from myTiny Owl Knits summa summa swap partner)

I made my socks pretty short, so I should have a lot left over. (For puffing? Probably.)

Head over to Tami's Amis for more WIPs.