Sock Madness 3 - Tokena

Meet the lovely socks that took me out of the competition.

The pattern is called Tokena(Ravelry link) and were designed by Tricia Weatherston.

As you can see, the pattern is stranded colorwork, with solid color sections at the cuff, heel, and toe. They were designed to have a heel flap/gusset heel, and, as per the Sock Madness rules, I started out knitting them that way.

Every time I looked at the socks, I couldn't help but think "What a beautiful pattern!"

And then I'd get to the heel.

Okay, I admit it. I'm not a huge fan of heel flap/gusset construction. Now I realize that it can be an important part of the design, but it's not my favorite, and I avoid it when I can. It was at this point that I decided that I had to change the heel to my favorite method - short row heels. Yes, that meant I was out of the competition, but I prefer the look of short row heels, and life is just too short to spend it knitting something you don't love.

And I do love these socks!
The inside is just as beautiful as the outside.

And they are so comfortable.

The pattern isn't yet available, but when it is, I would encourage everyone to make a pair. They are fantastic.

Knit with Knit Picks Essential sock yarn in Burgundy and Bare.

Sock Madness 3 - Tropical Mer-tini

Jenny was at it again, this time talking me into joining Sock Madness.

The pattern for this is "Tropical Mer-tini" and included a recipe for the drink. I skipped the drink, but did make the socks.
This pattern used a Twisted German Cast-On which I had never done before. I LOVE this cast-on! I do believe that it will be my standard for socks, mittens, and gloves from now on.

Another new-to-me technique was the afterthought heel. Now I'm not sure, but it seems to me that a heel that is planned and worked on purpose hardly qualifies as an afterthought*. I didn't particularly like this technique, but it's always good to expand one's knitting skills.

The pattern doesn't show well, what with all those colors, but they are VERY comfortable socks.
Knit with Plymouth Yarns Sockotta Sock Yarn in colorway 30 (very descriptive colorway name, no?) on size 1 (2.5 mm) dpns.

* After writing the above I was searching the web for links and discovered that the Yarn Harlot had posted about this as well. She, however, was able to explain a proper use for this. I bow to the wisdom of both her and legend Elizabeth Zimmerman, and humbly apologize to Ms. Zimmerman for doubting the usefulness of this technique.