afghans for Afghans socks

I've been so busy these past few months, trying to get various knitting projects done, that I've gotten behind on my posts and had wanted to mention the children's socks I made for the afghans for Afghans sock project back in March. I used the Paton's Classic yarn that I'd dyed with koolaid (see March 3 post).



The first pair I made for a little girl using the handpainted yarn. It was my first attempt at making a short-row heel. The pattern is a free one, for charity knitting, listed as Socks For Children In Common. I was a little disappointed with my efforts, as I got holes in the heel from not properly knitting the wraps. Admittedly, I was pretty confused when I did it the first time. I looked at several online tutorials, and that helped considerably. The second sock went a lot better but I still want to try more short-row heels so I can practice knitting the wraps the right way, etc. All in all, I think they turned out pretty well and I liked the way that the handpainted yarn looked when it was knitted up.

For the second pair, I used the other yarn I'd made. When I dyed this yarn I thought the colors were rather blah looking, but when I knitted it up I came to like the way it looked. The "liver" color from the grape koolaid actually looked o.k. when mixed with the other colors. The pattern I used for this one was a traditional top-down with a standard slipped-stitch heel. Since I was getting rather close to the due date for getting them to afghans for Afghans, I opted for a sock I could just crank out the second time around. I adapted the pattern a little, so that there was less ribbing at the top of the sock. They came out kind of squatty but will probably fit someone with a wider foot. It was fun trying some different sock patterns and using the koolaid-dyed wool.