WIP: My First Toe-Up Socks

I've dubbed these Simply Neopolitan with a Hint of Mint, solely because of the simple "lace" stitch and because of the colors in the yarn. I had originally planned on knitting a basic sock using this yarn so that the variegated colors wouldn't have to compete with a fussy pattern, but after much conversing with the ladies from my knitting group I decided that I would get pretty bored pretty fast with a basic recipe. After the success of my first pair of socks, I decided that I should really knit a pair of toe-up socks so that I can compare which way I prefer. I only own 1 book about socks (Wendy Johnson's Socks From the Toe Up), which conveniently features only toe-up patterns. I decided to use one of those patterns rather than peruse the ones on Ravelry. So voilà! The next simplest pattern - the Dead Simple Lace sock.

So far it's been a pretty easy knit and because of the lace pattern, interesting enough to hold my attention. I've only been knitting these socks while on the go, like while waiting at the doctor's office, sitting in the truck at the gas station...and have taken them to knit night a few times. I'm not in a hurry to get this project done, especially since we're about to enter the summer months and the need for socks really isn't at the top of the list. Not to mention that it's nice to have a mindless knit on the go when you've got a bigger knitting project also on the needles.

The only complaint that I have about this project: the needles. I'm currently using Addi Turbo Lace circular needles (I love me a good Magic Loop!) and when I bought them I honestly thought all Addis were the same - amazing. Yeah, no. I know now that is SO not true. I've come to realize that I love the regular Addi Turbo needles and that I loathe the Turbo Lace. The latter is made with hollow, coated brass tips which means after a while your hands start to smell like you've been holding onto a handful of pennies on a hot summer day. Since my hands are perpetually dry, I'm always slathering on hand lotion, which makes that brassy smell even worse. Unfortunately these are the only needles that I have that are a size US 0 (2mm) and I really don't want to go out and buy new ones. Luckily I'll only be working on these for like 5 minutes at a time!

Anyhoo, back to the sock. My first pair of socks had an afterthought heel (which means you knit a tube and then add the heel in later) so doing an actual heel before moving on to the rest of the sock made me a bit nervous. Again, I thought wrong. I did a short-row heel (which is probably a cop out, since it's one of the easiest heels you can possibly do!) and had no issues whatsoever. Maybe next time I'll challenge myself and try doing a heel flap or something.

Oohh...I think I'm on the road to becoming addicted to knitting socks...