Miso Crafty: Finished: Sweet Monkey Socks

Here we have a sock pattern that I'm sure many of you have seen and most likely have already knit - the Monkey sock pattern by the talented Cookie A. I should point out that I used the free Knitty version and not the one from Cookie A's newest book, Knit. Sock. Love. This was my very first time knitting a Cookie A pattern and I'm pretty sure it won't be the last. The yarn I used is also the very first skein of SweetGeorgia Yarns that I had purchased that started the obsession.

I had actually tried knitting this pattern last summer while on a road trip to the Okanagan. In that attempt I had used the recommended needle size (cause it was the only needle size that I had brought with me), and the sock ended up way too tight! Mind you, I didn't knit a swatch, even though the pattern told me to do so cause the stitch pattern doesn't have a lot of give to it and so you kinda need to know if you're getting gauge or not. I chose to live dangerously. Luckily I had knit only one sock up to the heel flap before realizing that the sock wasn't going to fit. This time around I moved up a needle size and crossed my fingers that this was the solution to the tightness problem.

Well, now that the socks are finished and I've knit through an entire pair of socks in Knitter's Denial, the socks turned out a little big! I don't think I was meant to have Monkey socks. This pattern and I are not a good mix. I have a sneaking suspicion that Monkeys are designed for those who have chicken legs, not for peeps with thick trunks. Like me.

I did the majority of the knitting heading to and from, and the short time that I was in Nelson. These socks will forever remind me of my Grandma's funeral. The pattern is actually super easy and just flew off the needles. I know I say that about every pair of socks that I knit, but seriously, these are quite the quick knit. Even with the purling parts, these are quick. So many people have commented about how they hated the purling, but I thought it was fine...and I normally hate purling! There are versions out there written without the purling for those of you who want to knit this pattern but are holding back because of the purls. I find those sections to be so small that it doesn't really matter anyways.

I wish I could say that I would knit these again, but I know I won't. I don't think this pattern is for me, even though I love the looks of them. I'll still wear my pair but I know that after a few hours they'll start to sag. A lot. Sadly the yarn is superwash too or else I would've tried felting them slightly to get them to fit. Oh well! What can you do? These are project #4 for my 12 in 2011 goal, I've always wanted to knit these and now I have, and another pair of hand knit socks to add to my sock drawer. Oh wow, am I becoming a process knitter???

Nah!