Monkey See, Monkey Do

I finished my first pair of Cookie A socks on Thursday. If her Monkey socks pattern is indicative of her other patterns then I'm in for a treat. I found it well written and easy to execute. I love patterns that repeats that are easy to memorize, but not boring. By the way, this is the first top-down sock I've made since I can't remember. Most of her patterns are written for top-down socks and I plan to make them as written with exception of adjustments for size and length.


Specs:

Pattern: Monkey Socks from Knitty by Cookie A
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino Champlain Sunset
Needles: Knit Picks 1/2.5 mm 6
Started: April 1, 2009 Finished: April 9, 2009

I've casted on my second pair of Cookie socks. They are the Rick socks from her new book Sock Innovation. I'm not ready to dive back into sock design at the moment, but when I am this will be the first book I consult. One of my goals is to knit 1-2 pairs of socks a month and a significant portion of them will come from her patterns.

I started my CPAP therapy for sleep apnea on Tuesday. I also discovered that my legs are moving most of the time when I am asleep. I don't have this problem during my waking hours and the doctor said it also probably contributed to my tiredness. After almost a week I feel more rested than I have in a long time. I was told by the respiratory therapist that it may take 3-4 weeks for me to feel the full effects. Here's to better health, clearer thinking and getting more accomplished.

Off Schedule

So much for committment. Knitting on Cassidy has been slim. I did get the right front cast on and started but that's been about all. There's too much going on. Yard work, housework, spring cleaning and getting all the winter duds put away. All that and a very distracting pair of Monkey socks.


The rest of the additional Kauni EQ I order from Knit-Purl arrived yesterday. They called to let me know it was on the way and that they were winding it since it came in hanks instead of skeins. There is one large 250 gm ball and a smaller 134 gm ball. This color is also destined for a sweater.



Two more days and the basketball blitz will be over. This has been a great year for basketball. Most of the games have gone down to the wire and kept you on the edge of your seat. I hope the games on Monday and Tuesday will be as exciting. The two women's games that were on today were both blowouts. Things will be back to normal on Wednesday and the knitting schedule will resume.

This Little Monkey

Yesterday I boarded the Cookie A train. I've been wanting to knit one of her patterns for quite a while. I purchased several last year from her website planning to knit up a pair but never got around to it. I cast on her Monkey socks from Knitty Issue Winter '06. I reached in the sock basket and picked out a skein of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in the Champlain Sunset colorway. It is the perfect match of pattern and yarn.

I knitted a plain pair of socks for myself in this colorway from a different dyelot. The difference between the two is drastic. This current skein has longer repeats of the blues resulting in more of a self-striping appearance when knitted compared to the mottled look of the other skein. In this pattern the effect is beautiful. If I didn't have a pair in this colorway I would be tempted to keep them for myself.


Once I started knitting it was easy to see why so many knitters have chosen this pattern. Over 8600 pairs have been catalogued on Ravelry. The 16-stitch, 11 row repeat is easy to remember and quick to knit. I'm certain there will be a pair in my future.