Socktopia, June 2008

"Some man or other must present Wall: and let him have some plaster, or some loam, or some rough-cast about him, to signify wall; and let him hold his fingers thus, and through that cranny shall Pyramus and Thisby whisper." - Bottom, A Midsummer's Night's Dream, Act III
Socktopia this month had the theme "Midsummer's Night's Dream" included among the list. I just had to use it. Midsummer is one of those plays that as a theatre person, you can expect to do upwards of 15 times in your career, and every time you get a little more out of it. It has some inherently complicated moments to deal with - people turning into fairies, bottom turning into a Donkey, and "magic"; but it also has some sweet and funny moments that can't be ignored. One of my favorite parts of the play is the "rehearsal" scene from Act III. The "rude mechanicals" or clowns, are getting ready to rehearse Pyramus and Thisby, and are assigning roles. All of the "play with in a play" cast members are tradesmen - weavers, joiners, smiths - and poor Snug, the joiner, gets cast as "the wall" - a piece of scenery. The last time I did midsummer, the actor playing Snug was one of my favorite people from the cast. He was a joy in real life, and a joy to watch on stage. So these socks are in honor of Mr. Shakespeare and his comic genius, and Mr. JoJo Gonzolas who played the funniest wall I've ever seen.

Name: Snug's Wall Socks
Pattern: Inspired by Barbara Walker's Bricklayer's Lace
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Happy Feet, color 2
Needles: Knit Picks Classic Circulars, size 0 and 1
Notes: These socks were totally a labor of love. Mostly a labor. I love the finished socks, but dang! They took me forever! The pattern wasn't really hard, but it was the kind you need to pay attention to. No Movie knitting with this one. You'd think you could make a pattern as easy as you want when you design it, but evidently, I didn't realize that when I was knitting. (But they were good beach knitting!)

I typed this pattern up after sock #1 because I was afraid I'd forget what I did when I got to sock #2. I'm glad I did because I did forget parts of it as I was going. I also figured out how to make charts on the computer, so bonus! These seemingly straight forward socks needed three charts. Deceptive socks, these are.

The yarn was chosen because of it's color. It just screamed "bricks" to me. This sock adventure was my first time using Plymouth Happy Feet. I can't speak to the wear ability yet, but I can tell you they are going to fuzz up. As I was knitting them, they were already starting to get fuzzy. I don't mind, but others might. Just mentioning it. I did like the twist and the feel of the yarn. It is soft, and it doesn't split easily. HF is on the thicker side of fingering, but not quite a sport weight yarn. I'm used to working with a slightly thinner yarn, so that took me a little while to get used to.

Over all I am very happy with my Snug's Wall Socks. I ever put a "chink" in the wall for Pyramus and Thisby to whisper through... (Do you see it?)

I'm funny, I know. Anyway, I'm working on revising the pattern for clarity, so if anyone wants to take a test drive of Snug's Wall and tell me if it is written in "knitting english" or "crazy woman", let me know.
Incidentally, these finishing these socks lets me cross off #15 on my Summer Knitting Goals List!! WOOT! And they count towards Lace 2008, as they are, well, lace.