The bee’s knees

I don’t know about your knitting group, but the gals in my group are a bit, shall we say, rambunctious. Not in a physical way, we’re all pretty sedate (well, we are when we have our knitting in front of us; considering three of us are new roller derby dolls, I don’t know if we can still apply the term “sedate” to the group as a whole). But we have gotten shushed frequently at the library and attract numerous double-takes when we congregate at other places, and not just because we’re playing with string and pointy sticks or curvy hooks. By “rambunctious”, I guess I mean that we like to make rather odd declarative statements and tell “inappropriate” stories.

Anyway, the lovely Nicole, pictured here, declared one day that Brown Sheep’s Cotton Fleece was to be her Yarn Life Partner. It’s her go-to yarn, her main squeeze, the yarn she cannot turn down when presented with a skein. That set most of us to pondering whether we had deep, committed relationships with any particular yarn. Maybe we just need to be committed, period. But I couldn’t think of a yarn to which I had that strong of an attachment.

Sure, I love Cascade 220 to little bitty bits, but it’s a worsted weight. And worsted weight has many, many uses, but I like to knit socks. And worsted weight socks don’t fit into shoes so well. They make fabulous slippers, for sure, but not so much with socks. (Disclaimer: I say this having never knit socks out of worsted weight, only slippers, but I really cannot imagine wearing worsted weight socks.) And so I was hesitant to name Cascade 220 as my Yarn Life Partner.

And then, yesterday, I discovered Cascade 220’s little brother, Cascade 220 Sport. All the fabulous yardage, brilliant colors, and price point ($3.75 a skein!) of Cascade 220 in a compact, sport weight, sock-knitting variety. And me on a much-needed yarn diet. Still I say, come to momma!

Ahem. This discovery serendipitously coincided with a bit of a trend-report post I wanted to make. I mentioned in the previous post that I was getting gung-ho about knitting knee socks, and that there were patterns popping up all around the knitting ‘verse, so I figured I’d share some of my favorite knee sock patterns, which I will hopefully become more acquainted with in the near future.

The majority of the knee sock patterns out there (or at least that I found through my queue and a quick Ravelry glance) are ooh la la lacy. And I love them.

Bettie’s Lace Stockings by Hana Jason, Interweave Knits Spring 2009 (Rav link)
I have coveted these stockings since I first picked up this magazine and the longing has not gone away.

Södera Socks by Vilma Vuori, free download (Rav link)
I love these elongated versions of Cookie A’s Hedera socks.

Spiral Boot Socks by Veronik Avery, Interweave Knits Summer 2007 (Rav link)
Super sweet, super simple, super must-be-knit-ASAP.

Rapunzel Stockings by Ysolda Teague, Knit.1 Fall/Winter 2008 (Rav link)
The color of these sassy stockings caught my at first, and I’m itching to find the perfect shade for my own pair.

Bintje-Socks by Jatta Sauko, free download (Rav link)
These are just TOO DARLING for words. Just looking at them makes me feel all Elizabeth Bennett-like.

Highland Shcottische Kilt Hose by Nancy Bush, Folk Socks (Interweave 1994; Rav link)
This pair was knit by mustaavillaa on Ravelry, but look how amazing they are!

Johanna and Strausserl (respectively) by Julia Riede, jriede.blogspot.com (Rav link)
The detail work on the calves of these socks is so beautiful it kind of hurts to look at them. ‘Scuse me while I pick myself up from my swoon.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Socks by Aimee Skeers, free Ravelry download
Sweet and simple and oh so cute. Also, trés schoolgirl.

Lace Stockings by Barb Brown, Vogue Knitting Fall 2010 (Rav link)
Gorgeous combinations of lace patterns in these socks.

Fishnet Knee Highs by Joan McGowan-Michael, Knitting Lingerie Style (Stewart, Tabori, and Chang 20070;Rav link)
I borrowed this photo from PaperDollyGirl’s finished project page on Ravelry because the actual pattern page photo was a bit blurry, but these are just sassy and sweet at the same time.

Cabled knee socks bring to mind the image of kilts and kilt hose and frankly, I’m okay with that.

Clessidra by Gabriella Chiarenza, Knitty Spring 2007 (Rav link)
This is perhaps one of the more out-there associations I’ve made, but these are sort of like a mullet-esque style of knee high—simple seed stitch on the front, party cables on the back.

Lissajous, Millicent, Rhiannon, and German Stocking by Cookie A., Cookie A Knitwear Designs
The German Stocking photo comes from Allinred on Ravelry, but leave it to the brilliant mind of Cookie A to churn out a slew of knee high sock patterns. (Technically Millicent really belongs with the lacy category, but I didn’t want to separate them.)

Stranded colorwork is also great for knee high socks, adding a bit of pop to an outfit.

Stranded Knee Highs by Barb Brown, Vogue Knitting Fall 2010 (Rav link)
These colorwork knee highs would be great in muted, tone-on-tone colors (think charcoal and dove gray, or two shades of blue) as well as two contrasting colors.

Embroidered Stocking by Joan McGowan-Michael, Knitting Lingerie Style (Rav link)
I love the little detail added to these knee highs. What a fabulous way to do some serious personalization. (JMM also has a great looking Basic Stocking pattern in her book, but I had trouble finding pictures that really showed off the pattern.)

I so very badly want to cast on for about five pairs of knee highs right this minute, but I think I should finish my Loop tank first. I’m about 2/3 through the right front panel, having finished both straps AND the left front panel this past weekend (I’d started on the straps earlier).

Maybe you should cast on for a pair of knee highs, so I can knit vicariously.

A quick edit: @grendelsmother decided to add to my torture by sharing some more pattern links with me (all of these are Ravelry links): Lakeside, The Thigh’s the Limit, and Ann Marie. I especially want to note that last one, as the suggested yarn for the pattern is Lorna’s Laces (one of my faves) and 20% of the proceeds from that particular colorway are (were? I think they’re still doing this) donated to breast cancer charities. Thanks Gmama!