Monkeys Without Borders
I have not been idle. I finished the Monkeys Without Borders socks last Thursday. (Sorry, but I really can’t think of these with any other name.) I wore them last Friday. They fit quite nicely, thank you very much. 
I know that you folks back east are having a heat wave. Here in Portland: not so much. Yesterday it was almost 70 with sunshine. But today we’ll be lucky if it makes 60 and it’s definitely not sunny. It’s still wool sock weather here. It’s been Rose Festival season, and that means rain and cold. Since it’s Rose Festival, though, I though it only right to pose these socks with roses. The only one I had in bloom when these pictures were taken was Eyepaint, and it’s the perfect color.
This is the first pair of Monkey’s that I’ve knit – I know, I was a little slow to hop on the Monkey bandwagon. I loved wearing them on Friday, and I can see these becoming one of my favorite pairs (thus the heel stitch on the bottom of the heel).
I love the way that this colorway knit up in the Monkey pattern. The white stripe is very subtle, until it gets up to the cuff where it becomes wider and more bold. Of course, there’s a sploosh of white during the heel turn. On one sock the sploosh is under the heel, and on the other it’s on top of the instep.
MWB heel
I don’t mind that STR pools around the instep. I could have knit these with a short-row heel if it had really bothered me.
The Particulars:
- Yarn: Blue Moon Socks That Rock Light (100% superwash merino / 4.5oz, 360yds per skein); one skein of Knitters Without Borders
- Needles: a pair of Knit Picks Harmony circulars, US#0 (2.0 mm)
- Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A.
- Modifications:
- Knit toe-up, two at a time, using Judy’s Magic Cast-On.
- Heel stitch under heel and on heel flap.
As soon as these socks were finished, I immediately cast on a new pair of socks with Stitchjones yarn in Andes Mint. You can get your own over at her Etsy shop.
I’m not sure what the new pair of socks are going to look like yet, but I’m not worried. The yarn will tell me what it wants to be.
feed for comments on this post.
I have a general question. Can Judy’s Magic Cast-On be used to start a circular shawl? I mean, it’s the decreases that are making the toe shape, right? I’m not the best at the shaping magic that makes a sock a sock.
1Remark from Laura Sue — Monday, 6/9/2008 @ 9:52 AM
In a cuff-down sock, decreases make the toe shape. In a toe-up sock, as these are, increases make the toe shape. There are a lot of different types of toes, and each is shaped a bit differently.
But you can absolutely use Judy’s Magic Cast-On to start a circular shawl. I have directions for doing so on the Techniques page at: Starting A Small Circle With Judy’s Magic Cast-On
2Remark from Judy — Monday, 6/9/2008 @ 11:08 AM
Love those Monkeys! Beautifully knit. Hooray–I can’t wait to see what Andes Mints looks like knit up.
3Remark from sharon — Monday, 6/9/2008 @ 1:45 PM
New foot model? Very nice.
Welcome to the Monkey bandwagon. Your monkeys turned out great! There are few patterns I’d knit twice, but that’s one I’d consider knitting again.
4Remark from ~Kristie — Friday, 6/13/2008 @ 12:20 AM