MOCK

I'm sure you've all been sitting around hitting refresh on your screens waiting for my latest blog post so you can see what wonderments I have cooked up for May.  But first, let me take care of some unfinished business.

Straight-Up Socks for Francesca

I finished Francesca's socks on April 27 with two days to spare before the end of the Learn to Knit Socks KAL, which I hadn't planned on participating in.  However, Michele is knitting the pattern as her first sock ever!  Other than a hat and washcloths, she hasn't knit any other "real" projects.  So exciting that she took the leap to socks!  Leigh is also working on a pair as a gift, and Francesca has been asking for more socks, so there you go.  Socks for her that were eligible for the KAL.  (Which I didn't win, but that's okay.)  

She wore them on Friday and was so excited about it.  Of course, with the big boot on her left foot for the broken toe and a sneaker on the other foot, only she and I knew she had them on but we were both happy about it.  Until she got home from school and I realized that her sneaker had blown a hole in the toe so the tip of her brand new,  hand-knit, blood-sweat-and-knitting sock was dirty and fuzzy.

Add that to the list of "Reasons Why I Should Only Knit Socks for Myself."

I did get some nice new yarn in the mail this past Wednesday.  I had ordered it from Grant Creek Yarns on etsy.com.  The yarn is dyed by a very nice woman named Heidi, and it's in high demand.  When she posts a day or time that her shop is going to be updated, you'd better be sitting there refreshing until something shows up, toss it in your cart and check out as quick as possible.  Don't go back for a second skein!  Don't be tempted!  By the time you get it into your cart, the first one will be gone - sold to someone who unknowingly "cartjacked" you!  

Thus I sat next to the computer on Holy Saturday, while Chris, my parents, and my brother watched a movie, hitting F5 every 60 seconds until I got lucky.  There was a particular colorway I wanted, and I got it!  May I present....

Grant Creek Yarns "Spring Bouquet"

The yarn is actually a new base made up of 80% BFL and 20% nylon.  What's BFL?  Funny you should ask, and funny that I have to go look it up yet again because it has not stuck in my head from the first 17 times I've read the description.

BFL: Blue Face Leicester is a longwool breed of sheep that originated in Britain. 

I've read that yarn spun from it is stronger because of the longer fibers, plus the addition of nylon gives it even more strength.  I'm hoping to make a pair of socks in a pattern called "Scylla" using the Spring Bouquet sometime.... well, sometime this year.

Back to socks in progress....

After finishing Francesca's socks, I cast on a pair in a pattern and yarn I've been wanting to do for a couple of months now.  

"Monkey" pattern by Cookie A.

Grant Creek Yarns "Leaves"

The photo doesn't do the yarn justice - it's so pretty and the colors are much more vibrant.  Actually, I have a photo from when I had first cast on so there isn't much sock, but you can see the depth of the colors in the yarn cakes better.

"Monkey" cast-on

So far, "Monkey" is a pretty straightforward pattern.  It follows a small chart (not too many different rows and has multiple horizontal repetitions) and is a good carrying-around project.  I can toss it in my project bag with a copy of the chart and have something to do at gymnastics.

But what to do at home when I can get a little more complicated...?

A MOCK! 

What is a MOCK, you ask?  Not long ago, I had the same question.  I've since realized (at least I hope I'm correct in my assumption) that it's short for "Mystery Sock."  Yes, my friends, a mystery sock.  And what, pray tell, is a mystery sock?  Oh, you are going to love this!  A mystery sock is one that you knit not knowing what the final sock will look like.  No pictures.  And you get the pattern in parts, or clues.  A mystery sock knitted over a month's time may release the first clue on the 1st of the month, second on the 8th, third on the 15th, and fourth on the 22nd, giving you the last week to finish it.  Or maybe there are only three clues.  Or five that you get more often.  You get the latest pattern release, knit it, and voila!  Sock surprise!  

One of the Ravelry groups to which I belong (Sock Knitters Anonymous) is doing a MOCK this month.  And it incorporates BEADS.  (No, that's not an acronym or short version of anything, I just wanted to shout it out.  BEADS!!!)

Now, if you know me, you know that I'm a teensy weensy bit Type A.  Just a little.  A smidge OCD.  A tad of the anal planner type.  So the thought of investing time and yarn - especially good yarn - into a project that I don't know if I'll even like... well, it makes me twitch.  And feel a little nauseous.  The whole concept of a MOCK, while sounding fun and exciting, goes against my grain.  Think nails on a chalkboard.  

There is a group of people who will wait out a MOCK through the first clue or two.  They'll let other people cast on and start knitting, who then post photos on the Ravelry group so that the waiters can determine if they like the pattern and want to cast on themselves.  A viable option, yes, but it's also cheating!  Cheaters, cheaters!  Taking the mystery out of mystery sock - I'd have guilt.  (And yes, I'm a little bit mental, if you haven't figured that out already.)  See, if I am going to do a mystery sock, then darn it, I want to suck it up and have it be a mystery!  

So I did it.  I pulled out a lovely, soft, squishy cake of yarn that I bought at The Sheep Shack when Michele, Leigh, and I had our first yarn field trip.  Then I went to Michael's and got breads to match.  Okay, that's not entirely true.  I bought the beads first hoping they'd match with something in my stash and then determined that my Dream in Color Smooshy Sock Yarn was a good fit. 

Dream in Color Smooshy Sock Yarn (and beads)

Colorway:  Go Go Grassy

My good yarn....  *whimper*  I hope I'm not wasting it on a MOCK.  I guess I could always frog it if I don't like it, but I can't stand those amphibian bastards around my knitting.

The pattern calls for size 1 needles.  I have three sets of size 1 circulars.  One is tied up with my Monkey socks.  The second I need for the Knit Sock Love KAL this month.  The third are Clover Bamboo needles and I despise them.  So I decided to use double-pointed needles (dpns) and work the socks in tandem.  I just finished clue 1 of the first sock (cuff-down with BEADS!), so now I'll pull out more dpns and knit to the end of the clue for the second sock. 

May 2011 Beaded Mystery Sock - Clue 1

Then we wait for clue #2.