After finishing up the Malabrigo longies for the kids, I wanted to move on to something else. My works-in-progress pile sat in it’s drawer, taunting me, ridiculing me, bullying me into picking something up. Out came the Cabley Goodness socks I was working on for my husband. A beautiful wool/silk/nylon blend that I had started two-at-a-time toe-up a la Magic Loop. The pattern was of my own design. It felt good in my hand.

Round and round I went, adding length, making great progress. I showed them to my husband, only to figure out that, ultimately, he wants plain socks. To the frog pile those went. After I frog and rewind them, I’ll make simple vanilla socks for both John and JR. In the meantime, I needed to make something for myself.

I started thinking of all the other wonderful yarns I have in my stash, and came up with Three Irish Girls sock yarn from the Sock Yarnista club I joined some months back. The colourway is “Oh, What A Beautiful Morning!” and is a fantastic mix of bright greens, blues, and yellows. It’s not something I would have picked for myself, but I think that’s part of the beauty of being in a club — the club selections make me step outside of my comfort zone, opening up new vistas.

I then thumbed through some pattern books. I tried to listen carefully to the skein, to hear what it wanted to become. After a couple of hours, I was finally able to hear it — Gentleman’s Fancy Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush. It’s a simple yet captivating stitch pattern that showcases the colourway while still providing visual interest. And the Culloden has great stitch definition. It’s going fairly quickly, and I can’t wait until I have the first one done!

Pattern: Gentleman’s Fancy Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush
Yarn: Culloden sock yarn by Three Irish Girls, “Oh, What A Beautiful Morning!” colourway (purchased at Three Irish Girls, Sock Yarnista club)
Needles: 2.75 mm and 2.5 mm Addi Lace Turbos, 40″
Gauge: Shhh, I didn’t do a gauge swatch for this…