FO: Mermaid Socks*

Now that these have been presented to their new owner, they can be shared with y'all.

Pattern: Pomatomus by Cookie A.
Yarn: Green Mountain Spinnery Sock Art Meadow, 50/50 wool/mohair, 400 yds/100 gr
Needles: US 1/2.25 mm
Gauge: 9 sts/12 rows per inch in stockinette
Start/finish: 7/21 - 8/5/2009
Comments/mods: After several months of doing my own sock patterns, it was a relief to get to follow someone else's directions for a change. These socks were so speedy, in part I think because the lace pattern is so intriguing. I kept knitting to see how it was going to come out next!

The yarn is awesome - it has a similar toothy feel to Araucania Ranco (which I talked about with these socks), and the yarn feels really sturdy. The colors were perfect for Mermaid socks, although it wasn't until I was done that I really noticed all the yellowy-green in there. In any event, the colorway was perfect for sea-type fish-scaly socks. It's tightly plied as well, so the twisted stitches really pop.

The only mod I made was to only do 2 repeats on the leg instead of 3. I always have yarn panic when I do top down socks from one skein of yarn, so I opted for fewer repeats. Turns out I have a whack-load of yarn left, so three repeats would have been just fine. However, the legs would have been really long. I'm not so in to really high socks myself, so I tend not to make them at all. This long leg seems to be a trend, because Glynis (now underway - squee!**) calls for 9 repeats of an 8 row pattern plus an inch of ribbing before the heel flap. I might get 7 repeats if I force myself.

The other mod that I didn't do for these socks but will do for future Cookie socks is to change the toe decreases. These came out really really pointy. They look fine on the foot, but silly otherwise. So I'll switch that up in the future.

In conclusion, really well written pattern, amazing stitch pattern, lovely yarn (wish I could justify getting more!), speedy knit and (hopefully) a happy Mermaid with toast warm tail fins this winter. Win all around.

* What is the plural of Pomatomus anyway?
** Glynis is also speeding along in the same "Wow, this is a cool stitch pattern!" way, thanks to a viewing of GI Jane and Mulan (all in one day!).