Tag Archives: Patons Knitting Book C11

You don’t have to tell me.  It is crazy to be knitting white cotton socks.  But honestly, these are just shorty ankle socks and take up about two or three evenings each in front of the TV, so why not?
I thought you might be amused with some of my outtakes from when I was trying to get a photo of these socks.  After all, really, how hard could it be, propping the camera on a small pile of books, and simply putting the feet in front… it’s not like I have to worry about a bad hair day or a weird facial expression or anything.  But I didn’t count on the determined stealth attack of this creature, desperate for a little quality one-on-one time with the household provider of all things good and fishy…  and she will not be denied her stab at supermodel-dom…

Details:
Ankle socks; like all my socks, adapted from the Ladies’ sockettes in the Patons knitting book C11 (a circa 1960’s publication), knitted from Rowan cotton glace 100% cotton, shade 726

I decided to call my newest and latest sock project “Le Fauve” after the distinctive work of the school of painters of the same name.  The Fauvists painted in strong colours, using simple and often crude brush strokes, not letting realism get in the way of the beauty of strident, clashing and sometimes shocking blocks of colour.  At the time of its inception in the early twentieth century the work was seen as too shocking, garnering criticisms such as “A pot of paint has been flung in the face of the public” from the critic Camille Mauclair, but the spirit of this body of work still germinates of a lot of today’s art.
The colours of the Kureyon sock wool I used for these socks are slightly shocking in their intensity and refusal to blend into a nice tonal array of like complementary colours, but that is what drew me to this yarn in the first place.
Later edit: I thought “fauve”also meant “wild beast”, and on consulting a French dictionary I read “wildcat”.  So…  Reaooooooow! (snarling accompanied by claw-slash)

Below: at left, Woman with a Hat, Henri Matisse; at right, Charing Cross Bridge, Andre Derain; below a work by Paul Gaugin

So these are socks I knitted this winter, using leftovers.  The top part (my favourite part) is the leftover Grignasco yarn from here, below that is the last remnants of the Patonyles wool (the shrink-tastic one) and the lowest part going down to the toes is some new sock yarn I bought this year for this purpose; a brand called Koigu, 100% Merino wool made in Canada.  Up until I spotted this yarn I didn’t know Canadians were into Merino like us Aussies and Kiwis here, so there you go…. learn something new every day…
Like my twee little name suggests (and please accept my apologies for the weak humour) I made these socks easily long enough for my foot and then a little more some, just in case of a reoccurrence of the dreaded washing machine shrinkage.
Although this.  Will.  Not.  Occur.  (gritted teeth, shaking fist threateningly at washing machine)