Pattern: Unisex Slip by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Yarn: Tanis Fiber Arts Blue Label Fingering in "Chestnut"
Size: Large (68 stitches around)
Yardage: about 90% of the skein (~ 380 yards/345 m)
Needles: 2.00 mm

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Rob had new socks on his feet when we headed out to Thanksgiving dinner last night. It always make me ridiculously happy to see him wearing things I've made.

This was pattern #2 from my May Rockin' Sock Club package. I'm knitting it up in the club yarn for me but it's such an appealing pattern, and so perfect for a pair of manly socks, that I cast on a pair for Rob before starting the pair for me. Since I was working the large size and using a different yarn that the one in the pattern I decided to turn everything on its head and worked the pattern from the toe up instead of from the cuff down. When I wound the skein into a ball I weighed it and marked the halfway point with some thread so I'd know if I needed to stop the first sock a little earlier than expected. Since I was working toe-up I used a short-row heel in place of the heel flap and gusset in the pattern. I worked a hem at the cuff, just like the pattern, and sewed it down when I was finished knitting. It really gives a beautiful, crisp finish to a sock.

This is one of my favourite yarns to work with right now. I've used Tanis's Blue Label once before for a pair of socks for Rob and still remember how lovely it was to work with. It's a blend of wool and a bit of nylon and isn't spun as tightly as the Socks That Rock that I've be using so much lately. It is soft, slightly fuzzy and still wears really well. The skeins are really big too. I didn't skimp on the legs of Rob's socks and I was still half way into the foot of the second sock before I saw my marker. The softer feel of the yarn means that the slipped stitch pattern doesn't show up as sharply as it does with the Socks That Rock but I think it still looks nice. I really like the way it works with the variegated yarn instead of fighting against it as so many patterns seem to do.