Opal Socks
Opal is a brand of sock yarn and it comes from Germany. Over the years, I've seen other folks using Opal yarn when making socks but I had never seen Opal yarn at any yarn shops I had visited. I was in Des Moines, Iowa, visiting my mother-in-law several years ago. There is a cute little old historic shopping district called Valley Junction not too far from my mother-in-law's home and I discovered a super nice yarn shop there. They had Opal yarn there so I had to get two balls of yarn.
I started this pair of socks a number of years ago. I needed to bring a pair of socks to work on when I was flying to go visit my folks in Oregon. I started the sock (toe up, one at a time) and got to the heel. I made a mistake in the heel and just tossed the sock aside. Why do I do that?
This month I am determined to finish up works in progress. This is one of three pairs I've finished this month!
Here are some photos of the yarn label. I think the colors in the yarn are inspired by the beetle-looking creature on the lower right hand corner of the label. I think Opal must have had a series of yarns inspired by rainforest creatures. This colorway is called "Ecuador Elly".
I knit these socks on two circular needles (needle size 2.25 mm), and I knit the socks from the toe up. I only cast on 16 stitches to start (8 stitches per needle using Judy's Magic Cast on). Next time I make toe up socks, I need to start with more stitches; these socks have a very pointy toe which does not suit the shape of my foot. Live and learn! I increased to 64 stitches and then worked a Fleegle Heel. To bind off, I used Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off.
I'll have more posts about completed socks in the next few days. I am working on finishing up pair #4 right now and it's only the 15th of January. Woo hoo! I am on a roll!
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