Sorry, Your Princess Is In Another Castle

Hey there! I'm going to spoil you with blog posts this close together, but this weekend brought exciting news and i didn't want to wait too long to share it.

A sock pattern i did for Pico-Accuardi Dyeworks' Community Sock Club back in February has been freed from it's club exclusivity, as the club's first year just came to an end in August! Which means I can finally release this pattern out into the world, with all the club member's notes taken in to account to make the pattern a little easier.

Blah blah blah, words words, i know what you really want is a picture. So, here's a few!

I'm pretty proud of her, And it started me on a stint of cables-on-socks for a couple other sock clubs which just may have proven I am certifiably crazy. There's just something so very very satisfying about textural, almost pictographic cables on a sock. I will fully admit this cable pattern is a little fiddly, especially since the gauge is pretty small (9 stitches to the inch, though i think a few people have knit it at 8 and not had a problem, math and knowledge of your yarn will help make that decision for you)

The Sock is knit toe-up, which meant i had to find a good, stretch bind off to suggest to people. Fortunately, the sock's somewhat frilly design lent itself to a Picot Bind-off. It's incredibly comfortable and stretchy, and very satisfying to finish! Also, it's a darn cute addition to this sock.

The heel is inspired by a heel from WendyKnits, i'm not sure if it has a proper name. The sock does have gusseted increases, and then the heel is turned much like the "cup" portion of a top-down traditional heel-flap sock, except it makes up the entire back of the heel. It's pretty nifty and easy to do. It's my new favorite toe-up heel in fact!

So, Without further ado, i leave you with "the deets"

Pattern: Sorry, Your Princess Is In Another Castle by David Castillo

Yarn: Pico Accuardi Dyeworks Stevie Sparkles in "Almost Love"

Gauge: 9 stitches/inch in stockinette

Yardage: 350-400yrds would be best, though you could shorten the cuff easily by omiting a repeat of the cable chart

Instructions: Basic sock instructions written, Cables are charted.

Price: $5.00(us)

Excerpt from the pattern notes given to the sock club:

"While i was designing this sock, knowing full well that it would be the february sock, and that you would all be getting it about a week before valentine’s day, i knew i would want to relate it to valentines day. But, i also knew that the yarn wasn’t going to be red and that i couldn’t just make normal hearts. So the thought of Star-Crossed lovers came in to my head, and i felt that was a great theme for this sock.

Now, when we think of starcrossed lovers, the first that come to mind at Romeo And Juliet, but then we also think of Heathcliff and Catherine or even Tristan and Isolde. Basically, these love affairs never end well for anyone involved. But then I got to thinking about Super Mario Brothers. This plumber from new york gets whisked away to magical land where he meets a princess who then gets abducted by an evil king and he spends the whole video game trying to save her. Each time he thinks he’s close, after he’s battled through harsh terrain and strange creatures to defeat one of the king’s minions, He’s then told “Sorry, your princess is in another castle”."

The PDF download of the pattern features one full color page with photos, but all the pattern details/text/charts are on pages with very printer friendly layouts.

I have a couple new patterns coming available soon, so I will keep you posted. I also managed to finish plying my first spindle-full of handspun yarn! So there will be pictures of that once it's washed and dryed!