On tuesday my friend Markus had his birthday, and once again he’s a year older than me. Hah!
Being my best friend, he of course deserved a nice wooly gift, but even more so because during the past few months he has really been there for me so something extra special seemed appropriate. And what’s better than handknit socks?
Some time ago, Markus was telling me about this trip he and Tuija were thinking of making, they were planning to spend a romantic weekend in Porvoo, a small town east of Helsinki. He was wondering what one could do in Porvoo and I naturally mentioned that there’s a yarn outlet there, and that if I was going to Porvoo I’d be sure to spend a few hours there. His response? Let’s just say he didn’t get it, and said something back that made the wool gods angry because the next day one of the mittens I knit for him got stolen.
In order to make him respect the Wool, these socks are knit from Icelandic worsted yarn (kambgarn from Ístex) which should be handwashed. That should humble him a bit ;-). The pattern is my own, and for the toe decreases I tried a method described in Sukkasillaan for a spiral swirl of purled decreases. Just for fun.
Absolutely lovely socks. Let’s hope Markus doesn’t upset the wool gods again!
I’ve been a fan of your blog for a while now and it’s one of my must reads!
Comment by Sue — Friday, November 24, 2006 @ 10:49 am
I love the spiral toes! I’ve never seen that before.
Comment by Rebecca — Friday, November 24, 2006 @ 2:34 pm
ofsalega fallegir sokkar, hann hlýtur að passa sig betur framvegis maðurinn!
kv.Fríða
Comment by Fríða — Friday, November 24, 2006 @ 3:30 pm
Is that a lice stitch on the cuffs? It’s absolutely wonderful, great for a man’s sock.
Comment by Valerie in San Diego — Friday, November 24, 2006 @ 8:02 pm
He must be a very good friend to deserve such a nice socks.
Love the irony, btw.
Comment by Sonja — Friday, November 24, 2006 @ 8:14 pm
The socks are lovely. I’d love to hear about the cuff pattern.
Comment by Cassie — Saturday, November 25, 2006 @ 1:53 am
i love the cuff pattern you have chosen. it is detailed but still masculine. just lovely!
Comment by jacqueline — Saturday, November 25, 2006 @ 4:52 am
did you steal the mitten? ;)
as for a gift that you have to hand wash, it sounds like love and hate. when you think about gifts that people have given you, you realize that gifts are certainly not free, they come with all these implicit demands and implications.
now a gift you need to hand wash. i wonder how he’ll feel each time he washes those socks.
Comment by omar — Saturday, November 25, 2006 @ 5:25 am
Sigga…mín!
Þú ert alveg biluð að vera svona klár. Rosalega ertu búin að vera að gera fallega hluti. Ertu örugglega að vinna?
Kveðja áhyggjufull en stolt vinkona
Comment by arkarna — Tuesday, November 28, 2006 @ 2:33 am
You really do knit the best socks! I love the cuff pattern–it’s lovely, and would work just as well for women’s socks!
Comment by Beth S. — Tuesday, November 28, 2006 @ 9:43 pm
Hmmm, nú er ég hrædd um að kærastan verði abbó þegar hann Markús fer að ganga i þessum sokkum! Þeir eru rosa flottir, og eins og e-r orðaði það hér að ofan, alls ekkert stelpulegir þótt mynstrið sé fínlegt. En hvernig stendur á því að þú getir prjónað hvert sokkaparið á fætur öðru en nennir ekki að klára eitt einasta vettlingapar? Mér finnast allir vettlingarnir í síðustu færlsu flottir og allt að því fullkomnir. Skora á þig að byrja á að klára annan rauða fingravettling, því þar lentirðu ekki í neinum vandræðum;-)
Comment by Sigurlaug — Thursday, November 30, 2006 @ 4:31 pm
Very handsome socks! Markus is so lucky to have a friend like you!
Comment by Lotta — Thursday, December 7, 2006 @ 11:14 am
Great looking socks! I, too, love the cuffs.
Comment by Marcy — Sunday, December 10, 2006 @ 8:57 pm