There's a Mingus betwing* us

* I know that's not a word, but it rhymes so go with it.

Look - I made socks without a EoP flap! You might wanna peek out your window now and get a pic of that pig flying by.

In case you didn't guess from the plethora (and you thought I'd never get to use that word) of ktbls, this is a pattern by Cookie A., called Mingus. Ain't she purty? One thing I just love about her patterns - they're truly unique. She's no throw-a-stitch-pattern-at-it kind of gal. Not that there's anything wrong with that (as I do that myself on many occasions), but you can clearly see she puts a lot of time and effort into her designs. Which is good, 'cuz I've got like, five of them.

See, even Fernie likes 'em!

The only meh about this pattern is the chart. It has you jump around quite a bit - you knit two separate rows of the chart two times every round. Did that give you a headache? Yeah, me too. So I dragged that baby into Photoshop and whipped me out a full chart. It went SO much faster after that. Not only did it save me from jumping around every round and swearing like a sailor from losing my effing place again, it also helped me visualize the pattern, which made the knitting itself much more intuitive.

Okay, someone put out my incense 'cause I'm getting all Zen again.

The only mods to the actual knitting part were on the toes:

• Decreased 2 stitches on each side of the instep on the last two rows of the foot to even out the stitch count (instead of shifting stitches at the start of the toe).
• Inverted the toe decreases to lean away from the center rather than towards it (k2togs on the right, ssks on the left) as it looks nicer (IMO), and fits my toes better for some reason.
• Kitchenered with 13 stitches on each needle (I like me a less pointy toe).

And did you see? I didn't do my usual EoPaholic flap! These really called for the twisted rib. Also made me realize how much the EoP flap pulls up. I only had to pick up 13 stitches for the gusset, rather than 16 or 18 like usual, which made the decreases go by that much faster. Saved myself 6-10 rows! Now, I generally don't have to worry about running short on yarn with my elfin feet, but sometimes, when you just wanna hurryupandfinish so you can wear your socks, faster is a good thing. Not sayin' I'm ditching the EoP or anything, but I might be more inclined to veer away from time to time.

That be twisted, sister.

Yarn thoughts
This is Baywood Yarns Pearly Twist Sock Yarn in colorway Waves. Very pretty, dontchathink? Lovely, rich hues that left behind some tint in the soak, but no fading afterwards. Did develop a bit of a halo, though, which makes me wonder how well they'll wear. Guess I'll find out! You know, if it ever gets cold for more than a freakin' day around here. :P

Feel-wise, I'd say it's about average. It's a nice yarn, excellent yardage (the legs are longer than I usually go for, and there was plenty left over) , but not really sproingy or extraordinarily soft. This pair is a funky cool addition to my growing handknit sock collection, but the yarn didn't really stand out enough for me to want to try it again.

Wrap it up
Fun (if not a little painful) to knit, with faboo results! The dark colorway needed a strong, distinct pattern to show it off, and Mingus came through like a champ. Plus, it sounds like a sea creature! And when you've got a sense of humor like a 10-year-old, that always helps.

Mingus
Pattern: Cookie A.
Yarn: Baywood Yarns Pearly Twist Sock, 1 skein in Waves
Needles: HiyaHiya Steel, Size 1, 32"
Mods: Photoshopped the full chart, weezed up the toe