The first of the Caspian sea socks is almost done; there are still a few ends to weave in, as well as some duplicate stitch on the leg. As you can see below, I tried carrying the yellow in the first green band, but I really don't think it's worth it. The floats are long and I think it will be more efficient to duplicate stitch the few stitches in the other two leg bands.
Here is the sole, which might perhaps be the one element that attracted me the most:
In the "Gauss would have been so proud of me category", I realized that mistakes in Fair Isle knitting can be corrected with duplicate stitch, if they're not too big. I missed a couple of green stitches on the foot, and a couple of pink ones on the sole, and I think I know how to fix them :)
I probably will not post so extensively about the second sock, so here are the details of this one:
Pattern: Caspian Sea Socks, from knittingdaily.com
Yarn: KnitPicks Merino Style in Hollyberry, Petal, Pine and Honey
Needles: bamboo #3 dpn's
Modifications: I did not do the absolute last row of the heel, as I thought the heel would be too pointy that way. So instead of knit 4 in wine, then knit one more row and Kitchener, I only knit 4 in wine and then Kitchener stitched the remaining 16 stitches. I think it looks much better this way.
Comments: the pattern recommends Dale of Norway Tiur on #2 needles, but I think the sock turned out allright in the Merino Style on #3 needles. Excellent written instructions for everything, and a quick knit. I know "quick knit" is usually attached to ugly sweaters on size 19 needles, where you cast on 60 stitches for the body; these socks are a different category of quick. I've also fallen in love with Priscilla Gibson-Roberts and I will look for more of her patterns.
