About the Spiral

I made mention of a sock I was working on a little while back and forgot to follow up. The sock is the Spiraling Coriolis from New Pathways for Sock Knitters by Cat Bordhi.

First of all, let me tell you that Ms. Bordhi is a genius. The book is based on discovering new "architectural styles" for sock design by moving away from the traditional gusset arch expansion. While I'm not necessarily crazy about all the patterns in the book, the book is so full of useful information that I wouldn't want to be without it. It includes several different top, toe, and heel options for both top-down and toe-up socks as well as pages of clear, concise instructions on virtually everything sock related including short rows (the perfectly hidden wrap), swatching, increases and more.

The book can seem overwhelming at first and I had to browse through it several times before I could start processing it all and pulling it together in my mind. It is not the type of book that you pick up and just cast on for a cute pattern, but it definitely makes for some interesting knitting. I found myself flipping away from the pattern to different sections quite a bit as I referred to my measurements and her techniques but post-its make this job much easier.

In the sock pictured above, the arch expansion is created through a series of increases along the climbing spiral. Once I had my gauge and a few easy measurements, her formula produced a sock with a perfect fit that was fun and quick to knit. I've been majorly distracted so I've only completed the whirlpool toe of the second sock, but I'm sure it's not going anywhere.

Distracted by what, you ask? More on that later.

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But before I go, I was tagged by Yarnhog with this book reading meme. The task is to open a book you are currently reading to page 161 and copy the fifth sentence on the page. So here goes...

"Instead she looked at the lavender bag on the coffee table, the shop's info printed right there."

Geesh! I had to look ahead and that practically ruins the whole book for me! The book? The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs. Yes, my literary standards are almost as high as my movie watching standards. My goal with either is usually to simply be entertained. My life brings enough drama of it's own.

Now I'm supposed to tag a few people but instead, here's the deal... If you are reading this, you have been tagged. Yes, YOU!

In addition, please leave a comment telling me what book you are reading and if you like it or not. (I'm always looking for some good books.)