I just got the go-ahead to share a new project with you, which, perhaps appropriately, was under construction during the Cold of Doom:
These socks were commissioned (I love the sound of that) by Kate over at Knit it Up! for her sock club, Sock Yarn Cinema. They're an homage to everyone's favorite heartthrob-professor-turned-rogue-archaeologist, Indiana Jones, and I'm quite pleased with how they turned out.
The process on these was super-fun. Kate had already developed the custom-dyed "Dr. Jones" colorway, and we talked about concepts over email before she overnighted me the yarn. The base is pretty different than the sock yarns I usually use, but it knit up into a lovely, velvety fabric that is cozy but still lightweight.
I knew I wanted to channel Indy's tweedy professorial side with some kind of simple slip-stitch pattern, and the one I lighted on is very simple indeed: a de-textured and lightly modified version of a more rustic tweed from Barbara Walker. Although the finished product looks sophisticated, the yarn does much of the work. The knitter works from both ends of the center-pull ball, knitting with only one color at a time in an easy-to-memorize slip-one-knit-one pattern. I can't claim that I foresaw the exact fade pattern of the colors, but I'm pleased that they ended up mirroring the gradient of the classic Indiana Jones title logo:
I found it so enjoyable to put this project together! If anyone out there is looking to commission other knitting patterns based on popular fictional characters, especially ones from the 1930's and 40's, I'm your girl. In fact, this whole experience has got me thinking about large-scale projects for after the Family Trunk Project is complete, and a knitting-pattern survey of my favorite novel and film characters would be an amazingly fun idea.
The pattern has been distributed with the Sock Yarn Cinema's October mailing. It's not available elsewhere just yet, but keep your eyes peeled; I'll let you know when you can snatch it up. And a big thanks to Kate for getting the ball rolling!
Beautiful, and super-cool!
Love it! I can't wait until it's available.
Ditto Jodi's comments. Perfect fall feeling with these lovely colors.
I am a member of Kate's Sock Yarn Cinema and one of the lucky recipients of your terrific pattern and her fantastic yarn! I can't wait to get started. This pattern is absolutely spectacular! Thanks for a great design.
Hi - I nominated you for a 'love your blog' award, details on my blog.