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Gumdrops, Twizzlers, and M&Ms, oh my!
Designer's Corner, Warning Spoilage | July 23, 2008
Hey, all you sock knitters. Wanna hear where the Gumdrops design came from?
It all started innocently enough. One day I noticed that Fir Cone, a classic Shetland lace pattern, was composed of motifs that expanded from a single stitch, then shrunk back to that single stitch, all nestled together in a half-drop arrangement. Hmm, I wondered. What if you put columns of purls between the motifs? And substituted “[k1, yo, k1] in next st” for “yo, k1, yo,” for a less lacy effect? What kind of fabric would you get?
With Socks that Rock, you get a fine fabric indeed–Gumdrops! Stretchy, bouncy, and full of soft, undulating, 3d texture.
But the “wrong” side–what a surprise that was! Really, I can’t say which side I like better. And that’s why these socks have reversible heels and toes–you get to choose which side to wear on the outside, on any given day! Not fond of short-row, garter-stitch heels? Or grafting toes? By all means, feel free to substitute other heels or toes as you please! Go ahead and make these socks your own–after all, where would the Gumdrops socks be if I hadn’t felt free to tweak Fir Cone?
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13 Responses to “Gumdrops, Twizzlers, and M&Ms, oh my!”
I have almost finished the cuff on my first sock and have to say that I love this pattern! Now I have to go turn it inside out and see what I find. Thanks for a delicious pattern
I really need to remove this blog from my Bloglines feed. I don’t know whether anyone else in the UK has had this shipment yet, but I was trying to stay unspoiled so haven’t been reading the “I got mine…” comments… Could there be a *little* bit of an interval between shipping and the designer comments, so that those of us overseas stand some sort of a chance of getting the shipment first, please pretty please??
I agree with Liz. The designer notes have always appeared this year before I’ve gotten my shipment it seems. I’ve also wondered why the designer notes don’t appear in the shipment along with the pattern and dyer’s notes? That way as soon as you got the shipment, you’d hear from the designer…and for those of us who don’t get the shipment as fast, well, the anticipation remains! Smile.
Sorry the “Warning Spoilage” notice is being fickle. It is up now.
The designer notes are on the blog because of the KAL aspect that the club is about. It gives you access to the designer for questions and pattern help.
It is a fine line on when to post these because some folks do have theirs already.
USPS and International shipping variations make this extremely difficult to gauge. Canada got theirs really fast this time but that is usually not the case.
So… I am sorry!
I will make sure the SPOILAGE button is working properly from now on.
I think part of the problem is that many of us use an RSS feed reader to find out when new blog comments/threads are posted and the spoilage button doesn’t show up on the RSS readers…I do understand there’s a fine line about when to post designer notes…don’t envy you trying to make all these decisions.
Does it say Designer’s Corner on it? Well Poo! Does it say Designers Corner?
Hi Tina: Unfortunately it doesn’t, because those are category labels rather than message text, and don’t show up either so there’s nothing that says “spoiler” anywhere… It just comes up as a regular post on the RSS reader…
I appreciate that people who get their shipments quickly want the notes; they just seem to have come up really fast this time!
Hey JC question about sizing….are these kinda like your last design where the mediums were a bit big and we had to go down a size? Don’t get me wrong, loved the other and can’t wait to get started. I want to cast on and place markers so I am ready to go for Monday am when stepmom has surgery and we have to be there at 4:00am. I want everything in the bag ready to go. I would like to finish a KAL shawl this weekend - best laid plans- ya’ll know how those go.
Thanks
I loved the pattern as soon as I saw it and can’t wait to cast it on! Great design, JC!
Do the Gumdrops socks run a bit on the large size? Darned if I know! But I can say this: *at the gauge specified in the pattern*, the medium feels a bit snug on my size 7.5 feet, and the large feels just a hair loose. With washing and a bit of wear, I suspect the medium size will relax a touch and feel just right.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it boils down to personal preference. People who like their socks really snug are going to want to knit a smaller size, and rely on the fabric’s stretchiness to make ‘em comfy. People who like their socks snug but not tight, and want to show of the texture of the fabric, are going to want to knit a larger size.
I love this Gumdrops pattern. I don’t usually start my club socks right away, unless they really call me. This colorway is a little pale for me, but the pattern is so interesting that I can’t stop knitting!
Oh my, this pattern is so pretty! I love the way the ribs transform into the gumdrops and how the half gumdrps curve at the edge of the sole- everything is so ,well, perfect! These are the things that make me raise my pants above my ankles to look at my socks and swoon every five minutes! I can’t wait to cast on!
I just have to fan girl a bit here. JC, I love this pattern. I was worried looking at it, and even reading the pattern through the first time that it was just going to be too fussy. I was so wrong, and I shouldn’t have doubted you.
Just like the Leafling pattern I’ve found the pattern easy to get into a groove with, and even successfully knit through an evening of wine sipping without having to rip back. (That definitely makes patterns more fun for me, since I do love me some wine.)
Still, the best part to me is how it just looks fabulously complicated. Nothing gives my little knitter heart more joy than a fun knit that is so gorgeous that everyone assumes it must be harder than it is. So thanks for another great pattern.
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