FO: Monkey Socks!!
Details
Pattern: Monkey Socks
Yarn: handspun merino, hand-dyed with Kool-Aid
Needles: 2.25mm DIY birch dpns (see PSA below)
Project Timeline: June 17-22, 2007
Modifications: picot cuff; only 5 reps. of pattern for leg; “Eye of Partridge” heel.
Dudes, are these things ever addictive! The lace pattern is so easy to memorize, they just seem to knit themselves. What a satisfying knit!
I’ve already started a pair for Dru (a belated birthday present):
PSA: DIY Birch dpns.
Ok, you see those dpns there on that sock? Perfectly normal looking needles, right? 100% birch. Nice and smooth, great for socks.
Well, my friends, if you have $3.20 in your pocket and a Lee Valley store near by, needles just like these can be yours. One pack actually contains 100 birch mini-dowels, 6″ long and 2.25mm (1/16″) in diameter. Yeah, sure, you have to file them to points by yourself, and a bit of sanding makes them guaranteed sliver-free, but still, you do the math: 100 needles for about $3.20. A bit better than what Brittany or Clover charges, eh? (They come in 50-packs of 1/8″ diameter, too!)
Want a close-up?
Aemmeleia's Ephemera 
I am SO impressed with your DIY abilities! Spindles, needles, what next?
The socks look fabulous, too. I love the colors! I haven’t tried the monkey pattern yet, but I’ve got some koigu that may become monkeys in the next little while.
Oh, the Monkeys in a nearly solid color. I love them! And you spun and dyed the yarn too? Whoah. I’m impressed.
I love the diy needles! Other than sandpaper what did you use to file them down?
oooh, that is so cool….making your own needles!
I like them, I haven’t had a chance to knit much with them, since my first pair went off with a friend who wanted to learn to knit and wanted to start with socks. She enjoyed them though…
I made up another pair yesterday and will hopefully get a pair cast onto them later this week.
Thanks, I went a tad bead crazy a few weeks ago – Michael’s is an evil evil place!
(I heard a rumour that your DIY awesomeness encompasses the spinning realm… is this true?! I keep standing on the edge of that particular cliff, but haven’t taken the plunge yet – any suggestions?)
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