Salmon Run

I’ve got another pattern for sale up on Knit Picks!  This one uses one of their new yarns, Chroma.  Chroma is a fingering or worsted weight that transitions slowly from one color to another, like Noro or Mochi.  But much softer!

 

 

My new pattern is Salmon Run.  Stupid name, you think?   A “salmon run” is the time when salmon swim back up the river that they were born in to reproduce. The rivers are choked with salmon during a run. The stitch pattern on these socks, made to wave with yarn overs and decreases, evokes the flowing river and leaping salmon, swimming past fishermen and bears to get to their birthplace.  The stitch pattern looks like salmon leaping in a river (at least it does if you squint).  And the socks are knit toe up- or “upstream,” if you will.  I love the strong vertical stitch pattern looks against the color changes of Chroma.

 

The wavy pattern (from my Russian book!) is made with yarn overs and decreases; they may look like cables, but they’re not.  The sock also have a gusset and slip stitch heel flap, like my Arthurian Anklets.  What they don’t have is ribbing.  The stitch pattern goes right to the end.

 

 

The pattern has instructions for avoiding an ugly color change after the heel and for a stretchy sewn bind off, shown to be superior in this post.

 

  

 

I’m really happy with how these turned out.  I enjoyed working with Chroma- it’s soft and colorful and doesn’t split too much.  I’m even happy with the pictures, which you’ll notice were not taken outside as per usual.  I wanted to photograph the socks by the river, maybe even in the water and splashing a little.  I finished these socks just as a big snowstorm hit Seattle a few weeks ago, so I couldn’t take those pictures.  Then it poured rain for the next week.  When it was finally sunny, I went out to take pictures with Lowell… and just as we were setting up, it started to rain buckets.  I gave up at that point.  Lowell set up a lovely photo studio and we took pictures of the socks indoors.   I have carefully cropped out any cat paws that snuck into the pictures.  I can’t thank him enough for helping me get this done!!