Saturday, February 24, 2007

Blue Bamboo

First part of PS2 is blue, gray, white. It dawned on me that I don't have hand knit blue socks, and that had to be remedied right away. Don't you think? I knit fingerless gloves with sock yarn and "been there, done that" socks for my son, but for me? Stash diving revealed (OK, Annie and blogless Penelope, stop reading now...) Trekking ProNatura (25% bamboo, 75%wool) in these lovely bluish/grayish/slate colors.
Trekking bamboo
I LOVE Trekking ProNatura. I made a pair from the brownish tones and I have thought about this for the Gentleman's Socks from Nancy Bush's book Vintage Socks. It is meant for a man's foot, so I am knitting it with less stitches. Addi circs US1. I am starting the second sock now, so I can knit them together. Having the pattern in the sock, motivates to keep going. At least 10 rows (of each pattern repeat) at a time.
ETA: It was asked why I love Trekking pronatura. The yarn is 75% wool and 25% bamboo. I like that it is all natural. The bamboo adds a lightness, and softness to the finished product and it is smooth to work with, but not too slippery. It feels great on my feet, less sweaty than yarn mixed with nylon or poly. And, I love the subtlety of the colors. By the way, I just found out there is another bamboo out there: Austermann's"BAMBOOSOFT" (65% Wool, 35% Bamboo. 110 yards, 50 grams. US 7 - 8, 4.75 sts per inch.) Somebody pull me away from the computer...
Trekking bamboo detail

Trekking bamboo- pattern

15 comments:

Dave said...

Those are gorgeous -- what a beautiful colour! How does the yarn feel? Does the bamboo give it a "cotton" touch?

Kath said...

I love the pattern in that sock. The colour's great as well!
I've had such fun reading through your blog and admiring your photos of real winter weather not the sorry excuse of one we have here in the UK. I shall be back for more!

Anonymous said...

Man--now I REALLY want to buy that yarn. What's a girl to do?

Penelope

Lori said...

Ooo, those are going to be nice!
I secone Dave's question: how does the bamboo make the yarn feel (compared to normal trekking) and is the resulting fabric as stretchy? I've not worked with bamboo yet.

Chrissy said...

That is knitting up really nicely! I've got some of the pro natura, and I'm glad to hear that it's good stuff.

Knitting Ewe said...

ooh Hila!
Those socks look amazing - and thanks for the info on the yarn. I think I will give it a try on my next socks!

Annie said...

Hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee.

Rain said...

I love those blues together. They're going to be gorgeous.

Nana Sadie said...

Really really pretty! They're going to be gorgeous and now I want more sock yarn!
(((hugs)))

gail said...

What lovely, lovely socks. Nice muted tones for the wet spring. I've noticed that most of my socks are muted and, therefore, I'm looking for more color in the socks on the needles.

Artis-Anne said...

Oh what a lovely yarn and a great pattern too . I am on a yarn diet :( other wise I would get that yarn NOW boo hooo

Anonymous said...

Ooh, I really must try this year, given my love of Trekking and my follow-the-herd fascination with bamboo.

Anonymous said...

Ooh, I really must try this yarn, given my love of Trekking and my follow-the-herd fascination with bamboo.

Anonymous said...

(Ugh, sorry, can you delete the first one of those? And this one?)

Unknown said...

Oh lovely, I haven't knitted with bamboo yet but plan to try the new Rowan stuff soon. This bamboo mix of yours sounds lovely and those shades of blue are so pretty.