Bloody Socks

This month's sock of the month is Bloody Socks from the book Vampire Knits. I'm halfway through the second sock already, mainly because it's a very short sock. The lace pattern on the instep looks like droplets. Shows up better in a solid yarn, but this is what I had and I like the texture. I'm knitting it in Panda Silk, an orphan skein from Shuttles Spindles and Skeins in Boulder. So far, so good. I did a couple of things differently, but for the most part I've followed the pattern.

I used the turkish cast on instead of the one called for in the pattern so I would not have to worry about twisted stitches on the second half of the first round. It's designed to be knit on 2 circular needles, but I had a hard time keeping the tension snug enough to prevent ladders where the purls turn to knits.

Interestingly, the heel on this toe up sock is identical in construction to the October sock, which is knitted cuff down. The bottom of the heel on the toe up socks becomes the back of the heel on the cuff down sock. Pretty  groovy! I have done mostly short row heels that are the same in both directions, but I didn't know other heels could be used the same way.