I've been working on this sock pattern for a really long time; the first version was originally going to appear in Malabrigo Book 3, but at the last minute I subbed in the Quick Draw Socks because the yarn they sent me for my original design was inadvertently a test yarn. Oops! (Side note: I loved the yarn, but have not yet seen it out on the market). So that would date this pattern to 2010....no, that's not a typo!
Obviously, the pattern was shelved for a while as other things came up - other design work, the transition from working in a salon to working from home, general life craziness...you get the idea. Finally, late last year, I decided to revive this design and set to work. Then life interfered again: last-minute holiday gift knitting, busy season at work (and a job promotion!), and lots of traveling at the beginning of this year. Yet again, this pattern got relegated to the back-burner.
Before we fast-forward to the present, where the sock pattern finally makes it out into the world, let's set the mood by listening to the inspirational/namesake song for this pattern, Moving Mountains by The Warlocks:
Ok, that's better! Originally, I named these socks after one the song you are probably listening to now, which is among my favorite Warlocks songs (though it should be noted that pretty much all of their songs are my favorites). Mostly it was because I thought the name sounded cool, but it also fit the stitch pattern, which looks a bit like mountains if you look at it sideways. Maybe that's just me, but at any rate, I kept looking at this stitch pattern and having mountain-y thoughts.
Of course, after so many years working on this design, I started to feel a bit like I was trying to move mountains. The irony in all of this? These socks are super-easy to knit, not to mention lightning-fast: they're sport weight and simply fly off the needles! The key is to keep working on them. I say that only for my own benefit, as I'm sure the rest of the world has figured that out by now.
They're the perfect project for last-minute gifting, and I'm sure a one or two of my family members will be getting a pair of these this year. Also, you have the option of making two versions depending on whether or not you'd like to continue the rib pattern down the leg of the sock or switch to stockinette stitch.
Subscribers to my free e-newsletter received a special introductory discount on this pattern; if you're bummed that you missed out on that, click here to sign up for future emails!
Moving Mountains Socks
by Stefanie Goodwin-Ritter
or 400 yards of any sport-weight yarn
Obviously, the pattern was shelved for a while as other things came up - other design work, the transition from working in a salon to working from home, general life craziness...you get the idea. Finally, late last year, I decided to revive this design and set to work. Then life interfered again: last-minute holiday gift knitting, busy season at work (and a job promotion!), and lots of traveling at the beginning of this year. Yet again, this pattern got relegated to the back-burner.
Before we fast-forward to the present, where the sock pattern finally makes it out into the world, let's set the mood by listening to the inspirational/namesake song for this pattern, Moving Mountains by The Warlocks:
Ok, that's better! Originally, I named these socks after one the song you are probably listening to now, which is among my favorite Warlocks songs (though it should be noted that pretty much all of their songs are my favorites). Mostly it was because I thought the name sounded cool, but it also fit the stitch pattern, which looks a bit like mountains if you look at it sideways. Maybe that's just me, but at any rate, I kept looking at this stitch pattern and having mountain-y thoughts.
 |
| Left: stockinette version; Right: ribbed version |
Of course, after so many years working on this design, I started to feel a bit like I was trying to move mountains. The irony in all of this? These socks are super-easy to knit, not to mention lightning-fast: they're sport weight and simply fly off the needles! The key is to keep working on them. I say that only for my own benefit, as I'm sure the rest of the world has figured that out by now.
They're the perfect project for last-minute gifting, and I'm sure a one or two of my family members will be getting a pair of these this year. Also, you have the option of making two versions depending on whether or not you'd like to continue the rib pattern down the leg of the sock or switch to stockinette stitch.
Subscribers to my free e-newsletter received a special introductory discount on this pattern; if you're bummed that you missed out on that, click here to sign up for future emails!
by Stefanie Goodwin-Ritter
Skill Level
Intermediate
Sizes:
S/M (M/L)
Finished Measurements
Approx. 7” (8½”) circumference – to fit average woman’s
(man’s) foot.
Materials
2 skeins Quince & Co. Chickadee in Honey (100% Wool, 181
yards (166 meters) in a 50g hank)
or 400 yards of any sport-weight yarn
Set of US #3 DPN’s
Darning Needle
Gauge
24 sts = 4” in stockinette stitch in the round
Other notes
Sock is worked in-the-round from the top-down. Stitch pattern is charted.
Great looking socks. Love the stitch pattern. Very cool song, too!
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