Back in November of last year, I went on a (belated) 40th birthday trip to
Oaxaca, Mexico. In an effort to pack light, I needed to bring a small project that I could quickly take in and out of my bag with an easily memorizable stitch pattern, but was stumped as to what to bring. Around the same time, we had quite a few conversations with shops who were using
Andorra for socks. While it had not yet occurred to us to do so, it made
perfect sense - the yarn is strong, soft, and makes for a very warm mid-winter layer. Putting two and two together, it only seemed logical that I should find a sock pattern and take a skein with me to try it out!
Andorra works really beautifully at 24 stitches over 4" (see more in my swatching post
here). I knew I wanted a denser fabric for socks, but not so dense, so pretty much every fingering weight pattern wasn't an option. Enter the
Alternate Twist Slippers. The pattern was the correct gauge, the stitch pattern checked off all the boxes, and I had been itching to make something with one of the newer colors, Dijon.
I didn't get nearly as much knitting done on my trip as I expected as every moment was a culinary, visual, or auditory delight. But what I
did manage was really great. Initially concerned that working Andorra on US 2 double pointed needles would be uncomfortable on my hands, the yarn performed beautifully at a denser-than-normal gauge and the knitting was a pleasure.
After coming home, I made a point to work on them when the mood struck me, making sure it was a project purely for pleasure. Fast forward six months, and the pair is complete! I LOVE how they turned out and cannot wait to plan another, this time in one of the newest colors of Andorra, sage.
