SSYC is offering a free Tilting at Windmills sock pattern with a Schaefer Anne purchase until March 12! This pattern won the 2006 Schaefer Yarn Design Contest, and though I haven't yet tried it myself yet, looks fairly simple and would be a good pattern choice especially for sock knitters who haven't gone beyond stockinette or ribs on the legs. The simple chart combines just the knit and purl stitch into a 16 row repeat. Easy Peasy. Check out the Anne yarn we have in stock now- over 20 colorways.
The pattern calls for US 2 needles, but does anyone actually use US 2 when knitting with Anne? I use size US 0. Even US 1 would be too big for me, and create to loose of a fabric that would likely separate on the soles of my feet (making them uncomfy and last less). I do have to say that my one pair of Schaefer Anne socks I knit awhile back (when testing it for the store) have held up the best of any sock yarn I have used. I wear the socks often, machine wash them in a mesh bag, and lay them out to dry, and they look just as good today as they did when I knit them. I remember being worried about the yarn the first time I knit it b/c it's slightly thinner than other fingering weight sock yarns, and it's also fuzzy from the mohair. I thought that made it look delicate. But, wow, have those socks really stood up to wearing.
The pattern at right is an unknown sample color- similar to Indira Gandhi, but the colors in mine are more muted. The pattern used was the Yarn Over Cable, I believe from the book Sensational Knitted Socks.