Beer Lover's Socks

This is the time of year when I am frantically creating Christmas gifts. I've been knitting up a storm (but you'll have to wait to see what I've made). Meanwhile, I was in need of gold thread for embroidery. I happened to be in my local yarn store (Trumpet Hill), and came upon a beautiful bit of gold, hand dyed merino roving. Just the thing! It was dyed in several shades of gold, from light to quite dark. The first thing I had to do was separate the colors. I have a friend who does this all the time, but I had never tried it before. It was a little trickier than I had expected. Here is what I spun - some light gold thread for embroidery, and some dark gold, spun a bit thicker, for a sprang project I have in mind:

I probably should have put a bit more twist in the embroidery thread, but it will work.

While I was separating the colors, it struck me that the colors looked like all the kinds of beer that my husband likes to drink, from a lovely amber or October fest, to a tasty pilsner. I decided to spin it up and make him a pair of "beer lover's" socks for Christmas. Here is where I am so far:

His favorite beer is Guinness, so I added some dark brown Jacob, and some tan Romney/Corriedale yarn to the mix, and started the sock with a wide brown stripe for his favorite stout, with a little tan for the head. The rest of the stripes will be narrower. I've forgotten what breed the white is, but it was spun from the locks. I will use it for the heels, because it will be sturdier than the merino.

By separating the colors, I wound up with four fairly solid shades of gold (the little balls), plus two small hanks with mixed colors, where the colors changed in the roving. I cast on 68 stitches for the ribbing, then increased to 72 stitches for the leg. I know this will work because I've made socks for him before. I'm using size 1 needles. I'm not sure yet how tall the socks will be. I've weighed the balls, so I will stop when I have used up half of each ball. I will use the mixed yarn and additional Jacob yarn for the feet, and maybe some white for the toes. When I finish the first sock I will let you see how it turns out. It may take a little longer than usual because I can only knit when he isn't around.