If you’re ever looking for a pattern for a special skein of speckled or variegated sock yarn, I highly recommend Prairie Spring by Samantha Myhre. It features a cool traveling slipped-stitch pattern that spirals around the leg and then flattens out across the diagonal of the foot, with each sock spiraling in a different direction.
Here is the pair I just finished using some souvenir yarn from my honeymoon in Portland, Oregon:
Dear Reader: I feel compelled to disclose that I airbrushed my legs in this photo to smooth out my skin and I added a subtle tan. So, if you are feeling jealous of my beautiful legs… don’t.
I first knitted this pattern back in 2018 with a rainbow speckled yarn and I fell in love with the pattern then, but I haven’t had the right yarn come around in my stash to inspire me to knit another pair until I stashed this yarn from Ex Libris Fibers. It’s a bit of a mix between a variegated and a speckle, and I think it looks even better in this pattern than the pure speckle did.
One thing I don’t love about this yarn is that the color saturation varied a lot from one end of the skein to the other. If you look at my photo above, you can see the sock on the left is considerably paler than the sock on the right. This has happened to me with yarn from other dyers too. I think it’s just a thing that sometimes happens with hand-dyed yarn. It’s certainly not my favorite feature, but it’s not the end of the world either. Adversity builds character, right?
One big tip for knitting this pattern is to use double-pointed needles! It’s much easier to manage passing the traveling stitches between needles on DPNs vs. trying to do it on circulars using the magic loop method. (I tried both.) On this pair, I actually knitted the legs on DPNs and then switched to circulars/magic loop once I finished the gusset decreases. (I switched because I wanted the DPNs for a different project, no real logic to it beyond that.)
I’m a big fan of knitting on five 4” DPNs, but for these I set up the leg on four 5” DPNs so I didn’t have to pass between needles as often. I used my Karbonz DPNs, which are my favorite choice for a longer needle because they are so lightweight.
All that said… I suppose if you like knitting on 9” circular needles, that would be the best choice for these socks because you wouldn’t have to pass the stitches between needles at all. I considered it, but the little needle tips always make my hands cramp. I regret it every time I use them. So… not today, Satan!
OK, I’m getting a bit silly here, so I’ll wrap it up. While I was knitting these, I had a little project page going in the WIPs section of the blog. You can look back at all the WIP pics here. And now, as always, I’ll conclude with some final project details:
yarn details
Ex Libris Fibers Joyce in Cauldron Bubble (an exclusive colorway made for Weird Sisters)
Fingering Weight
80% Merino, 20% Silk
431 yards / 100 grams
project details
pattern: “Prairie Spring” by Samantha Myhre (purchase on Ravelry)
size knit: Small/Ladies (CO 72)
needles: US size 1.5 (2.5 mm) double-pointed needles (mine are Knit Pro Karbonz)
gauge: 8.5 stitches to an inch in Stockinette (according to my cheater ruler)
yarn used: 324 yards (75 grams)
finished size: Top of cuff to bottom of heel flap: 7.75”; back of heel flap to tip of toe: 9.25”; leg diameter (laid flat): 3.5”; foot diameter (laid flat): 4”
duration: January – August, 2026
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