wip: Chai Latte Socks

Here's what I've been doing with that skein of Hot Socks Country. They're called my Chai Latte socks, named for my favorite drink at Bec's Coffee in Bridgnorth.

If you're in the area, pay Bec's a visit! The staff are kind, the cafe cozy (with a gorgeous lounge area upstairs), and the drinks and cakes are delicious.

I've gone enough times to have a 'usual': the chai latte with chilis. The chai latte's one of my favorite drinks, and Bec's is so far the best kind that I've had. Jason's tried something new from the menu each time, and has liked them so far--he chose the "piccolo" today, he thought it was quite nice. :]

Ah, back to the socks in progress. I'm using Virginia Rose-Jeanes' Vanilla Latte Socks pattern and it's been pretty fun so far. I like that she allowed for different ribbing cuff options, and wrote directions for three different heels to choose. I went for a simple K2 P2 ribbing for the cuff, and worked an Eye of Partridge heel. If you recall I had my first experience with Eye of Partridge when working on Hermione's Everyday Socks last June.

The wool itself has been sort of scratchy, but I have some faith that it will soften up in the wash. Or at least that it will hold up a promise of being tough and durable. I also notice that the wool is a little bit "sticky?" As I unwind the skein I feel the strand kind of unzip as it's being pulled off from the rest of the wool. Anyone else have this with certain yarns? It's probably nothing bad, just a little bit interesting to find while working with new yarns from LYS in this part of the West Midlands.