Socks A La Mode & Laine Magazine

Megan-Anne has informed me this post cannot consist of several different gifs of people screaming. Apparently, that’s “not good journalism” or something. I won’t pretend to understand or agree, but she’s the CEO on Thursdays, so I have to do what she says. Without further ado, I shall share my glorious news with you: my pattern “Socks À La Mode” is being featured in Issue 17 of Laine Magazine!

Here is where all of my screaming gifs would go if Megan-Anne wasn’t a butt. Instead, I present to you, the socks inspired by my summers on the New Jersey boardwalk.

“Socks À La Mode” encapsulates the best part of summer — frozen custard in a waffle cone from Kohr Brothers. You can view the pattern page on Ravelry here. They are knitted cuff down using smaller needles for the cuff and Stockinette Stitch sections and larger needles to work the colorwork. Two rows of ice cream cones are worked in stranded colorwork on the leg and scoops of ice cream are worked just before working the toe. The socks have an Afterthought Heel.

The magazine is currently on pre-order, and you can view it on Laine’s website here. The official release date is May 5th, 2023. Laine Magazine Issue 17 will showcase 11 beautiful knitting pattern (like mine!) as well as interesting articles from the world of fiber. If the price of shipping for a physical copy is a turn-off for you, check in with your local LYS.

Working with the women at Laine was a fantastic experience, and it was such an honor to be included. I got the opportunity to use a new-to-me yarn, Smooth Sock by The Uncommon Thread, which was a blast. With 75% superwash Bluefaced Leicester wool and 25% nylon, the yarn has a similar fiber content as our Adventure Yarn, but doesn’t have the same Adventure high-twist. It was like working with a hybrid of Adventure and Vacation.

Also, a huge shout out to the handful of testers who helped me hammer out the details on such short notice. The trouble with being in the summer issue is that they need you to work over the holidays!

My only problem during this whole experience was the interview. They sent me a list of questions, which mostly included ::shudder:: talking about myself. Like, you want me to talk about painting with yarn and math? I can do that all day. But when the topic of me came up… I’ll admit it gave me intense impostor syndrome. Helping contribute to this blurb nearly killed me:

Jacquline Rivera says that her life is “devoted to the pursuit of yarn happiness” — dyeing yarn with her sister for their brand Lattes & Llamas is her profession, but designing knitwear is her passion. Jacquline lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, USA. She discovered her love of designing colour charts when she and her sister founded Geek-A-Long, a mystery blanket project raising money for charity. Many of her ideas sprout from the elegant curves or geometric shapes found in architecture.

from Laine Publishing’s Meet the Designers page

As a person currently taking medication for Generalized Anxiety Disorder, you’d think I wouldn’t have been surprised Impostor Syndrome reared its ugly head, but it did catch me off guard. Plus, they needed a picture of me, which you’d think wouldn’t be an issue considering the amount of pictures I have saved to L&L’s Dropbox, but apparently I’m always behind the camera and rarely in front of it! It was a whole ordeal, but my family was there to cheer me on the whole time. And, honestly, I’d still love to do it again sometime. Who knows, maybe I’ll aim for a book next time. 😉

~ Jac

If you’re curious, I’m the CEO on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. She’s the CEO on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Her elderly cat Gambit is the CEO on Mondays because who has the bandwidth for responsibility on a Monday, except for a fat cat. Now you know.