Snakes & Ladders

"Snakes and ladders originated in India as a game based on morality. The game was invented by Hindu spiritual teachers to teach children about the effects of good deeds as opposed to bad deeds. The Ladders represented virtues such as generosity, faith, humility, etc., and the Snakes represented vices such as lust, anger, murder, theft, etc. The moral of the game was that a person can attain salvation through performing good deeds whereas by doing evil one takes rebirth in lower forms of life." ..... wikipedia

I never knew the origins of this game and it's interesting to read about this as it's one of my favorite childhood board games. I can't even remember when I last played this game - must be ages ago. But recently I was reminded of this game when I started on this which has nothing to do with morality ......

.... but maybe of some spiritual creativity (as knitting is the new zen). I started knitting & the twists & turns of this design reminded me of snakes & then the columns of knit stitches resemble ladders - this instantly reminded me of my favorite board game - Snakes & Ladders -& so that's the name of my 2nd sock design !

I love the look of these socks when they are on the feet - the snakes look so pretty twisting & curling up the legs against those ladders. The heel is different & is more square & this gives more depth to the heel than my normal heel (eye of the partridge) which is a triangle.

The yarn that I used is also one of my favorite & it's the Helios (a mix of merino & silk) from Jolly Jumbuck - Irene is so good with her colors & I loved them.

I am really happy with this pair of socks - a good combination of stitch pattern & yarn. I have written out the pattern & it's being test knitted now. I should be able to offer this pattern free on Ravelry soon !