

Right after I completed the Rainbow socks, I found the original first sock of the Circus pair. It didn't go with the others at all. So I had to knit Sock 4 to go with it. That led to this pair:

The right sock is the original Sock 1, which extended to the yellow stripe below the toe. It was a little looser, and my right foot was more swollen, so I chose it for the right sock. The left sock was started after finding Sock 1, and completed on the WorldCon trip, mostly on the trains or while waiting in the St. Louis station for the Texas Eagle to arrive (long wait.) The "frame" of both socks is identical, except that the Rainbow socks have a one-row turquoise toe-stripe, and the Circus socks have a one-row yellow stripe.
The rolled top is four rows of stockinette, followed by six rows of 2x2 ribbing in a contrasting color (here, Mountain Colors yarn's "Bitterroot Rainbow"). The blue, red, and green are all Ella rae Classic, and the yellow (a "golden" yellow) is Cascade 220. The heel's reinforcement/cushion pattern is Eye of Partridge, continued under the heel to the length of the heel callus. Toes are purse-stringed at 8 stitches left, after shaping individually to each foot. Image taken before finishing of the yarn ends or washing, outside, with variable light (clouds slowly moving across midday sun.)