Why I knit socks

A while back, I tried to count up all the pairs of socks I've completed since I started knitting socks 6.5 years ago. My estimate is somewhere between 60-70 pairs (accounting gets a lot easier with the advent of Ravelry). I've made them in all the colors of the rainbow. There have been lacy pairs and plain stockinette pairs and pairs with various types of ribbing. Most of them have been made with some sort of wool or wool/nylon blend (though one of my earliest pairs was made with alpaca--not a practical choice, but they sure are cozy!)

Cauchy Socks [Ravelry page]

There are a handful of reasons why I keep making socks. They're relatively quick to knit (when compared to an adult-sized sweater, at least). They're practical (we don't always need ANOTHER hat, but who doesn't need another pair of socks???). The yarn comes in eye-catching colors which some people might not choose to wear on any other part of their body besides their feet. They're great travel projects. You can try out practically any stitch pattern.

Some More Socks [Ravelry page]

They make great gifts. This is one of the biggest reasons I keep knitting socks. I know that I treasure the knitted socks I have received, and I choose to believe that everyone to whom I gift a pair treasures them just as much. Giving knitted socks is my way of saying, "I love you and value you enough to make something for your feet." :) If you'll indulge me a bit (like reading my blog isn't indulging me already--ha!):

Ode to My Socks - Pablo Neruda

Mara Mori brought me
a pair of socks
which she knitted herself
with her sheepherder’s hands,
two socks as soft as rabbits.

I slipped my feet into them
as if they were two cases
knitted with threads of twilight and goatskin,
Violent socks,

my feet were two fish made of wool,
two long sharks
sea blue, shot through
by one golden thread,
two immense blackbirds,
two cannons,

my feet were honored in this way
by these heavenly socks.
They were so handsome for the first time
my feet seemed to me unacceptable
like two decrepit firemen,
firemen unworthy of that woven fire,
of those glowing socks.

Nevertheless, I resisted the sharp temptation
to save them somewhere as schoolboys
keep fireflies,
as learned men collect
sacred texts,
I resisted the mad impulse to put them
in a golden cage and each day give them
birdseed and pieces of pink melon.

Like explorers in the jungle
who hand over the very rare green deer
to the spit and eat it with remorse,
I stretched out my feet and pulled on
the magnificent socks and then my shoes.

The moral of my ode is this:
beauty is twice beauty
and what is good is doubly good
when it is a matter of two socks
made of wool in winter.

FO: Milo Socks

Yarn: Araucania Ranco Solid
Pattern: Milo from Sock Innovation (ravelry project page)

In theory, I'm still working on that self-imposed sock challenge, to knit each pattern from Sock Innovation. At this rate, I'll be done about the same time I turn 40. :-/

This pattern was quite enjoyable to knit. Just enough cabling to keep things interesting, but nothing too hand-cramp-inducing. I really enjoyed working with this yarn--beautiful color, nice springiness. It was purchased (on sale!) from a cute little yarn shop in Leavenworth that was in the process of closing when we visited. It's a sad thing when a yarn shop closes.

Look! A blog update!

Oh, hi! It's been a long time. I haven't been knitting very much, and what I have been knitting isn't very interesting yet. Way back when, I thought I would do Knitting Olympics and I cast on for a simple top down raglan sweater, thinking that this would be a realistic challenge for myself. Well, I'm still working on the first sleeve...and by "working" I mean I haven't touched the think in at least a couple weeks. Now that the weather has changed, I'm less motivated to finish. I will eventually, though.

Last month I started my 3rd pair of sock challenge socks...and frogged them an hour later. The yarn I was using (a zauberball) wasn't a good match for the pattern (or for sock knitting in general IMHO). So I'm using the yarn (a luscious green) to make a shawlette...but no pics! Sorry.

Today, in anticipation of my looming vacation (NYC here I come!) I cast on for a new pair of sock challenge socks. I'm working Lindsay in some Koigu KPM that I dyed a few years ago with kool-aid. The resulting color is much less orange than it appears (crappy work lighting!)--more of a coral color with some (odd) purple-ish spots which read more as gray/black/brown on the coral color.

I'm goign to modify the pattern a bit to omit the single rib and instead insert another pattern repeat, in the hope that they'll be slightly larger in circumference. This should be a good purse project for the plane, train and subway rides that are in my near future.

Sock Challenge Update

I finished my second pair of sock challenge socks yesterday. Meet Kai-Mei.

The yarn is Madelinetosh Sock in the color Moreland. I worked these socks on US 1 1/2 (2.5mm).

The 3x3 ribbing on the cuff was fairly boring, and definitely slowed down the progress on these socks, but once I got to the foot my interest picked up and I was able to finish them with fairly good time.

I like that they're mirror images of each other. And I love the saturated color of the yarn.

I also finally got around to taking some FO pics of my first challenge socks, Angee.

I like these ones a lot. More than Kai-Mei, I think.

I'm sad to report that my work blocked Flickr as a social networking site (really??). This limits my ability post interesting posts from work and also diminishes the pleasure I used to get from reading my Bloglines at 3am. Boo!

That went fairly quickly

I made my second visit to East Side Stitchers tonight and finished up the first Angee sock. I was hesitant to go to the sit n knit group because I really don't like getting together with a bunch of strangers. I almost turned around in the parking lot, but the thought of wasting gas forced me inside. And I'm glad I went. I didn't speak very much, but it was nice to sit with a large group and knit.

Once I memorized the lace pattern, the knitting went very quickly. The second sock should be even faster (since I already know the pattern). These iphone pics really don't do the beauty of the color justice. It's such a pleasing teal-y color. The pattern forms a faux-cable braid.

I'm *this* close to being done with the Buncha Squares blanket. I need to weave in ends on 2 more squares (each square has ~16 ends) then I need to sew the squares together. The pattern recipe calls for whip stitch. In my mind, whip stitch doesn't hold as much esteem as matress stitch, but it sure is faster to do, so I'm tempted to use it. I'm also contemplating crocheting them together, but I don't think I'll go this way.

First Challenge Socks

I've chosen the Angee pattern for my first pair of Sock Challenge socks. This pair is relatively simple-looking, compared the other patterns in the book, and I think it will be a good one to ease me into knitting all of the socks in this book.

Like I mentioned last time, I'm using some Dream in Color Smooshy that jumped out to me from the stash. The color is Blue Lagoon and it's a brilliant slightly variegated teal-y blue color. This yarn lives up to it's name--it is indeed smooshy. :) I've used it a few times before (these socks, this shawlette), but I'd forgotten what a pleasure it is to use. I've done a good amount of knitting since the above picture was taken and so far so good!

NOTE: There are some errata in the book. The errata page from Interweave has one of the errata published, but the other is not. The K2tog in the second round of the leg chart should be an SSK.

In other knitting news, I was called last night to share the knitting gospel. To act as a knitevangelist, if you will.



I taught Tamiko to knit! She's well on her way to having a hand-knit dish cloth. :)

Socks in progress...and a personal challenge

So, blogging from work again. Let me just take a second to say that I'm loving the flickr iphone app! So easy to use! In less than a minute I've taken a picture of my project and uploaded to the site. :) Let me also say that I'm impressed with the iphone's camera. Even in low light, the resolution and color of this picture is great.

That's my current sock project, some basic improvised socks. I love the color pattern of the yarn. The way the aqua stands out from the dull browns, greens and grays. I've known all along I would keep these socks for myself (a rare occurance). Think of the blue bits as robin eggs sitting in a nest made out of twigs and leaves (the grey/brown/green parts)--how could I not keep them for myself! The cuff is 2x2 ribbing, the leg has a small ribbing detail which continues along the sides of the foot

And the heel is a basic slipped stitch heel but with the yarn held in front for the slipped stitches. I like the little bars created by using this stitch pattern. :)

These socks are almost done (if I get to more knitting and less blogging, they might actually be done tonight!) and I've decided to give myself a sock-knitting challenge: Knit every* pattern in Cookie A.'s book, Sock Innovation, and use only stash yarn to do it! I've wound of a skein of Dream in Color Smooshy and will start the first pair as soon as the stripey socks are done.

*I made the Eunice socks last year. I may or may not make them again. As of now, this pattern is exempt from the challenge.