Toasty Toes…

June 9, 2014

As I mentioned in a previous post (March 20, 2014 Switch Knitting), I’ve started knitting in the “Continental” style.  This has proven to be much easier on my hands and I knit faster so projects get completed much sooner than before.

Last Tuesday, I started knitting a new pair of socks.  I had bought some sock yarn at Michael’s craft store because I really liked the teal color.  The yarn I purchased is Lion Brand’s Sock-Ease.  The color is called Taffy.  It is wool yarn, but has aloe added into the yarn.  I’m guessing that the added aloe is intended to make the yarn softer next to the skin. 

So I started the socks last Tuesday and will finish them today.  This is record completion time since I usually only knit when I’m waiting at doctor appointments, at local political meetings that I attend with Charming, or when I’m a passenger in a car.  The pattern that I normally use for socks was given to me by a friend.  It’s pretty much straight knitting (except for the knit 2, purl 2 ribbing at the top of the sock) in the round, using size 0 circular knitting needles.  I knit both socks on the circular needles at the same time.  Much of the sock yarn available these days is self-striping.  This means that the colors (stripes) are dyed into the yarn so the knitter doesn’t have to change yarns in order to change colors.  This allows the knitter to blissfully continue to knit, without the hassle of deciding what colors to add next. 

I have made many pairs of socks over the years.  Some I have given away as presents, some I have entered into the local county fair and won first place ribbons.  Most I have kept for myself.  Right now, I have twenty-five pairs in my sock drawer.  I also have three “trophy” pair hanging on my studio wall and several pair just lying around the house in odd places…sort of like spare change.

If you’ve ever had a pair of hand-knitted socks, you’ll know that there’s nothing like the comfort that you get from wearing them in the winter time and they last forever.  I have even been known to match my sock to my shirts, which makes for a really nice look when I wear open backed clogs/shoes in the fall and winter.  The “Prepper” in me also takes great comfort in the fact that I have a month’s worth of beautiful socks, without ever having to wear the same pair twice.  Now how many people do you know who can say that?

My latest pair of nearly-completed socks.

TaDa!  My sock drawer...twenty-five pair of warm and cuddly
socks just waiting for cold weather.  (Note the green and pink
pairs folded at the top right of the picture.  Those have yet to
be even tried on.)

My trophy wall of socks.  I have other knitted projects
such as a felted purse, baby sweater set, a scarf, and
a knitted-then-braided rug that have won fair
ribbons as well.  (Oh look...to the left of the bottom
pair of socks, on the desk...there's a "spare change" pair
of blue socks that haven't yet made it to my sock drawer.)