Socks are great

It dawned on my this morning as I was shoving clean laundry back into its various resting places (inside closets and drawers instead of a big pile in front of the closets and drawers, as often happens, so go me), that I couldn’t remember the last time I purchased a pair of store-bought socks. I had to really think about it. I think I bought some thin dress-sock sort of pairs back last…March? maybe? And some tights around the same time, but I don’t think those count. (While I could knit myself tights, I don’t think I’m going to. Even I have some limits.) I have well over two weeks’ worth of pairs of hand-knit socks, and I love them all. I have knitted more than the ones that are in my sock drawer, of course, but the ones that live in my own wardrobe have served me well and are in happy colours that make me glad to knit and wear them.

I know that a lot of knitters don’t take to socks and probably have shelves full of scarves and hats instead, and that’s entirely cool. For me, I can’t imagine a time when I didn’t have a fistful of my own hand-knit socks to choose from, and that is awesome to me.

Many of them have also now been with me for a few years, and are starting to look it. So this January I finally got myself on that, and added two new pairs to the drawer. One was this plain ribbed pair, (a 3×1 ribbed sock, as I so often enjoy) adjusted to 60 sts from my usual 64, because this is Socks That Rock Mediumweight (in an unknown mill end colourway) and is a bit weightier than what I might normally use. And damn if these didn’t come together quickly. I knitted a large portion of them while sitting in movie theatres (caught up on The King’s Speech and The Black Swan after renting The Social Network and Toy Story 3, and am still working myself up for 127 Hours and True Grit…and realizing I have possibly been watching the Oscar nominees in descending order of cheerfulness and maybe I should have thought this through better but I digress), which isn’t as easy to do with ribbing as with stockinette but still do-able.

I love them. They are bright and red and cheerful and anti-winter while still being warm and comfortable, and I’m wearing them right now. Before I finished these, though, I actually went back and finished up a pair of Jaywalkers that had gotten started way back last summer, then neglected when new fall knitting took up its siren song. I only had about 2/3 of the second sock left, so once I picked them up again and got a bit of momentum they were done like dinner.

The yarn is Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock, which is my go-to yarn for Jaywalkers, knitted on the larger size over 72 sts and 2.25mm needles. They fit me just right. Given the wicked and violent pooling action going on here, I’m sure it’s not surprising to you that the colourway name is ‘Zombie BBQ’. Ahhh, zombie sock goodness.

And now I’ve got more sock knitting on the go, which is fantastic since I’m off this weekend for a short jaunt to Vancouver for a change of scenery. I hear they have grass there, that isn’t covered in snow. But I’m going to go down in person just to check it out for verification purposes.

Catch you next time from the west coast! Happy knitting this Thursday evening.