"H" is for "Hearts Abound"

I started on my "H" socks tonight - I'm following the "Hearts Abound" pattern from Knit Picks (yup, another free pattern!)  It is a toe-up sock, so a little different in construction then the patterns I usually use, but it's always good to learn something new, right?  I've really enjoyed making them, and I think I'll use this construction again in the future.  These are a Christmas gift for a friend of mine from Canada who also lives in the UK.  

"G" is for "Girlie Anklet Socks"

"G" is for "Girlie Anklet Socks"!

They have turned out very well, and I think my wee lady R will be pleased with them as a Christmas gift this year - they are very girly!  I did make them a little on the big side so that they will fit her for a while - nothing more discouraging then working hard on a project, only to realize that they will only fit their recipient for a week!  Here is a link to the FREE PATTERN!

"F" is for "Froot Loop"

My "F" pattern is "Froot Loop" - it's a free pattern!  I've been eyeing this one for a while, I love the way it looks - pretty, but subtle.  I've chosen a solid purple colour...   These are for my niece "C".

"E" is for "Escalator"

"E" is for "Escalator"

I'm quite pleased with how these socks have turned out!  (free pattern!)  They will be  a Christmas gift for my niece "L".  I have dyed this yarn myself, featuring her two favourite colours -- blue and purple.  On the up side, if she doesn't like them, they will probably fit her mom!  She's only a young teen, but already has big feet!

"D" is for "Dunn's River"

"D" is for "Dunn's River"

I've always loved the look of ripples, and this pattern is no exception!  I'm very pleased with how these have turned out, and I'm certain my mother will like them as her Christmas gift this year.  Even the colour seems to pop nicely!  This is a free pattern, too!

"C" is for "Charade"

"C" is for "Charade"


I'm glad I used a lighter colour for this free pattern - I think it would have gotten lost on something darker.  I am pleased with these, tho, and I think my sister-in-law "M" will be pleased with them for Christmas.   The yarn is deliciously soft, so should feel lovely on her feet.  

"B" is for "Baudelaire"

"B" is for "Baudelaire"

This free pattern is from Knitty, created by Cookie A -- both my favourite sources for patterns!  I was a little intimidated by the chart of lace, but it was easy to follow, and has turned out beautifully!  They are scheaduled to go to one of my best friends for Christmas, but I am tempted to keep them!

"A" is for "Air Raid"

"A" is for "Air Raid"

Well, here we go!  The first of (hopefully) 26 pairs of socks to be completed this year!  I'm quite pleased that I managed to complete these before casting on for "B"!  This free pattern knitted up very quickly, and look great!  They are for my mother-in-law for Christmas, so I hope she likes them. The lacy holes should help the socks breathe well.

I Might Just be Crazy....

I've joined a challenge this year - to knit socks through the alphabet!  The group is on Ravelry.  I've had a real lack of focus with knitting lately, but lots of sock yarn in my stash, so I think this will be the perfect way to get started early on some Christmas gifts, and use some of my treasured stash yarns.  I am going to take the challenge one step further and attempt to use only FREE PATTERNS for my socks - tho that might prove to be more difficult as the more uncommon letters come up -- "Q" "X" and "Z"!  Follow along with me as I progress, and see my success (or failure!)  


Or, even better, why not JOIN me????  We can be crazy together!

Secret SPY Socks

I made my eldest son a pair of SPY socks a year ago, and recently he brought them to me, with large holes in the bottoms of each sock, and asked me to repair them.  He loves them and wore them all the time - what a gift to a knitter to see her handiwork worn and appreciated!  I didn't think they were worth repairing, so I set a date with him, and went for a visit to our local wool shop.  He picked out a multi-toned green yarn, and I set about re-creating the pattern for a new pair of SPY socks.  I seem to have lost the photo of the completed socks, but I will say the moment they jumped off the needles, they were on his feet!  I'm hoping they will last a bit longer this time, since I've used REAL sock yarn instead of DK yarn as I did for the other pair.  Each sock has a secret pocket in it - the perfect place for a magnifying glass, and other treasures!  He is quite thrilled, and has already commented on how much more comfortable they are then the previous pair was.  Now he has asked for seven black pairs so he has enough to wear to school every day - I'm not convinced yet, I think with all the running he does at break time would result in very hot feet!

Dying for an Experiment!

I've heard and read so much about dying one's on sock yarn, that my son and I decided to give it a try!

We started with a skein of undyed sock yarn

We rolled it into a center-pull ball

And knit from both ends (so the yarn was doubled) to make a flat rectangle (a "sock blank").

Using three colours of vibrant kool-aid

and three squirt bottles

my son drew a picture onto the sock blank - he decided to create a dinosaur, even though he knew full well that the original picture would not appear in the finished creation.

I think it looks pretty good!

We wrapped and microwaved the finished blank

then undid the sock blank and rolled the yarn into two identical balls - one for each sock.

I knit the socks, my son got excited

He was THRILLED with the results!

He calls them his "secret dinosaur socks" - no one knows why, unless he explains it.

All in all, I think they turned out very well, and what a fun experiment! My daughter is bugging to do a pair now - she wants pink, purple and yellow. I look forward to seeing what she comes up with!

Ravelry link HERE

SOCKS

Diehard sock knitters will tell you that there's nothing like pulling a pair of handknit socks onto your feet. As a knitter who loves to knit socks and wears handknit socks as much as possible, I can testify to that. Just think--a pair of socks made specifically for your feet. Not your general foot size, made to stretch if needed, but made to your exact measurements.

I didn’t understand the “Joy of socks”. I had all sorts of excuses (I can buy them cheaper, they won’t last, etc), but then my sister-in-law asked me to make her a pair of sock-style slippers. She loved them, wore them out and asked for more, which I made again. Curious about her enjoyment of them (and not one to wear slippers myself, generally), I decided to make a pair my own size and try them for myself. I LOVED them! (and began to wear “slippers”!) Thus began my foray into sock knitting....

Now, more then 30 pairs later, I still continue to knit socks - in fact, I almost always have a pair on my needles as a portable project. 

WHY do I knit socks?? Let me tell you!

1. The array of sock yarns available today is dizzying. Sock yarns are made in just about any color you can imagine and in thousands of combinations and variations. If you want plain, one-color yarn, you got it. You want self-striping, to look more complex without being so? You got that, too. If you want sock yarn that mimics Fair Isle designs, guess what? It's there. The choices are practically endless.

2. Besides having your pick of color, there are tons of patterns made for socks. You don’t need to knit socks in a simple stockinette--although there is a beauty in simplicity. You can knit lacy socks, cabled socks, ribbed socks, and any combination you desire. What a fantastic way to learn a new stitch pattern - with a small sock!



3. There are so many fibers available for knit socks. Besides wool, you can knit socks in cotton or wool/cotton blends, wool/silk blends or even cashmere! There is even a sock yarn available that contains aloe so it softens your feet as you wear the socks (and it really does work!) Many sock yarns contain polyamide or nylon to make the socks more durable, an important consideration when you think about the fact that this product is designed to be walked on. My oldest hand knit socks are about 5 years old, and they are still holding up just fine - they don’t even show wear on the bottoms. So they do last!

4. Socks are a perfectly portable project. If you're a knitter who commutes to work or school on the bus or train, instead of dragging along a big sweater or afghan, you can bring your socks to work on. Socks-in-progress don't necessarily require their own bag, either--if your purse is roomy enough, you can stow the socks in there.

5. There are so many variations to making socks that you may find you have a preference for one. You can knit socks cuff down or toe up, you can use double-pointed needles (DPNs) or circular needles, one at a time or two at a time (or some people have tried 14 at a time - one pair for every day of the week!). Socks are so customizable - legs, cuffs, toes, heals, everything can be changed and sized specifically for someone's foot.




6. Socks are a relitively quick knit project (compared to the time it would take me to create an afghan), and I find great satisfaction in completing projects. And I like being able to tell people who ask “Where did you get those cute socks?” that I made them myself!

7. Socks still fit you after you lose or gain weight. Not so true about a sweater!

8. But, really, the main reason I knit socks is for the feel of them on my feet - so delicious, so warm, so perfect! I love hand knit socks! I wear them exclusively in the fall and winter except for when I’m working out - then it’s cotton store bought socks because I don’t feel so bad when I put a hole through them from the hard use!


If you've never knit socks before, now is a great time to learn. It's not as complex as you might think and like many sock knitters who've come before you, you may well find yourself addicted to making them.

Here are some pictures of socks that I've made... it's not all of them, but it's a good selection.

Enjoy!

What makes you HAPPY?

Behold, the HAPPY SOCKS!

These socks have been so named by Lady R, who announced, after seeing them "Oh, Mommy, those are Happy socks! They make me happy just to look at them!"

(do you think she's hoping for a pair of her own?)