Sunday 7 January 2018

The socks have it




When I opened my sock drawer this morning, it was hard not to be seduced by all the beautiful colours there and dither about which pair to pick for today. I do have one or two current favourites which appear in the wash on a pretty regular basis, but there are also other pairs that may stay hidden at the back of the sock drawer undiscovered, only to be greeted by my feet as long lost friends at a later date. When it comes to choosing which socks to wear, I'm not generally guided by colour - it's unusual for my socks to match the rest of my clothes! Often, a recently finished pair becomes the new favourite, as is the case for my Squeezebox socks.




And at other times, it's an old friend that cocoons my toes, keeping them nice and snug...




Sometimes, when I need a hug, a rummage in Mr JK's sock drawer is just right. Mr JK was a late convert to hand-knitted socks, but absolutely loved them once he'd worn his first pair. Luckily our feet are the same size so I can wear his too. 




This pair of Mr JK's have been worn a lot over the holidays - I bought the yarn in Dublin as a souvenir of Mr JK's first marathon and designed a pattern, Kali Kardi, which you can download free from Ravelry here




There is nothing quite like a pair of hand-knit socks - they are warm and comfortable. Apart from the socks I wear to the gym, I never wear shop-bought socks now. They are ideal projects to work on as they are portable, if it's a plain sock, the pattern is easy to memorise and once you've finished knitting and sewn in the ends, there's no more finishing off to do. Sock knitting is definitely addictive. There is so much temptation to just knit another round so that you can see the next colour or pattern emerging and before you know it, you're almost at the heel flap! It's little surprise then that I currently have three pairs on the go - well one pair down and two pairs to go to be more accurate. These were all meant to be finished and given as gifts at Christmas but as ever, my focus has been rubbish. But I am cracking on with them and am determined to get them finished in the next couple of weeks.




There is so much lovely sock yarn around these days, we are quite spoilt for choice. For everyday socks and for socks that I am gifting, I tend to choose yarns such as Regia, Opal, Stylecraft Head over Heels and West Yorkshire Spinners as these are all good washable yarns. Sometimes, a treat from an Indie Dyer is just what the sock doctor ordered. I like the self striping yarns from Easy Knits and also the stripy yarns from Fab Funky Fibres. In fact, any stripy sock yarn floats my boat right now. How about you? Do you have a favourite go-to sock yarn? xxx

9 comments:

VeggieMummy said...

I confess to being a bit of a sock yarn floozy! I buy it from a wide variety of sources. I do like West Yorkshire Spinners - it isn't the softest but it does wear well - and I do prefer a nice self striping yarn. I've never tried Easy Knits though; I might have to give it a try now! Your sock drawer looks gorgeous. xx

Mad about Craft said...

I want 2018 to be my year of hand knitted socks! I managed one pair last year.

PixieMum said...

I knit socks just for my husband, using magic loop and just plain knitting that becomes stocking stitch as no one appears to notice his socks, also even after about 9 pairs I struggle still so I keep the stitches simple. I have used varied yarns including Tiger, Lidl, Regia, Rico, Sirdar Head over Heels to Opal Play, all listed on my Ravelry page where I sign in as Knellergal.

Gracey is not my name.... said...

I have 11 sock WIPs at the moment...I adore self stripe yarn! I'm thinking of doing the Voolenvine Box of Socks this year....we'll see.....I have a ton of self stripe from White Birch Fiber Arts...I love Lisa's stuff....

Lynne said...

That's lots of socky goodness!! I am about half way through a second sock, but it's currently having a think about it's behaviour, as it's turned out smaller than the first one!! Good luck with finishing yours.

PixieFoxtrot said...

What lovely sock drawers you have! I have mastered knitting "basic" socks, always in 2x2 rib, and intend to try more adventurous patterns this year. However my big problem is maintaining the same momentum for the second sock: the first sock is quite addictive, but the second doesn't hold the same magic for me. I guess I should just be grateful that we don't have three feet!

Jane Winter said...

I've been knitting gloves lately using lots of odds and ends of sock yarn. They are not really the sort of thing that a middle aged lady ought to be wearing at all but they are so cheerful! Like many others here I can have my head turned by any attractive sock wool!

peahen said...

Agreed on the sock-knitting front and about how nice they feel. But I've not made the commitment that you have about shop-bought socks (I love the nice thick ones that JA sells. Originally tried some as hiking socks but wear them most of the time)

snoopydogknits said...

Loving all the sock love! xx