Gift socks Knit for Christmas

Giving the gift of cozy feet...

 

So Many Socks!

 Why knit so many socks? What is the appeal? 

For a knitter, there are great long bits of mindless knitting down the leg (unless you do fancy cables, which I do not do), then a fiddly bit that you have to concentrate on to make the heel and gusset, then some more mindless knitting in the round until you reach the toe. For me, that's a perfect combination of easy and more difficult.

For the recipient, handknit wool socks are a way to have warm feet and fun colors that can show or not. 

As you can see, I have a lot of orange shades to use up.

Gift socks (two pairs)

Two more pairs, both for me

More gift socks

Another orange pair for me...

...and another pair for me

 

More Socks

 One last pair of gift socks. I think I have reached the saturation point with family members. Our sock drawers are bulging!

Those of you with keen eyes will spot the color mistake I made while knitting and watching TV at the same time.

Late Gift for Christmas

 Handknit from Knit Picks Static yarn, Rooster colorway

Socks Knit for Christmas

 

New Socks. Two Socks. Whose Socks?

Here's an easy game to play. Here's an easy thing to say.... New socks. Two socks. Whose socks? Sue's socks. Who sews whose socks? Sue sews Sue's socks. Who sees who sew whose new socks, sir? You see Sue sew Sue's new socks, sir. That's not easy, Mr. Fox, sir.

                                                                                                  ~Dr. Seuss:  Fox in Socks          

It's been a while since I've shared some hand knit socks with you. When I assembled the ones I've been making lately while it was too hot to do anything else, I thought of Dr. Seuss and his tongue twisty book, Fox in Socks. Here are the socks that have been flying off the needles lately. Lucky for me, my sister and my youngest granddaughter are fans of brightly colored wool socks, too, because otherwise it would be hard to find room in my own sock drawer for all the pairs I've been making.    

The next challenge will be to combine all the bits of yarn I have left over to make some ultra-colorful socks. Stay tuned.

Sox on a line
With tree behind

Big sox, small sox*
Everywhere...
That's not easy, Mr. Fox, sir

* Sock yarns and colors, from left to right:

Deborah Norville Serenity Sock Yarn in Saffron, with Tosh Merino Light (Mulled Wine) at heel and toe

The next two pairs are Red Heart: Heart and Sole in Green Envy

Another pair made from Heart and Sole; these are in the BlackJack colorway

Tosh Merino Light in Mulled Wine

Kertzer On Your Toes (sorry, not sure what the color name is)

More Deborah Norville Serenity Sock in Saffron

Another Kertzer On Your Toes

Still Sockin' Away

Just because I haven't been blogging, doesn't mean I've just been kicking back and doing nothing. There's always a little sock project going on, and I carry my knitting just about everywhere with me. 

Socks for me (Kertzer On Your Toes, Color #3823)

A knitting moment here or there--in the car, or in an auditorium while waiting for the lecture to begin--adds up to a heel or a bit of ribbing or the shaping of a toe. 

... more socks for me  

Before I know it, another pair of socks is off the needles, and the next ones are ready to be started.

and more for me (Kertzer On Your Toes, Color #3801)

A pair for my sister, not too matchy, but all from the
same skein of Wisdom Poems Sock Yarn in Cold Fire ...

and another for her (Heart and Sole Black Jack)...

As you can see, I am still in love with self-striping yarn. It packs a lot of entertainment into every round of stitches. Yes, I am easily entertained, as other knitters have said before me.

This pair went to my son, Ben, in New York City.
Pretty rustic stuff for a city boy, I know (Mini Mochi Autumn Rainbow).

A work in progress. My sister and I really love this yarn (Heart and Sole Green Envy),
and have discovered that 3 skeins will make two pairs of socks, one for me and one for her. She buys, I knit. 

Bright Socks for Happy Feet

I'm still knitting socks, although I won't show you any more for a while because I'm starting on some stocking gifts for Christmas. 

This pair is for me, though, and they are nice and bright!

The yarn is Knit One Crochet Too Ty Dy Sock Yarn in the Tropicale colorway, and I bought it online through Jimmy Beans Wool, my favorite.

Socks: Violets Rainbow

More Mini Mochi yarn from Jimmy Beans Wool, this time in the colorway Violets Rainbow. 

I'm getting better at this sock knitting business. I believe I knit each of these socks only once. No do-overs at all!

They are very soft and will feel great in cold weather. I know, that's pretty hard to imagine in this steamy summer of broken heat records. I'm making plans for some Christmas gift sock knitting now.

The nice thing about ordering from Jimmy Beans is that I can dream up a project on a Friday night, order online, and have the yarn in my mailbox Monday afternoon. Can't beat that!

Socks: Bodega Bay

A few weeks ago, I showed you this yarn, the Bodega Bay colorway of Mini Mochi, which I got from Jimmy Beans Wool. I cannot say enough good things about Jimmy Beans--the orders come promptly and in perfect condition--and, they give free shipping coupons, too. 

Here are the socks I knit, my second pair now. I tried out a little lace pattern, but I must have lost my place a few times, as the lace wanders a bit.

In my knitting group, we discuss whether socks should match exactly when multicolored, or if they should be spontaneous and random. I guess you can see which side I am on!

Socks!

I've been teaching myself to knit socks. This first one, shown here, was completely knit and re-knit maybe three times until I got it right. There was shrieking; there was hair-pulling. The dogs quickly learned that when the sock came out, they left the room.

However, the second sock (since finished) turned out to be an absolute breeze. All my hard-learned lessons--manipulating all those little poky needles, making heel flaps, turning the heel, working the gusset, and decreasing for the toe--just came together smoothly and the second sock was done practically painlessly. After all, I made all the possible mistakes on the first one!

The design looks a lot more complicated than it actually is, because it is made with self-striping yarn that gives it almost a Fair Isle look, when all along it is just straight knitting, right from the ball of yarn.

Yarn: Heart and Sole by Red Heart. 70% wool superwash, 30% nylon. It has aloe vera added! The pattern called for 2 balls, but there was a lot left over from the second one.

Pattern: LW 1619 Self-Striping Knit Socks (downloadable for free).