The Truth

Let’s be honest for a minute…knitting squares at Christmas time isn’t the most exciting thing to do. I know I know that’s not what you wanted to hear but it’s true.

Instead I worked on my mother’s secret present which I didn’t finish and socks. Imagine that, me knitting socks.

I can’t seem to stop and they’re so mindless and wonderful. And then you get to have heel fun and then they’re mindless again. I just love to knit my socks… and I’ve begun to consider the possibility of knitting socks for other people. I had thought socks were a $25 yarn plus 20 hours of knitting, @ $10 an hour which…that makes for a $225 gift and who knows if the receipt will like them or if they’ll fit or wear them or ruin them in the wash. So I had said no socks for anyone but me. Now I’m up to 12 pairs which really is enough for one person but I’m not about to stop sock knitting. I seem to have sock knitting perfected and can whip out a pair in less than a week if it’s a simple pattern like Monkeys. So perhaps I’ll knit the family and some close friends some socks. We’ll see.

What do you think about knitting socks for a sock knitter? Is that odd? I have a pair from my mother-in-law and I love them just as much as the others. Would another sock knitter feel the same or would they be like, “thanks a lot for giving me something I make myself”? I’m not sure.

But either way here are the socks I’m working on right now…Denna Socks. They are my own design and it took hours to come up with something that suited this two color yarn. I’m beginning to realize that I like either highly variegated multi colored sock yarns or simple tonal colors. Designs are easily lost in contrasting two color sock yarn.

I’m also working on some socks using the Knitpicks Bare yarn that I dyed last fall. I since learned that wool and silk will shrink in the washing machine. And then continue to shrink each time you wash them. My Perrin socks that I knit in October immediately after dying the yarn looked like this (on the left).

After 6 or 7 wearings they look like this (on the right). They’re about 2” shorter than they used to be, the lace on the cuff and picot edging has closed in. The foot itself barely fits me and they are nearly felted without any stitch definition. They are also dense and cushy. I just wish I had known this would happen and could’ve saved myself the time of intricate lace work.

So this second pair in the Knitpicks Bare will be for me since I’m sure to hand wash them. I’m also compensating by knitting them on larger needles and even looser than normal. Which is a funny concept since I’m the loosest knitter I know. I like to tell myself that just means I’m relaxed about it.

Yesterday Pamtastic stole me off to Webs. I threatened to only spend her money. It didn’t work, it never does when it comes to yarn. I was pretty good and mostly got sock yarn. Shopping with other people’s feet in mind is hard work.

I definitely had a color pallet in mind as I was shopping…yellow and black, but somehow the greens snuck in there as well.