Cold Feet

A friend of mine on Ravelry asked our group if we would help her.  This is what she wrote:

            “I belong to a Blue Star Mothers group (military mom’s support group) and we have the honor of co-sponsoring an Operation Shower baby shower in early July.  The goal is to show support for military moms-to-be or new mothers by showering them with gifts.  Especially since many of these moms are going through their pregnancy without the support of their husbands due to deployment or job assignment.  The event is rather a big deal with many big name sponsors involved, such as the PGA.  We are all excited and consider ourselves lucky that we can be involved and show our support to these new moms.  After all, our group is mom centered."

Pat asked for baby booties and socks in red, white and blue or any combination thereof to be gifted to 35-40 mothers.  As always, our group responded with a resounding YES! 

Here is a photo of all the completed booties lined up with one another.   They are all so stinkin’ cute!

(Photo by Pat (aka Plynn))

I made two pairs of baby socks using a favorite pattern of mine, Baby Mitten Socks.  Before Lovebug was born, I had knit her a pair of these with some leftover fingering weight yarn, with the hopes of her wearing them as a newborn.  They were one of the only pairs of socks I could keep on her tiny feet! 

I knit one pair of socks with Tanis Fiber Arts in Peacock as per the pattern. They’re tiny, but should fit newborns or smaller babies. 

But, after knitting this pair, I realized the Peacock color was more teal than blue, so I knew I needed another pair.  Pat still kindly accepted the first pair, and reassured me they were “blue enough.” :)

The second pair I made using Knit Picks Simply Cotton Sport in Wave Heather and Prussian Heather.  The heals and toes are contrasting to the rest of the sock.  Because this was sport weight yarn, the socks are larger, perhaps 6-12 month size?  It’s better to be too big than too small, right?  Again, I followed the pattern as directed, just with a heavier weight yarn.

I’m still new to knitting socks, even baby socks and don’t completely understand the construction.  I know there is a cuff and leg, a heel, the foot and the toe, but there are so many different ways to work the heel, you can do toe-up, top-down, two-at-a-time, etc. etc.  It’s a bit overwhelming and I get nervous with the idea of changing the cast on number because I don’t yet know how to accurately divide for the heel (which is the most complicated part of the sock). 

These socks were a snap to knit up and only took me a few hours.  And I was happy to be able to contribute something to Operation Shower.