"How I Make My Socks"

Those of you who read Susan Anderson’s blog know how popular she is.  She writes about something and everyone wants to know pattern and purchase information.  (Or at least that’s how I see it.)  Did you know she won the 2012 Reader’s Choice Award on About.com?  She knocked her competition out of the park!

What does that have to do with socks you ask?  Susan had written some blog posts about the socks she was working on.  She showed us an array of colorful, beautiful socks, some completed pairs, but also many single pairs that she wanted to finish.  She had a huge response to all her socks (as well she should), included the question of “what pattern did you use?” 

Those knitters who would consider themselves “sock knitters” have a go-to vanilla sock pattern.  It’s just a plain sock pattern that they use every time when they want something simple and good for on the go.  This would be the type of pattern a knitter would use to really showcase a self-striping yarn. 

So Susan responded with a post entitled “How I Make My Socks.”  She wrote up her vanilla sock pattern for everyone to use.  While it’s not an official pattern, it works for me, and I trust her judgment as her patterns are always so well-written and I knew that if I stumbled, she’d be glad to lend me support. 

I’ve admired different sock patterns for awhile, but never took the plunge because they sort of scared me.  All those heel constructions and wrap and turns I heard people talking about just seemed complicated.  I felt the discussion was always over my head.  So while I only just recently completed my first pair of socks, I’ve been wanting to try for some time.

Meet my sister’s socks.  They’re fun and colorful and the yarn, now that it’s knit and finished, seems to call her name more than mine.  The yarn: Lorna’s Laces Solemate, River.  A lovely background of light blue, with spirals of darker blues and purples and sort of a lavender/gray.  I debated for a long while over the best yarn to use for her.  I wanted to try this yarn for myself, but it just seemed to fit her. 

Did I mention these were part of her birthday present?  I know most people probably wouldn’t think socks are a very big deal.   You can buy a pair of fun socks at Target for much cheaper than you can a skein of sock yarn.  But what’s the fun in that?  And since Sis is knitter-worthy, I figured it was worth the time and effort to knit them. 

(She also got an iPod from us, and to be honest, I think she was surprised and thankful for the socks, but more excited about the iPod.  If I were her, I probably would be too. I don’t mind.)

So what do I think of sock knitting?  You use tiny needles. On lightweight yarn.  You would think they would take forever, but they don’t.  They fit several requirements I like in my knitting.  Portable? Check.  Quick? Check.  Simple?  So far.  There are more complicated patterns but I’m not ready for that yet.   Pretty?  Definitely.  I’m already knitting a second pair – which I’ll tell you about another time. 

Have you ever tried something that intimidated you and found out it really wasn’t so bad?  How do you feel about knitted socks?  If you don’t knit socks, what do you do with all your sock yarn??