I know I promised stories of yarn stores, but I thought yesterday’s quiz from NothingButKnit seemed fun. Feel free to play along, either in the comments or on your own blog.
- Do you knit/crochet socks?
- If yes, how long have you been making them? If no, why not?
- What is your preferred method? Top down, toe up? Which needles? Do you have a preferred heel type?
- Have you gifted socks? Were they worn, loved and appreciated?
- Could you make nothing but socks for the rest of your life and be happy?
- One of the most addictive things about sock knitting is the amazing selection of fingering weight yarn that is available. What is your favorite yarn for socks? Do you prefer solid or multicolor yarn? Do you have a fiber preference?
My answers:
- Do you knit/crochet socks?
- Yes, I knit socks!! All the time! I always have a sock on the needles.
- If yes, how long have you been making them? If no, why not?
- I’ve been making socks for 3 years, ever since we did a KAL in our knitting group at work. Before that, I resisted because I thought they were hard or fiddly, and I didn’t think I’d want to put pretty yarn on my feet. (OH how wrong I was!)
- What is your preferred method? Top down, toe up? Which needles? Do you have a preferred heel type?
- Top down, size 1 DPNs, with a heel flap & gusset construction. I typically go between a vanilla latte ribbed sock and a plain stockinette sock. Maybe someday I’ll try toe up!
- Have you gifted socks? Were they worn, loved and appreciated?
- I have gifted socks to many people! Mostly to the girl, because her feet are the same size as mine and she always got excited about them. I know she’s worn and appreciated them. I’ve gifted socks to the husband, the boy, nieces and a nephew, and a few sisters. I believe they’ve all worn them at least once and appreciated them. But it doesn’t happen too often because of the time involved, plus the guesswork on size.
- Could you make nothing but socks for the rest of your life and be happy?
- No, I definitely need the variety of different yarn weights and fiber types.
- One of the most addictive things about sock knitting is the amazing selection of fingering weight yarn that is available. What is your favorite yarn for socks? Do you prefer solid or multicolor yarn? Do you have a fiber preference?
- My favorite yarn is self-striping; I think it’s magic. After that, I like speckles and variegated yarns. I love bright colors the most and neutrals bore me. I don’t enjoy knitting solid color socks as much because I get bored, since I mostly knit very simple patterns. For my own feet, I love a high-quality superwash merino with a bit of nylon. I can’t do rustic wool, alpaca or mohair because then my feet itch. But I like crisp yarn, not super soft or limp because it seems like those are the socks that sag and felt more.
Happy sock-knitting, friends!
The left is Treasure Goddess sock yarn, and the right is Berroco Vintage worsted. It’s for a work gift exchange. They chose a sock theme and of course I had to make socks! But I don’t have time to make actual sock-weight socks, so I’m doing a nice cozy bed sock or house sock or whatever you want to call it. I finished the first one in about four days — I’d forgotten how quickly worsted weight socks knit up! The pattern for that one is 
They have longer legs than usual, because I got carried away on the first sock and of course had to make them match. The feet are also a little too long, and honestly, I don’t even know if I did the toes the same. I stopped looking at the pattern ages ago, and by the time the toe of the second sock came around, I just did a barn toe and called it good. They look the same, though, don’t they? The yarn is from Mudpunch in a color called Peacock Notation, and it was great to knit with! Now let’s just hope they wash and wear well too.
You might notice that they don’t match exactly. I made extra-long green cuffs (a full 2″) and when I got to the heel of the second sock, I was afraid I wouldn’t have enough of the green left for both the heel and toe. I wanted a green toe more than I wanted a green heel, so that’s what I did and since Perfectionist Bonny and Knitter Bonny apparently live in two different worlds, I don’t care a bit. I ended up with 2.5 grams of the green left over; I wonder if that would have been enough after all?
The yarn is from The Loopy Ewe Seasonings Series in the color Kara’s Hanauama, and I loved knitting with it. It feels tightly plied, nice and sturdy, and the coordinating mini-skein was perfect for the main color.
These socks took me exactly a month to make, and I used exactly half of the main color, so I’m totally going to make a pair of shorties from the rest. And now I’m left with four shawls in my WIPs. I’m thinking I need to add some variety in there! More socks??
My second Guildhall Yard sock has gotten a couple of hours’ work, so I’ve got half the leg done. And I went back to a sock during lunch breaks at work, so I’m onto the foot of my 80s sock. Can’t wait to start wearing these, so bright during this dreary, gray January.
This week was also week two of the Australian Open, when the tennis starts getting more exciting, so I switched to mindless stockinette for TV knitting, and I’ve added nearly four inches to my Clarke pullover. It’s starting to look like a real sweater, which makes me more eager to work on it!
bonnyknits 