Sock Success

I did it ... I got the last sock done about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, the recipient family didn't arrive till 1:30, so it all worked out.



And, even better ... they all fit! I wasn't at all sure that was going to be the case by the time I was done, but they did. All in all, a big success.

Now I can get started on a project for myself! I have two options, equally tugging at me. One is a simple pair of socks like the ones I just made. I have only made myself three pairs of socks, but there's a problem with every pair of them. One of them is too big, because it was my first-ever pair so I was following the pattern exactly, and it was a generic "women's medium" - too big for me. The second pair I made out of a not-so-great sock yarn that has too much acrylic in it and is kind of scratchy, and also I made them a little too small (not as stretchy as merino) - they're short in the foot, and also the leg portion is too short and slides down into the tops of my boots. The third pair is merino, but not super-wash, so they must be hand washed. They are comfortable, but I know they will felt in places if I wear them inside my boots. I used to only wear them with my sandals, but the strap on my sandals broke last year, and I don't think I've even worn those socks for over a year.

Even though I am a sock-knitter, I have no good comfortable hand-knit socks for myself. And trying on these different socks while making them reminded me just how wonderful hand-knit socks feel. When I ordered the last batch of sock yarn, I ordered two balls for myself, in a self-striping pattern. I could just whip up another pair of these simple socks, and have something comfortable for myself.

Or, I could dive into this, which I've been dying to do.




I also ordered this with the last batch of sock yarn. I knew I wouldn't be able to start on it right away, needing to finish the Christmas socks first, but I also knew I had to have it. And I'm sure it's not going to disappoint - just looking through it, I'm amazed - the patterns are really awesome. And the uber bonus is that instead of the patterns being that generic women's medium, you can make any sock in the book to fit any foot, with any measurements. That is perfect, and I'm really psyched about getting started trying out these new techniques.

But first, I may actually take a couple days off. There was so much sock knitting in the last few days, I'm still not tired of it, but I think a brief break may be a good thing about now.