I'm a barefoot kind of gal and socks to me are merely an article of clothing for which there is a single purpose. It eventually gets too cold to continue running around barefoot so socks keep your feet warm. Then of course there is that thing about doing the same thing twice cuz I do have two feet, and repeat performances around here is NOT the norm.
BUT
Socks are excellent take along projects. The tiny little things slip easily into your purse. And unless you are creating one of the magnificent socks from the above mentioned designers (or countless others) you don't even need a pattern or chart. Socks are nice unobtrusive knitting that can go with you on a moments notice. Thus I always have a sock on my needle(s).
BUT
No pattern socks get boring after a while.
BUT
Every new pattern has me adapting it for my narrow, high arch, foot.
THUS
My
Once again I turned my attention to the sock knitting goddess known to us mere mortals by the name Cat Bordhi. Her latest book , over a year old now, is "Personal Footprints for Insouciant Sock Knitters: Book Two in the New Pathways for Sock Knitters Series" has shall we say started me on a new path. (Please don't ask me to say that title out loud. I'm a fairly well educated person but I am also phonetically challenged, and it makes me feel stupid.) Regardless of any petty personal affront I have regarding the title, the sock knitting technique in this book genius. I have found my rhythm and I'm churning out sock at lightening speed.
OK, perhaps not whole socks but I've got a lot of footprints made. :o) This is what I've done since Christmas.
On the lower left are 6 footprints. In the center are 10 socks in progress, and on the right are 2 pair. There are another 2 footprints in the knitting bag in the car and 2 complete pairs in the laundry. This is what a footprint looks like.
The vertical marking thread tells me how many rounds I've knitted and where I've put my increases. The jog in the vertical marking thread is where my increases begin. The horizontal marking threads is where leg will go after I slip the stitches onto needles and snip and unravel the stitches between. The thread at the very top is a holding thread for the last of my heel stitches that will be closed up after the sock is complete.I gotta tell ya, if it isn't obvious, making these footprints is addicting. I can zip through a footprint in an evening. Granted I'm using size 3 or 4 needles and while I'm not doubling the sock yarns I also using a carrying along thread or a cobweb weight yarn with it so my stitch count at its greatest is only 48 stitches.
Yes, I like my socks thicker than most people, it helps them fulfill a sock's purpose (its sole purpose snort) of warming my feet and as an added bonus makes my shoes fit my narrow feet better.
Those of you studying the pic might notice the blue gray sock center bottom looks a little bigger. It is, I figured out Joe's footprint too, I was beginning to feel guilty about all my new socks. Yeah, I know, pretty unselfish of me, go figure. lol You might also notice, although I know the pic is pretty crummy, but none of the socks completely match each other. Most of the footprint parts do, sort of, but not many of the leg portions do. I'm playing with new stitch patterns, and stripe counts. So from here on out, I'm pretty sure my socks are going to be mostly fraternal and not identical. Another added bonus to bulking up the sock yarn with a carry along yarn/thread I can usually get three socks out of the typical 400-ish yards of sock yarn. Three socks, fraternal triplets. That's a good thing when you have a family member who likes to eat hand knit socks.
Fraternal socks are the way to go. Much more interesting to knit, and no one sees them under your pant leg, anyway.
ReplyDeleteI have the book, but I haven't knit any socks from it. Yet.