Sock Madness

Must. Knit. More. Socks.

I finished the Owl’s Flight socks early this morning and they are beautiful.

I love the colors, I love the yarn, I love the pattern and I love how they feel. These socks are more than enough to cement in my mind that I love knitting socks. Just look at these! It’s a hand knit object that I can wear every day! That really means something. It’s not always cool out enough to wear a sweater or a hat or a scarf. But socks? I wear socks all the time, year round (I have a hang up about being barefoot. It’s a really long story, but suffice it to say the only times I’m barefoot by choice is in the shower or down the Shore). And you know what? If I’m going to wear socks all the time, why not make them special. I’ve used that term a lot with these socks, but it’s the best description for them. I wish you could see the lace pattern a bit better, but since my camera sucks, I’m afraid I can only really show you the pretty pretty colors that Carrie put together. Aren’t they great?

This pattern proves to me that knitting is something I’m actually good at. I read my knitting, I repaired dropped stitches, I followed a lace chart, I compensated for my choice of a different heel, my kitchener stitch toe is great. I’ve really found something I’m good at, enjoy doing, and can make something great.

And since I cannot stop making socks now, I’m gonna wreck myself against a difficult task: I’m gonna design my own toe-ups. I’m swatching tonight and using the Universal Toe-Up formula from Knitty. Since I don’t want to make these too plain, I’m going to incorporate a little lace pattern from the first Barbara Walker Treasury. The one I picked has a nice little story to it (I love storytelling, but that’s for another blog). It’s a lace pattern from a pair of stockings worn by Queen Elizabeth the First, and since I’ve always had an interest in my namesake I think it’ll be cool to try and knit a pair of socks with “her pattern” in it.