There’s something comforting about fall maybe it’s the yellows, the oranges and the reds. I know some people don’t like fall because leaves are falling and it’s like they’re dying. I look at them as though they are flowers. They’re green when everything else is colorful but then when everything starts to turn brown around them, the leaves turn these vivid colors that stand out more than flowers do in spring and summer.
I love fall and I love winter but that could be because I love the cold and snow. I grew up in the west coast where we had no seasons compared to other parts of the country. Now that I live in the Black Hills, I absolutely love seasons, especially the cold ones. And now I have more reason to knit all year round to prepare for the next cold weather season. We are currently at the beginning of our cold weather with some snow here and there, but nothing like what we are supposed to get Thanksgiving (4″-8″).
Wait! It’s the Monday prior! Can you believe it is only a few days before Thanksgiving? Where did the year go? I guess this year has gone by very fast for me because I had my head down as I’ve been knitting socks like a sock knitting junkie. I’ve been obsessed as I have been looking for new sock yarn, sock patterns, different types of sock needles than I normally use.
I’m still amazed by myself that my first experience sock knitting took me months to finish a sock. Yes, A sock not one pair, one sock of basic stockinette stitch and it was an orphan. I ended up throwing the sock away, the rest of the yarn and didn’t try to knit socks again for a few months. I didn’t even photograph that first sock (only the toe as I started working on it) because I was so embarrassed by it (I had done the toe increase so wrong and it was increased on the top of the foot but not the bottom, so you can imagine how silly it looked).
But I was determined to knit socks because I’ve always been attracted to the look of a hand knitted sock. Even if the colors are bright they still look comfy and inviting…. almost rustic (in a good way). To me, rustic is not an insult but it is a compliment. It communicates something is comforting and relaxing instead of being hurried and stressful.
I know there are some who do not appreciate the time, love and effort put into a hand knit sock. Some people think they are below personal standards. To those people: I feel sorry for you, I truly do.
Granted there are some socks that are scratchy because the wool is produced and manufactured in a certain way. And there are other wools that are some of the softest, and most comfortable you’ll ever feel.
Just think of it like a coffee shop sometimes you get a bad coffee but does that mean you stop drinking coffee altogether? No. You just go find another coffeeshop or maybe you try a different type of coffee or even add some sugar or flavored cream to salvage it. Same goes for knitted socks, just try a different wool or maybe even washing them a couple times to soften them up. Hand washing and air drying are socks best friends, even super wash wool seems to wear better when given that extra love and attention.
My goal when I started knitting socks was to replace every pair of store bought white cotton socks I owned. Now I’m just trying to knit every single pair of socks I can since I’ve already accomplished my first goal.
I have knitted so many pair of socks that I can’t keep track of how many (I haven’t loaded them all on my Ravelry either, so that is no help).
What are your favorite sock patterns and sock wool?
I am still in love with Knit Picks Felici (at the time of this post, it was still available) as well as their Stroll (in Tweed, Hand painted, Tonal, Glimmer, Brights, or normal).
I look forward to feedback, so if you have questions just comment and I’ll get back to you.
No comments:
Post a Comment