So Many Socks

I'll admit it. I have a sock addiction. Socks are one of my favorite things to knit. They're portable and fairly easy. There's a huge variety of patterns, designs, and styles to make. They only use one or two balls of yarn, so they are quite economical. I can use bright and obnoxious yarns that I wouldn't otherwise use, because socks are often a hidden garment. And always useful, because just about everyone needs socks. I'm even sharing my sock craze with the Husband, either through crazy patterned bought socks, or through several pairs of his own knitted socks.

Immediately after finishing the Husband's most recent pair of Zigzagular Socks, I started another, more simple patterned pair for him. Since three of his last four pairs were in shades of blues and greens, this bright red Regia Pairfect yarn is a fun change to the Dude Sock Knitting. The Pairfect yarn is great for pattern perfectionists. It has a bright yellow starter line to help make sure that each sock starts in the exact same part of the color repeat, then a narrow coordinating color stripe signifies where to start the heel. I've gotten through most of the gusset stitch decreases now, so it is time to power through the long size 11 foot part of the sock.

The Matt-Zagular guy socks. These are so far his favorites.

I love self-striping yarn, and I really like that this yarn is striped in such a way to signal the starts of each section. Matching each sock is so easy with this yarn!

The rest of the socks I'm working on are for me. Did I mention I really like fun socks? I really like the Zigzagular Socks pattern. So far I have three completed pairs, and I'm also working on a fourth set. I got a ball of Berroco Sox self-patterning yarn in Colorado Springs when I was out visiting my brother a couple months ago. I accidentally found the Ewe and Me Yarn Shop on open knit night while I was killing a couple hours during my brother's evening class. What was going to just be a coffee shop run turned into coffee, shopping, and chatting. I've been working on these on and off for a couple months, and so far have one sock done and the second partway down the leg.

Crazy stripes and patterns. And the Berroco Sox wears quite well. I have two pairs made from it that are holding up to frequent wear with no holes or weak spots so far.

I just started yet another a new pair tonight, despite the fact that I have eleven other projects on the needles. I saw the Patons Kroy Purple Haze yarn at Michaels and couldn't resist. Considering half the stuff in my wardrobe is purple, these will coordinate perfectly. I'm using the basic Yarn Harlot Sock Recipe, but adding in a basic cable that I've added to a bunch of socks now. So far, so good! And it also gives me a chance to use the little cable needle ring that I made a while ago. It leaves the cable needle tucked away but easily accessible.

Sock problem Exhibit A: Despite having multiple pairs of socks in progress, I'm starting another pair. 

My favorite socks right now though are the Slippery Slope Socks. I saw the pattern in the Spring 2016 Interweave Knits magazine and instantly knew they needed to be on my feet. The pattern has one row stripes alternating in two different colors, and then slipped stitch cables in each color that weave their way down and around the socks. The longest part of the process was deciding on yarns, and I finally settled on Knit Picks Hawthorne in the Happy Valley color, and Sweetgeorgia Yarns Tough Love Sock in Slate. The yarns are a tad bit splitty, but I'm making it work and love how the colors are turning out. These socks have also been great practice for cabling without a cable needle, at which I am now a pro. With one sock done and the second one nearing the heel, I'm surprised at just how quickly these complicated socks are coming along, especially considering the many other projects that are also on my needles.

The way these colors are coming out reminds me of stained glass. These socks are too cool!

Of course I love making socks, but I have lots of other projects in the works right now, too. Check back soon to see some great progress on my Take It All Shawl and see the awesome kiddo Coyote Cardigan that are on my needles. Here's a couple of sneak peeks.

What a fun way to use up some mini skeins. I might run out of yarn towards the end. Luckily my LYS is just a mile walk away...

A kid's sweater so complicated, it will get its very own post. Merging the fox cardigan on top with the great written pattern of the bottom one, and using coyote colors, to make possibly the best kid sweater ever for my niece.

And somehow I've been making progress on projects despite a surprise kitty crisis. Linus ate something he shouldn't have. I suspect it was a small scrap of yarn, but really who knows because this cat eats anything he can find on the floor... Usually his non-food eating issues clear up on their own, but this time he was barfing for a full day straight, so he got an all day trip to the vet, x-rays, anti-nausea medicine, and blood work to verify nothing he ate was toxic. The vets said he was very cute but very pitiful all day. The little troublemaker is back to normal now and picking battles with Apollo. His incident meant two days full of high maintenance kitty issues.

The problem cat Linus feels much better after his vet adventure.

This is Apollo's new spot. He's here every night.