Socks

Knitting socks use to be an intimidating thought to me, until I found a very easy sock pattern and tried it.

This was the first pair of socks I'd ever made.  I toiled over these socks!  But, I didn't quit.  

Originally those were supposed to be for my beloved husband.  However, they ended up too tight for him, so I gave them to my oldest son, DA.  

I knitted these socks for my husband and they turned out very well.  

I used the Imagination Hand Painted Sock Yarn from knitpicks.com for all of the socks you see here.

I am currently working on a pair of socks for my daughter for Christmas.  I'm finding that I cannot work on them at night though because of the lighting and the color contrast when I get to the variegated part of the yarn where it is dark on dark.

I've found the perfect time of day to work on them is in the morning with the bright light all around me. I can see in the front and the light streaming through the sock fibers between my stitches.  I've also taken this with me to work on at the Dr's office while getting physicals and well child exams for the children.  

And, just in case you're curious about how the other side looks--

When you work on the heel, there are 2 needles that go "unworked" and just sit there holding stitches like you see here. According to my directions, after I repeat the pattern of slip 1, knit 1, turn, slip 1 and purl across just 15 times, then I'll begin using the larger end stitches you see below my thumb to knit the rest of the heel. :) I'll post pictures so you can see how things progress. 

I have not tried the two at a time method of knitting socks, nor have I tried the toe up method of knitting....and I've contemplated making crocheted socks, but haven't tried them yet. I share with you what I've learned, what I'm doing and hope I've helped someone along the way, or someone at some time could help direct me on the way as well.

My plans for sock making, God willing, is to finish this pair and a pair for my youngest son by Christmas. I'll start on my own pair of socks after Christmas. Then I'll begin again with my husband. 

I gave the upper 2 pairs of socks to my husband and son in 2010. I had planned to work on other projects, then get back to the sock making, which I did. Upon beginning these socks for my daughter, I ripped out countless times (at least 5) restarting and restarting again because when I increased, then decreased and did the repeat all the way around for the Jaywalker pattern, it always kept decreasing consistently and wouldn't keep the count even. I tried it a couple of different ways to only find the same problem again and again. I snipped the last swatch I tried because the yarn was so worn. I began again on the 6th try and decided to continue like I had for the previous 2 socks instead, using a basic sock pattern. Now, here I am. I regret not being able to conquer the pattern, but I guess you'll have those things.