Socks

Not even around the house instead of slippers?

I've noticed this new craze for socks to, I'm not a big knitter of them. I don't much like double-points and I've tried the two circular needle method but I still find that they are fiddly. I've got some two needle patterns that I've made up though - much easier for a two-stick girl like me.

I guess they are a popular project because they are very portable and offer a reasonably degree of challenge (and thereby interest).

VP

I like knitting socks because they fit me. Knitting a sweater for my size is a very lengthy project with an awful lot of knitting. Socks get done quicker. And there are such pretty hand-painted sock yarn. I wear socks all the time in the winter.

Alison

I don't think it's really that new. I've been knitting socks for years, mainly because I love the feel of them and much prefer them to store bought.

The portability of socks is a good point. I always have a pair otn and take them everywhere. You never know when you can knit a few rows. Luckily for me I have some people around me who love getting hand knitted socks from me, and never seem to tire of them.

Shelagh

Not knowing anything about your friends and family, I hesitate to say anything.... but I know from my own viewpoint, I would rather know if someone doesn't want me to knit for them. There is a lot of time and money tied up in knitting, and I would hate to think I had worked that many hours on something someone didn't really want.

Perhaps you could just say you have enough socks for now, and have no more room in your sock drawer.

I can relate to that.

Have a good visit, and let us know if you broached the subject or not....

Shelagh

Socks have been a "craze" for years - just have a look at the inception date and member count on yahoo lists such as socknitters to get some idea.

I burned out on socks a while back. I've got more socks in rotation than I have days in the month to wear them, so I don't need more socks. I don't need more sweaters either, but I persist in knitting those.

The BFL socks I finished earlier this week were the first pair of socks I've been inclined to knit in months.

Yes, I wasn't really implying that people haven't been fond of knitting socks for many, many years. I guess the love of sock knitting is more obvious now because of the WWW which translates into things like the support for Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin' Sock Club etc. But clearly sock knitting has always interested a good many knitters.

VP

Now here is my take on it. I almost always wear socks - usually just short cotton ones. However, there are times when I really need wool socks to keep my feet warm and comfortable. Nothing is more miserable than cold feet. Here they are likely to be cold, wet feet - hence wool socks are much to be desired as they manage to keep you warm even when the dampness seeps in to shoes or boots. I have hefty boot socks for my field boots

- which get less action now that I am retired from my forest board duties. I have warm, cozy wool socks for those days when I am out in chilly, damp weather working on political campaigns or walking on slushy roads (we have no sidewalks in my neighborhood) etc. My DH always seems to have cold feet - he loves wool socks and wears the ones I make him as often as possible this time of year. (I also make them so that they fit his feet -- with left and right sock to fit his long big toes. So -- if my feet were hot, I would probably be with you -- but since my feet are quite often decidedly not hot I find homemade, well fitting wool socks a wonderful winter addition. I have lots of sock yarn waiting for more.

Judy

Hi Mary, I agree with Shelagh; try to find a way to let the knitters know you are really more comfortable without socks on your feet. We all have a right to our own likes and dislikes and no one should feel offended just because yours are not the same as theirs.

Have a good visit with your daughter in Wales. Just don't bring any more socks home with you :-)

I agree you have the right not to like socks. As for me , hand knit socks are the only ones I wear. I like that they fit my feet , are fun colors and soft material and don't pinch around the ankles. I also like that I can throw a pair of socks on one circ and have a ready to go project. In college I sit during lectures and knit, it keeps me busy and I pay attention to the lecture. Everyone has a preference for what they like to knit and what they like to wear.

I agree you have the right not to like socks. As for me , hand knit socks are the only ones I wear. I like that they fit my feet , are fun colors and soft material and don't pinch around the ankles. I also like that I can throw a pair of socks on one circ and have a ready to go project. In college I sit during lectures and knit, it keeps me busy and I pay attention to the lecture. Everyone has a preference for what they like to knit and what they like to wear.

Wow, you can manage that? I was always to busy frantically taking notes. :)

VP

Good morning, I will admit to not liking to knit socks very much. I am hoping for a "wear your unmatched socks" craze to take hold because I will be right on that. I make single socks and then lose interest. Knitting ADHD? Yes, I know there is a way to knit both of them at the same time but it does not turn me on either. I like mittens, hats and fingerless gloves for my portable projects. this Saturday, my 9 year olf GD is coming over . I'll be teaching her to knit. And by golly, it'll be the German way. I knit with wool in my left hand, can also throw with my right hand if absolutely necessary. I must voice my praise for the new Bates needles available now. They seem to be targeted to new, young knitters, with shorter length, funky colors and lighter weight. I'll report back on Sunday on how the lesson went.

With knitterly regards, Antje is Die Wollhexe > Mary Fisher wrote:

Definitely wear mismatched socks! I wear my Noro "pair" with pride. And they are cozy. Bottom row:

OK, I'll bite. how do you do a pair on ONE circular? Is it like working on two circulars, but without the pulling at the "edges"?

Georgia

It would be for me too but I don't mind that, I just like to have an excuse to sit and listen to the afternoon play :-)

Mary

I don't wear slippers except in the caravans. I do have a pair, somewhere ...

I made my first sock sixty years ago for my brownie badge. We had to turn the heel to pass. I don't remember ever knitting the other one - perhaps I did because my mother and I used to sit and knit together.

I enjoy a challenge but never attempt what would be the biggest challenge for me - a garment made only in one colour stocking stitch :-)

Boring!!!

Mary

I prefer knitting for other people because wool makes my torso itch :-(

Mary

An 11 yo grandson asked me to teach him to knit over Christmas but I've no idea what method I taught him. My mother always said that I held my needles like pokers, I've handed on that method to several children and grandchildren because I don't know any other way ...

They sound like several ancient pairs I have dating from the 1940s. Edmund is using a pair for his project - a scarf for one of his younger cousins.

Mary

You're right of course, I shall make the point, but VERY gently!

I could to friends but not to daughter she knows I don't have a sock drawer :-)

I suspect that she just enjoys making socks and ran out of recipients. She sent a special one with no toe for when I'd just had surgery and had a hook sticking out of the end of my toe.

But we haven't gone - yet. There have been dreadful, damaging, storms today. We're in Yorkshire where perhaps the worst has been, we'd have had to drive over the highest motorway in England (where police stopped high sided vehicles because of the danger) and over one of the Brecon Beacons in Wales, an even higher mountain which is bleak and bare at all times, and along the Wye Valley in Wales which often floods ... Spouse just didn't want to risk it. He was right, of course.

Mary