Socks

I'm seem to be on a sock kick. My very first project as a knitter was a pair of socks I knit in Alaska, that I still wear to this day. I haven't knit many pairs of socks since then.

Lately, though, I've been inspired to pick sock knitting back up. Maybe it's the portability of them, or all the fabulous sock yarn that is available these days.

I recently finished these socks....the Lace and Diamond socks from the Reynold's Soft Sea Wool pattern book. I can't decide who will be the lucky recipient of these socks, but they are quite lovely. I need to block the second sock, because for some reason it's shorter than its partner (despite having the same number of leg rows, hmmm..).

I just recently started on the Monkey socks, which frankly, are making me quite crazy. I love the pattern, I'm sure they'll be great when they're completed, but the pattern requires more attention than I can usually muster. And there are so many yarn-overs, that a mistake is very difficult for me to correct and there are some unintentional holes in the sock that I'm hoping I can fix after the fact. Well, there's always hope for the second sock in the pair.

My mom and I even attended at Sock Soiree last week! On Wednesday, we met for thai food and then headed over to our new favorite yarn store, The Lamb Shoppe.

The Sock Soiree was advertised on their website, and since we're both working on socks we thought it sounded like great fun. Well, we seemed to be the only attendees of the soiree. That didn't bother us one bit; we just proceeded to have our very own sock party.

However, the store was hoppin'; there were about 30 other people there, knitting lots of things other than socks. Towards the end of the evening, we did meet Patricia, who was also there for the soiree, so the three of us made plans to see each other next month.

Now, speaking of socks, on to my biggest sock problem at the moment. These socks

took me several, yes several, years to complete, and they have quite a story behind them. My dearest friend Rachel came to me while we were living in Alaska together and said she had a proposition for me. While she was exploring her creative college self at Hampshire College in western Massachusetts, her boyfriend at the time took a class in sheep herding... (That's the type of thing they do at Hampshire College.) Well, Rachel was the lucky recipient of some beautiful wool from the herded sheep which was spun into yarn and dyed. At the time this yarn came into my life, Rachel had a good amount of natural, gray, and dark brown. However, this yarn was not presented to me in three skeins or balls...I had to work for it! All three colors were part of a GIANT knot! So, being in Alaska and having plenty of time for indoor activities in the middle of the winter when it's normally between 20 and 40 degrees below zero, we decided to tackle the knot from hell. And we were very dedicated. About once a week we would hole up in Rachel's cabin on Murphy Dome Road and work on the knot until finally one day, we had three beautiful balls of wool.

Well, I set right to deciding on what to make with this fabulous fiber. I think Rachel encouraged me to decide on socks, and I bought a book which had the perfect patterns.

Well, being a fairly novice knitter at the time, I believe I knit and reknit these socks approximately 29 times. I left Alaska, I sadly left Rachel, and ended up in Colorado. But I never forgot about that yarn we had worked so hard to untangle.

About 6 years after this yarn was first presented to me, I planned a trip to visit Rachel on Cape Cod. And I decided enough was enough, it was time to finish this damn project. So I did, and I presented her with the socks she had waited so long for. Look how happy she is!

I felt so relieved to finally have this yarn out of my life. But I should have known.....When I visited Rachel this summer to celebrate her 30th birthday with her, she had some bad news for me. I can't remember the details, but a friend's dog (or puppy I hope) had some fun with the socks recently and they didn't fare so well.....

And of course, in my infinite love for Rachel (and for the socks) I promised that I could fix them and return them to her! (that's what happens when you don't think before opening your mouth). So, we arrive at my dilemma....what on earth am I to do with these socks? I figure that now is the time to deal with them while I'm in the midst of a sock frenzy....I'll keep you posted and welcome your ideas!