Believe it or not – socks

The hardest parts of these was picking up the heel flap stitches for the gusset and weaving in the ends. But with the handy magnifier app, I was able to do both – it just took some time.

I’ve knit plain vanilla socks (and even some simple patterned ones) without looking at my knitting for several years. I’ve even knit in the dark of the movie theater, which was a goal once I learned that my friend Ariel did it all the time (I mean, how cool is that?!?).

I knit these for my husband. I’ve only ever knit socks for myself (and one pair that I gave to my mom a long time ago when they were really too small for my feet), so the first one was really an experiment. Once we found that it fit, I knit the second one so he could have a pair. I started out with 72 stitches, but we determined that they’re really a bit large for him at that width. The appeared to fit, but as he wears them, they get a little saggy/baggy. Even a trip through the washer (the yarn is KnitPicks Stroll Tweed, which is a superwash yarn, and which I’m using in my sock scraps granny square blanket).

So we made some modifications for the second pair. I also decided to do contrasting cuffs, heels, and toes. Hey, I might be visually impaired, but I obviously still enjoy a challenge.

I decided to try 68 stitches this time, and he wanted them to be a little taller. He still likes shortie socks, but needed just a tad more length on the leg.

He chose the colors this time, and that was even more of a challenge. The dark navy blue just wasn’t working as a cast-on for some reason. I tried multiple times, kept getting the count off, and finally gave up on having that as the full cuff. I cast on the orange, did a few rounds of that, then switched to the navy. It gives it a kind of sporty shortie look. I also added, at his request, just a few more rounds to the leg after the ribbing.

These fit much, much better. He’s very happy with them. And I’ve started another pair using the same formula, but a different color combination. They are a great project for knitting when just sitting and chatting with friends. I can envision a few more pairs in his future. They are super soft, and they run through the washing machine and dryer (which is a must) great!