Sock Season

Snuggly Sock on Ravelry

The day has come.  It's 47 degrees outside, and I've pulled out my first pair of hand knit socks of the season.  This is a delicious moment, slipping them on and enjoying the cozy warmth.

As of three years ago, I hadn't had a pair of hand knit socks in decades.  I made them in Girl Scouts, and wore those in high school and college.  I made them for other people.  For some reason, I didn't make any for me.  I'd buy woolen socks and wear them, and always wish they fit better, or were softer, or thinner, or thicker, or taller...

After making a couple of pairs for my husband, I noticed that he nearly always wore those, and not the rest of his drawer of socks.  Now, I admit my ego is fragile, but it isn't that fragile.  "Honey, you don't have to wear them every day.  I know you like them.  I understand," I told him.  He washed them in the sink at night, so they'd be ready sooner than the household wash.
"No way!  I would feel guilty about asking you to make more, but these are the best socks I have.  They're the most comfortable, by far.  I never noticed that I didn't like my other socks until I wore these."  These words are approximate, as it was three years ago.

A light slowly dawned.  The next pair of socks would not be for my DH.  They would be for me.  I picked the yarn (Schaeffer's Nichole) and cast on right away.  By the time I was through the first cuff, I had all kinds of sock fantasies in my head.  My socks wouldn't fall down, they wouldn't get caught between my toes, I wouldn't get blisters any more, they would stay soft...  One pair was definitely not going to do it.

 

Rhinebeck 2012 Sock

Naturally, I finished them and loved them.  I learned about how different heel designs fit differently.  I read books about socks.  I designed socks.  I taught classes on socks.  I was addicted. 

And then, as it always does, the weather turned summery, and though I kept knitting socks (and mittens, of course) I couldn't wear them.  I wore sandals or bare feet all summer.  And for the first time, I learned to savor the first day of wool sock wearing weather.

For me, that day is today.  If you haven't had this delightful feeling, it's because you don't have socks that fit perfectly, which you can only accomplish by having them made for you.  For narrow feet, V heels, and regular tapered toe.  For wide feet, a flap heel and a box toe.

Jump into sock knitting!  And enjoy that first wool sock of the season.