Thoughts on Socks

The other day I washed all my dirty hand knit socks. As I was folding them and stacking them so that I could put them back in my sock drawer I was struck by how many pairs there are and the memories I had of knitting all of them.

I remembered where I got all of the yarns, who I was with and why I was shopping at that particular moment.

I reminisced about knitting the socks. The patterns, some simple and some more complex, the feel of the yarn as I worked, some softer than others, and the color – all the glorious color.

I thought about which ones I enjoy wearing the most, either because of the color or the pattern or the yarn itself.

And I decided I am so glad I am a sock knitter.

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  3. Stunning! Think how many more you have gifted to friends and family during that time frame! Love all the colors!

  5. While that stack is impressive in itself, (mine is about 1/3 of that – have given a lot of pairs away too), what amazes me most is your ability to remember all that stuff. I have a few pairs that were gifts from other knitter friends, and those I remember, and I have a few pairs that the yarn was a gift from other knitter friends, and those I also remember… However. Most of the pairs are made from yarn that I have NO idea what it is or where I got it. Don’t remember when I knit them either. Been knitting socks way before Ravelry, and for some reason I never record my socks there either. Socks are my “fill-in” knitting – there is always one in progress in my purse for portable knitting. As soon as they are off the needles they are in my sock drawer or on my feet or put in the ‘gift queue’, destined for some lucky friend on her birthday or Christmas.

    Lastly, in addition to my being impressed with your still-sharp memory, you can wash them all at once? Wow. I always lay mine out on the dryer after washing… there are not enough ‘available’ flat spaces in my house (you can read into that whatever you want – we won’t go into detail how the flat spaces are otherwise ‘busy’…) to spread out lots of socks to dry!

    As always, reading your blog makes me happy, regardless of the subject. You are an inspiration for sure.

  6. I love knitting socks too! The majority of mine are from sock clubs and I can remember which club, dyer’s notes or designer notes go with them. I get sucked in by KAL’s too and mystery KAL’s.

  7. Wow, lotsa socks (and lot with picot hems!) Have I mentioned this already? Your sock pattern is my very favorite.

  8. What a wonderful pile ‘o socks! The pictures make me happy! I’m only good for 2 pair a year on average but am happy to be a sock knitter too.

  9. Must confess my envy at your fabulous stack(s) of socks. I am so slow when it comes to knitting I just can’t produce as I once could. Memories infuse their way into our knitting and socks are the perfect conduit with both the yarn and the pattern to tell their tales. Just think how many wonderful years of memories are housed in your socks. Impressive!!

  11. I just love my socks! I wear mine so much that I have to wash a bunch each week. Then they hang by the fire. And they keep me oh so warm!

  12. That’s beautiful! I have made a few pair over the years but they were all given away. I stopped knitting for many years and am back into it now. I am currently making a practice pair to get the hang of it again, but they are being gifted. Where do you get so many pretty yarns? I don’t have many yarn shops by my home so I have to order everything online. What are some of those yarns you used? They are so pretty!

  14. Its hard to imagine how wonderful hand knit socks are. You knit your first pair and then you get it.

  15. I love all the memories in hand knit items. Sometimes I remember what I was doing when I knit the item – what movie I was watching, where I was going on a car ride while I was knitting, etc.

  17. These photos are a happy feast for the eyes! If these don’t inspire a knitter to knit socks….she has moths in her yarn!

  19. Those are glorious. I don’t really have a great idea how many socks I have, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it is under a 1/3 of your awesome pile.

  20. Beautiful stacks! I have about 8 pairs that are my own, and then a whole bunch that I have gifted. I never used to keep track, although I could probably come up with them all, as I usually remember the ones I gifted. Interestingly enough, as I just tried to count, I have given away more than twice the number I have kept, and that was just on a quick run through. That felt good, so thanks for making me think about it!

  21. Han knit socks make me happy. They also make my daughters, husband, grandfather etc, etc very happy. Being a sock knitter rocks!

  22. 25 pairs! Wow! Nice colorful bunch you have there. I recognize a few in the pile. I definitely need to step up on the sock knitting.

  23. I wore a pair of my favorite handknit socks yesterday. They’re called “Joe” and they make me very happy. I don’t have a collection that even rivals a quarter of yours, but each pair is a delight to wear. Your collection is AWESOME!

  24. The mind boggles…. I too remember where I purchased all my lovely sock yarn, but have a hard time remembering things like what I had for lunch two days ago :). It’s so nice to have fiber people who can appreciate a picture of a pile of lovely socks!

  29. I was thinking about you and socks just yesterday! I put on my socks that I knit from your pattern. That is my favorite pair!

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