I’m smitten. I absolutely love this new (to us) Louet Gems line. Here is my Grape sock, finished up yesterday. It’s the Waving Lace Socks pattern from Favorite Socks. It was very easy to knit and I love how it turned out. It has a long cuff and I have long feet (size 11) and you can see in the photo the amount of yarn I had left over from 1 skein. (I followed the pattern exactly, and knit with #1’s.) Good to know that I can get by with 2 skeins for these socks. They are so comfortable to wear, too. You’d think that since I like them so much, and the color is one that I have not knit before, and they were easy to do, that I’d jump right in and make the twin, right? (Those of you who know me, know what’s coming…..) Of course I started another design last night. Well, I wanted to try the Louet Sportweight (which really is a delightful sportweight – not very heavy. I’m still using a size 1 needle to knit it.) Now I’m trying out the Meida’s Socks with Sage. This pattern is really fun to knit, too. 🙂 And then after this one, I think I will have to try…
A Cookie A design! Because her designs are absolutely over-the-top amazing, and we just added all of them to our pattern section at The Loopy Ewe. This is a new venture for Cookie (selling her patterns – not designing them) and we are her first wholesaler. My only problem will be deciding which one to start with. They’re all incredible. They all call for Louet Gems, too – so it’s a good thing we have the entire color line. (Ahem. It’s a good thing we have the entire color line ordered. Still waiting on the other half of the colors, but they have shipped so we expect them any day and will get them up immediately. This is one of our “big lines”, so barring any unforeseen problems, expect us to have it in most all of the time.)
I also like yarns that are semi-solid – meaning that the color intensity/shade varies throughout. You’ll see this in many of the wonderful J-Knits yarns, as well as All Things Heather, Apple Laine, and Claudia Handpainted. We’re also getting a great new line of semi-solids from sKNITches next month. I have a sample skein and it’s beautiful. You’re going to love it. So for those of you who are finding fun lace patterns to knit up and you want the stitches to pop, try some of these different solids.
Of course that got me thinking. Why do I love knitting socks? Well – there are lots of reasons. They’re portable, they don’t take a whole lot of yarn, they can be as challenging or as simple as I want them to be, they’re relatively quick to finish, etc. But one of the biggest reasons for me is that it allows me to try all different kinds of techniques and patterns without having to commit to a whole sweater of it. It is a great way to experiment and learn. That brings me to this month’s contest. Leave a comment and answer this question: What do YOU like about knitting socks? I will do a drawing next Monday to see who wins this month’s fun “Loopy Loot” package – so get your comments in!
I did a little re-stocking today – more Wildhorse Farm patterns, more Zephyr stitchmarkers, and more Loopy Totes. Of course there is always more, more, more in the works!
Sheri loveseeingallofyourFrankandMarthasocksphotoscomingin!
I like knitting socks because I can use such beautiful yarns. Most of my socks are knit for charity (children in former Soviet countries), so it’s fun to imagine youngsters snuggling their feet into a pair of warm, cheerful socks. I can use phenomenally beautiful yarns without spending a fortune, and I don’t get bored – unless I’m knitting a big sock on size 0’s! And it fits into my purse. And, well – what’s not to love?! 🙂
I make socks for all the usual reasons: fun, interesting, everyone needs them, there is always someone willing to adopt them no matter what size they turn out. But my main reason for knitting socks in public is that I like to watch people’s reactions when they say “Nobody knits socks!” and then realize that they just said that to someone who is knitting a sock.
I love making socks becasuse of the yarn! I love the different hand dyed yarns out there, and it’s so much fun to see how the different yarns come out as you knit them. I also love that you can try all these different/complicated stitch patterns without having to commit to a huge shawl, or sweater. And there’s nothing better than knitting in the round- no purl unless it’s part of the pattern! And it’s nice to have an easy project that fits in my purse for when I have a few spare minutes to knit.
I am just learning to knit socks, and am almost finished with my first “big person” sock. Making socks was my knitting goal for 2007. What do I like? All the wonderful yarns, patterns, and accomplishing something new for me! 🙂
Socks! I love the portability, the fabulous yarn options, the fabulously creative designs. I love that socks can be a relatively inexpensive project. They make great gifts. Who wouldn’t love a gift of handknit socks? Mostly I love to wear my handknit socks, and I wear them more than any of my other knitted items – so they feel practical, beautiful, and luxurious to me.
I love knitting socks for so many reasons. A pair of socks can be one of two things for me. First, it can be a chance to expand my knitting abilities. I first explored short rows, cables, lace, tubular bind offs, provisional cast ons, and so much more on socks, and using Nancy Bush’s patterns has improved my technical skills and design potential considerably. Second, a pair of socks can be comfort knitting. I keep one in my purse at all times, and I’ve been known to pull it out anywhere and everywhere. Don’t even get me started on the yarns- I love the solids, the hand paints, the stripes…everything!
I love knitting socks becuase they are a quick knit, becuase I love knitting in the round on dpns, I love the fact that no one can ever figure out what they are (yesterday someone said they were potholders), I love seeing the colors pattern and pool, and I love WEARING THEM all year round (even wool ones).
I love knitting socks for a few reasons. I started knitting about a year ago because of my grandmother. She died when I was three. I am now twenty-nine. These twenty-odd years that she has been gone I’ve thought a lot about her. Her sisters have told me great things about what an awesome person she was. I feel very gipped for not having known her. I decided, since she was a hard-core knitter, that if I picked up knitting too, it would be cathartic for me – and it’d be a way for me to feel a little more connected to her. So I picked up the knitting needles and am now a pretty hard core knitter myself. One of the things that grandma knitted quite a bit was socks. So I learned to knit socks last summer, and have been enjoying them immensely ever since. The thing I love most about knitting socks is that I feel a strong connection to my grandma when I knit them. I also love the portability of sock knitting, and that the yarn always comes in such fantastic colours!
What I like about knitting socks:
* All the amazing yarns.
* All the different patterns and techniques I get to try on a small scale.
* The fact that it’s a pattern I know how to adjust to fit me.
* The fact that I can carry it anywhere.
* That I could do it while exercising if I wanted to (using a little hip bag).
* The endless variety.
* Having warm feet covered in soft wool.
What’s not to love?
I like knitting socks because I can have lots of different yarns while not having alot invested in each one, they are practical, therefore guilt free, because you have to have socks, other people’s reatctions to your cool socks is fun, and finally, since I live in south Texas, I have little need for sweaters!
Oh Sheri,
I love to knit socks because:
It’s the one item that I can make with really over-the-top yarns and still be able to wear without attracting too much attention. The brighter the better!
They’re also small projects that whip up in a jiffy and are extremely portable.
Not to mention the ohhs and ahhs I get when I pull out a sock in progress while in public and the muggles (non-knitter) see all those needles. What fun!
I can use expensive yarns because I only need a skien or two.
Why I like knitting socks:
-Socks are a portable project.
-Socks provide a little bit more freedom in the wardrobe colorwise.
-That said, I love sock yarn. It is luscious to work with and absolutely addicting to buy.
-I can actually wear the FOs year round.
-I don’t necessarily *have* to swatch when I knit socks.
-I can actually finish knitting socks within a reasonable amount of time.
I love the feel of handknitted socks and the cool engineering that goes into making them. I also enjoy being able to buy extremely decadent yarn for socks, since I don’t have to buy too much of it!
My feet may be a relatively large size 10, but even so, knitting for them takes less time and less yarn than knitting a sweater for my large torso. Socks let me have a portable project that produces a useful finished object, allows the use of incredible hand-dyed/hand-painted yarn, and doesn’t totally blow my budget. Add to that the infinite variety of yarn and pattern combinations available, and you have the nearly perfect project!
There is just something so darn satisfying about turning a heel,. That’s what I love about knitting socks! Everytime I do it I love to point out the look of multi-directional knitting and how smart I am for making the heel of a sock to my dear boyfriend. Like a good man of a knitter he nods his head and agrees that I am both smart and talented!
I have just started my first pair and so far I love it because it is going quickly! I can’t wait to start building my stash with all the gooooorgeous sock yarns out there–thats my second favorite thing!
I love to knit socks because I have a big size 11 foot with a low instep. Kind of a wedge-shaped Fred Flintstone type foot. Now I have socks that fit perfectly.
I love that because I know the “formula” for making socks that fit me, I can use an endless array of yarns, patterns, and styles.
And I love sock yarn because it’s so wonderfully soft and snuggly. If I win the lottery, I’m going to buy enough to fill a bed and sleep in it.
I’m not a new knitter, but I’m new to knitting socks, and what I love about it is the yarns. It’s so much fun to be able to see a luscious yarn and buy just one or two skeins for a pair of socks, rather than to stress out because it’s too expensive to buy a dozen skeins for a sweater.
Knitting socks holds my interest. Just about the time I am getting bored with one section it is time to do the next step in the process like turning the heel. They seem to have limitless design possibilities. And, for me, they are a very practical knit project that will get constant use, which I find very satisfying.
I love knitting socks in large part because they’re so portable. I can leave my huge sweater projects with all the charts home and still have stuff to do. The amazing yarns available are also a draw, I must admit.
I love knitting socks because
a) the really cool yarn — colors and patterns I’d never wear as a sweater but make fabulous socks
b) they feel luxurious on the feet
c) my feet are always cold and you can’t find pretty store-bought stocks, and
d) I don’t need a pattern, so I always keep a ball of sock yarn with me in case I get stuck in a traffic jam, snowstorm, airport, or boring soccer game.
I JUST started knitting this past month…
and I am attempting my first sock RIGHT NOW.
what do I love about it?
I love the idea that it’s small… and fairly quick… and I hope I’m a quick learner at this 😉
My love of the sock…. (and sock yarn)….
The idea of socks used to intimidate me, and I challenged myself to conquer my fears.
The yarns… I am a pretty conservative dresser but I choose glorious colors in my sock yarn to express my creativity.
I’m a grad student and work fulltime- these are portable and perfect for knitting in the few spare moments of time I find during my day. And they are the perfect size- anything larger would take me forever to finish.
They are such an intimate item (as opposed to a hat, scarf, dishcloth, etc… I love knitting them for those closest to me). It’s much more personal to me, and I enjoy thinking of them as I knit.
You can’t have a bad day when you have happy socks on.
Why do I love knitting socks?
1. Teeny tiny needles (and five of ’em to boot) – fingers can fly when the needles are so small.
2. If you finish a pair and they don’t fit you, they will for sure fit someone else. I don’t feel so bad giving away a pair of socks that I only have few hours and less than $25 into as opposed to a $120 sweater that took weeks to knit.
3. Hand knit lace against your feet feels heavenly. Not too hot, like wool can sometimes be. Just the right amount of air-flow to keeps your toes comfy (when you wiggle them, a quick burst of cool air feels great).
4. Just like a red petticoat, wild color socks can give you a sense of adventure without having to jump from a bridge with a rubber band strapped to your butt.
5. Each skein of hand-dyed yarn is a new beginning. No two are going to be exactly the same.
6. They are just the right size to fit in those great project bags that attach to the belt loop of your jeans. How fun is that? Hands free knitting and walking at the same time. Wait, I can’t chew gum and walk at the same time what makes me think . . .
Any how, I just love ’em.
I love knitting socks because they are forgiving. I never felt that comfortable with ripping out a sweater, but I can rip bck mistakes in a sock and start over with no hesitation. Socks have made me a better knitter.
I could list countless things that I love about socks, butI have to admit that I love freaking out non-knitters by knitting with 5 needles! I also love experimenting with colors, textures, styles, etc. Socks are so much fun in so many ways, and I now always have a pair with me. I have even purchased a new knitting bag that perfectly fits two socks in progress, my wallet, essentials, phone, notiions and a magazine or two.
Shannon
I love to knit socks because I love sock yarn so much and I can try out every color in the universe!
Hi, I’m StarsongKY, and I am a sock knitter.
I’d been needle crafting for 25 years – mostly cross stitch at the time, with bouts of crochet and knitting. Spring before last, as I approached 40, vision problems shifted my focus from linen and floss to needles & skeins. Seeking the company of my own kind, I searched the Internet for patterns and knitting lists. I stumbled into the Six
Sox KAL, found a great deal on double pointed needles on Ebay, and never looked back.
I’ve made more progress in my craft in the past two years than I had in the previous two decades. I started with only one cast-on method and one bind-off, one increase and one decrease. I’ve learned multiple variations of all of these now, which ones to use when and why. Socks let me afford to try new things, to learn and grow. Today’s project is my first venture into the new territory of Entrelac.
BS (Before Socks) I used only whatever cheap acrylic I could find at Wal-Mart, knowing of nothing else. I’m a big gal with kids and a full-time job, so a full-sized sweater or afghan can take months or even years to finish. With socks I’ve learned to spoil myself and become something of a yarn snob, sticking to 75% wool / 25% nylon superwash for my own feet. (Who knew wool could not only be soft and
comforting, but machine washable as well?)
I used to get bored and never knit the same thing twice. Socks let me express myself, turning knitting into an art. Socks have taught me the joys of variations on a theme. I can mix and match, use the same pieces in different combinations, change the colors or textures to produce something unique every time. I tend toward some favorites – top down, half-handkerchief heel and wedge toe grafted across – because I’ve found these work well for me.
A pattern is no longer law but a set of guidelines, a starting point to change and adapt to suit my own needs. I’ve learned to upsize patterns to fit my own unique shape. My legs are thick and taper down to the ankle, so I go down a needle size halfway down the cuff and extend the gusset to make the ball of the foot smaller around than the ankles.
After a lifetime thinking of myself as poor, socks have also taught me just how rich I really am. I knit a lot of socks for Children in Common, for orphaned children without families or heat, to keep little toes warm and to let them know that
somewhere in the world someone cares.
Socks are small, and thus easily portable. I knit on my daily commute, on the bus and (weather permitting) while walking, tiny ball of yarn tucked in one pocket and my Lyra in the other, loaded with Lime & Violet and other knitting podcasts to keep me company. The friendly voices reassure me that I am not alone in my addiction, and
that it’s really okay and right and good.
Socks are solid bits of love, thousands of tiny hugs woven together stitch by stitch.
Reasons that I love knitting socks:
– It’s a small project you can finish relatively quickly.
– It’s very portable.
– I can try loads of different yarns without ruining myself as it only takes a skein or two to make a sock.
– I can buy sock yarn without knowing exactly what pattern to make, as I know pretty much how much it takes to make a sock. That’s much more difficult (and expensive!) with a sweater.
– It’s easy to make your own pattern and try out different stitch patterns
– Socks can be as simple or as complicated as you like.
– I love wearing handknit socks!
– I can use all those fantabulous yarns in great colours that might be a tad wild for a sweater and that don’t really work against my face. I love colour and texture!
– …
What has kept me knitting socks for years on end?
* their portability
* their functionality
* the low degree of committment , as opposed to, say, an Aran sweater? Like reading a magazine instead of a book… sometimes the attention span appreciates something smaller…
* the wonderful myriad of sock yarns available these days… and everyone knows that sock yarn doesn’t really count as stash
* the fact that there is always another way to cast on, or cast off, or do a heel or toe – always something new to learn, and try, so the boredom factor is non-existent
* the almost-instant gratification of being able to actually finish and wear them
I truly cannot imagine myself without a pair of socks – at least one! – on the needles!
I knit socks because they are magical. Every time I turn the heel, I feel like a genius.
I love to knit socks because they are the most ingenius design that covers a right angle and that can be accomplished in so many ways ie toe up or top down or inbetween and then with all that one can stick pattern knitting into it…it’s all good.
I’ve just started making socks, and I haven’t tried any really complicated patterns yet, but so far the part I like best is finishing the heel. I feel a real sense of acomplishment when all the stitches line up without any gaps and the heel is nice and smooth and it cradles your foot perfectly.
I love knitting socks for all of the reasons Sheri listed and some others. But it is also like comfort food. I get a soothing sense of calm when I knit socks (even if I have to frog). And they are easy to create for other members of the family.
What I like about knitting socks is: (1) portability, (2) using wild colorways, and (3) playing with stitch patterns. Socks are so easy to design, and fast to knit! (I gues that’s five things I like most. 🙂 )
I’m a new sock knitter and haven’t made anything other than very basic socks so far, but I like knitting them because:
1) They don’t take much yarn, so if I mess them up somehow it’s not a huge loss.
2) They’re useful, and they wear out, so I can keep making them without wondering what I could possibly do with them all.
3) I can make them with wild colours or patterns and still end up wanting to wear them.
Sock yarn, sock yarn, sock yarn! That’s why I knit my first pair and that’s why I can’t stop knitting them now!
I just started knitting socks and absolutely love it. They are small, portable and as complicated or easy as I choose. They are also the first project that I’ve been able to complete multiple times with out getting completely bored out of my mind.
My grandma always knit socks, and I seem to have inherited her compulsion. I love to knit socks, because no matter what the yarn-craving, or stitch-pattern inspiration, it can be done in socks. I love how a sock has many parts, and if you want to skip the gusset and do a short row heel, no problem. A toe-up sock with a hybrid heel? No problem. Socks are endlessly entertaining and satisfying. Really, endlessly!
I love knitting socks for alot of different reasons. I can be really wild about the colors I choose. I absolutely love sock yarn and I don’t count it as stash! I can try new stitch patterns and it’s small enough that I don’t get bored. Probably the best reason of all is I can make them for my family and friends and its the one knitted gift all of them are happy to get!
Socks are such a wonderful project because I can buy luscious yarns at affordable prices. There is no real guilt factor when I buy sock yarn. Endless hours of entertainment for 20 bucks? What a bargain. I love the pattern books. I love the tools. I love the fact that I can store enough sock yarn in a basket to make 20 pairs of socks. I ‘m seriously considering focusing solely (no pun intended) on socks just to keep my total stash under control. Well, maybe not.
I love socks because they are so portable – I can stand on the sidelines of soccer practice and knit! They are also a wonderful thing to use and wear once they are finished!
I like to knit socks because it’s easy to always have one with me: no more wasted time waiting in line at the post office or grocery store! And it’s so easy to play with different stitch patterns and shaping. Of course there’s the ultimate reason: they feel wonderful on my feet!
The thing that first drew me to knitting socks was the yarn. My LYS (The Mannings in East Berlin, PA) has a huge wall of gorgeous sock yarn, including the largest selection of Koigu I’ve ever seen in one place. I took my first knitting class there and kept returning to that wall of yarn, even though the sales people kept telling me that the yarn I wanted to make a baby sweater really wasn’t on that wall. I learned to knit socks because I love the yarn so much. The riot of color still attracts me.
I continue knitting socks because the projects are portable and perfect for my lifestyle, and because my sweetie loves wearing handknit socks. Our sock-knitting and sock-wearing addictions are delightfully codependent!
I like knitting socks for a lot of the same reasons others do. They’re relatively quick, you can try new techniques without a huge investment of time and money if (when) you find you have to rip it all out and start over, and I love the colors. I’ve used mostly variegated handpainted yarns so far, and it’s so cool to watch the colors change in the knitted fabric. They’re portable, easy to take along, and a nice break from other, larger, projects. I try to have one in progress most of the time. AND, they’re fun to wear! Since it’s so fun and easy to buy beautiful yarns from you, the main problem is selecting the next one to work on!
There are so, so many things I love about sock knitting but the thing that drew me to socks in the first place was that socks are a low commitment way to try out new patterns and techniques. By that I mean that you can knit a sock with a small amount of yarn in a relatively short amount of time – almost like instant knitting gratification. I know that 10 – 30 hours is a lot of time but not when compared to the time it takes to knit a sweater. I tend to get distracted easily with large projects so sock knitting really suits my personality. I have completed 7 pair of socks since January but I haven’t managed to complete a sweater yet!
I also love the fact that they are so portable. I take a pair with me everywhere I go – you never know when an opportunity to knit a few rounds will present itself. Why just today the Madder Rib sock that I had dropped in my purse kept me from going insane while waiting in the extraordinarily long check out line at WalMart. The cashier was quite surprised that I was still pleasant after waiting for so long – I knitted about an inch of sock leg.
My only dislike of sock knitting is that I can’t knit fast enough – LOL.
I should start by saying that to date I have only knit one sock…but as soon as I figured out grafting the toe immediately cast on it’s partner and a new one to boot. It’s magic, pure magic. You follow some rather simple directions, calculate a few basic equations, the yarn does fabulous things and bippity-boppity-boo you have a sock. Sock yarn should come with sound effects and sparklers that go off automatically once a sock is completed. Sprinkle me with pixie dust, I’m hooked.
The reasons why I like knittng socks have pretty much been mentioned by previous commenters but here they are: 🙂
a) Portable. I especially love knitting when I’m travelling on the train. 3 hour rides no longer seem that painful. 🙂
b) Colourful. I normally stick to solid colours with my wardrobe but when it comes to socks – anything goes! 🙂
c) They give me knitting design confidence. I love how I can pick just about any kind of stitch pattern and with a few simple calculations, I’ve got a sock!
My favorite part of knitting socks is that there are vast amounts of colors to pick from, of course that could always be a problem. You can knit them practically anywhere, except on some airplanes (how unfortunate). There doesn’t need to be silence around you because you can always be watching TV, listening to podcasts, or talking to people. However, if you are deeply involved in a pattern any one of those ‘silence breakers’ would be a distraction. Good thing is that two of the three ‘silence breakers’ won’t be offended if you ignore them or turn them off. In the case that you wish to silence a person from talking while deeply immersed in a pattern, all you need to do is say ‘be quiet, can’t you see I’m knitting?’ If the person says something rude, just ignore them and pretend to concentrate on your pattern, although sometimes you don’t need to pretend because you really do need to concentrate. All of this to say, knitting is fun, can be done almost anywhere, good bonding activity (especially if a bunch of knitters get together knitting a difficult pattern and one person says something and they get hushed by everyone else in the room), it’s rewarding to see your hardwork (especially on a hard pattern), but most importantly they’re something you can wear!
I love knitting socks because I can use expensive yarn in just ONE skein. You see, my shoe size is 5, so with one skein I can knit one pair. Also I can ‘design” my own socks with almost any pattern and the most importan reason: I cannot sleep without socks, even during summer!
Keep knitting socks!!!!