As I may or may not have mentioned, it's Socktoberfest! As created by Lolly, it's a whole month where knitters knit socks and think about socks and talk about socks. You know, like the rest of the year but with logos! And prizes! This, of course, works out great for me because, hi, ridiculous list of socks to knit for Christmas which is OH MY GOD only 12 weeks and two days away ACK!

Anyway, the downside here is that all these socks are Christmas presents and I still don't really want to post pictures of them here because all you nosey friends will see. Yes, I'm talking about you. (Incidentally, if this entry is really disjointed it's because I'm watching the hockey and writing this in commercial breaks, and the 5-on-3 is stressing me out. Didn't hockey just end? My blood pressure hasn't recovered yet.)

So despite the sock action that is happening over here (pay no attention to that pile of frogged yarn on the arm of my chair), no pictures of new things today. Sorry. But there is a picture of my first pair! I might try to figure out a stealthy way to post the other ones at a later date. But I will answer Lolly's sock questionnaire! I know, it's thrilling. Look, it's either socks or hockey, and the hockey is pissing me off so socks it is!

When did you start making socks?

As very poorly documented on this site, it was during the Knitting Olympics. And man, it was a fast moving obsession. I spent years wishing I could knit socks. Seriously. In grade 10 or so, a friend's mum made me a pair of socks and I LOVED them. Although my mother always knit me sweaters and various other fabulous things as a kid, she didn't knit socks. These socks were the coolest, and ever sicne then I wanted to learn how to knit socks. And now I have! It only took...oh, ten years or so.

Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?

For the most part, I taught myself. I got some very wise advice to just blindly follow the pattern and trust that it would work out, and I did and it totally did. So now I pass that advice on to other people who are afraid of socks. Don't try to understand it ahead of time. Just do what it tells you and magically a sock will appear!

What was your first pair? How have they "held up" over time?

This is my first pair!

Kroy Krazy Stripes yarn. I don't really wear them because they're a little bit big. I've since discovered that I knit loosely (no comments from the peanut gallery about me being loose, thank you) so I started using smaller needles. I think these were made on size 3 DPNs. Bryspun Flex, which I like as DPNs go but never use any more.


What would you have done differently?

Smaller needles, for sure. And I'd have made them about four years sooner, because they were not hard at all and I'm annoyed that I wasted all that potential sock knitting time.

What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?

I'm using some Socks that Rock in Ruby Slippers right now, and it both looks and feels great. My favourite, though, has to be the awesome Sunshine Yarns Gryffindor Socks.

Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?

I now exclusively knit magic loop for socks. I love it and am WAY faster and more coordinated with it than with DPNs. I haven't tried two circs but frankly, can't be bothered. I have two Addi Turbos, in size 0 and 1, 40 inches. Mostly these days I use the Knit Picks circulars, sizes 0, 1, and occasionally 2, in 32 inches. I love them although they make my hands a little bit itchy. They are so pointy, though! I'm using my Addis right now (because having three pairs on the needles means a needle shortage) and I am really noticing how blunt they are. I can't crochet a straight line so we won't even go there.

Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)

I've only made heel flaps, toe-down. I'm trying to branch out my sock knitting a little bit with, you know, actual patterns and stuff. But I do like the toe down construction quite a lot and toe-up kind of baffles me. I know, I know, I should take my own advice and just follow the pattern and see what happens. But I hate to mess with a good thing!

How many pairs have you made?

Right now on the needles are pairs nine, ten, and eleven. Pair nine is almost finished the gusset decreases on sock number 2. Pair ten is about 7 rows away from the heel flap on the first sock. And pair 11 is just getting its first cuff right now after aforementioned frogging.

Eight completed pairs in eight months. Pretty good! And I'm aiming for another seven in the next three months. Erk. The good news is, there are no babies due until at least April of next year, and I have almost nothing but sweaters left to knit for Christmas. It's all socks, all the time! How fitting for Socktoberfest.