I hadn't planned on giving any socks this year for Christmas. For that matter, I hadn't planned on doing any knitting at all for Christmas. But two things changed my mind.One was Janet, whose stash reduction knitting has been both interesting as well as inspiring to me (especially her Eccentric Piece). So I've been thinking about all the leftover Red Heart yarn that I have, thinking of weaving with it instead, perhaps some eccentric pieces of my own.
Then the other day I saw this button at Etsy:
I was just curious about the selling process there, but that "Buy Handmade" button got me to thinking. Of course, obviously it is doubtful that I would buy anything handmade this Christmas, but I thought that I should certainly "Give Handmade" to everyone on my list.
So I decided to knit these socks. Being knitted of Red Heart worsted weight yarns they will be too bulky to wear with shoes, hence I have dubbed them "House Socks." I've chosen three colors of yarn, using a Fibonacci sequence of 2, 3, and 5 rows, alternating the brown with the blue and green. I'm happy with that, but after sewing in all those ends for my summer socks, I decided to take Bettina's suggestion and carry the yarn up the stripes. I'll let you know how that part goes.
I'm not sure how well acrylic wears for socks, but since the yarn is leftover anyway, it will be a good opportunity to test it for this purpose. At any rate, they are knitting up very quickly, so I should have them done in plenty of time.
© 2007 Leigh's Fiber Journal
Related Posts:
Gallery Photos: Socks
House Socks - the completed socks
My Fascination With Fibonacci
13 comments:
The problwm I have seen with acrylic and socks is that because it lacks the natural breathability of a non-engineered fiber, it tends to make for sweaty feet and it can also cause some nasty chafing. It depends largely on the quality of the acrylic.
It should be alright, though. The socks LOOK fantastic!
And this is reminding me I HAVE to make another one for an expected Christmas present. BOOOO!
My first socks were of the 2-needle, Red Heart and Caron Simply Soft variety. While they aren't as good for daily wear, they are some of the best House Socks ever! They wear well, wash well and are better than wool for sliding around on the kitchen floor. (they are also good for falling if you happen to be over 40 and not coordinated enough to be sliding on the kitchen floor but that's another story...) I think these will work out just fine. And they look great!
the color combo is excellent! i can't wait to see the finished socks.
I'm just trying out that yarn-carrying trick on a new pair of socks too so I'll be watching with interest to see how you get on!
I love that photo of the socks-
Acrylic seems to be a good choice for house socks....
... nodding my head with agreement to what Sheepish Annie said about wearing, washing and sliding around.....
I agree acrylic=sweaty feet, but still wearable especially about the house. I am very impressed that you are using 5 DPNs, I can only manage 4 ! ;)
I think house socks can be a little less breathable than normal sock as you don't have to worry about combining them with sweaty shoes! They look lovely too.
How exciting to hear that the Eccentric Blanket has inspired you - the socks look great. The Eccentric Blanket is quite heavy and used a lot of yarn but to tell you the truth, the stash mountain doesn't seem to have been reduced by a significant amount. Erosion takes millions of geologic years.
I am so glad you posted this blog!!! I forgot I planned on knitting-felting Christmas Boots for my two grandsons in their favorite football teams colors.
I love hand made gifts!!!! But only make them for follow crafters. Why, because I'v had enough experience with those I've spent so much time and effort on and they just don't appreciate anything I've made for them. That's fine, for them I do the recyle thing and shop at second hand and Good Will stores.
Either way as long as the gift is from the heart, right?
Love the socks!!!!!
Leigh, I love that you are trying to give handmade. I wanted to purge my stash of acrylic so I have been knitting shawls to give to nursing homes to use it all up. There is an elderly lady in my knitting guild who takes them and I happily give them to her. I work on them when my eyes can't take knitting socks anymore that day or I want to buy more yarn and really shouldn't be. I have done two so far. I took a Mock Cable Sweater class and I hated the color of yarn I picked, so it is now a shawl in process. Great idea. I love handmade gifts and I really do appreciate them so much more now that I can knit!
I love the colors Leigh! I have a huge stash of yarn to use also - much of it acrylic. Years ago, my mom decided she was done knitting and passed all her yarn along to me. Then there's the yarn I bought...
I like the "give handmade" idea. We used to have big family Christmas's at my Grandparents, and my Grandma one year declared it was to be "handmade presents only". Grandma rarely laid down the law, when she did everyone did as they were told. The most lovely and memorable presents were exchanged that year, possibly as more thought went into them than usual!
Great color combination!!
I hope you don't mind but I just "tagged" you at my blog. Feel free to check it out and play along if you like. Its one of those silly...Answer a few questions about yourself then link to x-number of other bloggers.
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