handknit socks

On a trip to San Francisco, while my sister was still married to her 2nd husband, I discovered Nancy Bush's book Folk Socks. This must have been a new book at the time. I can't remember how long ago that was -I do remember my children were still living at home and my sister was w/ the 2nd man...wait the wonders of the internet- it was 1994 when I first became enamored of sock knitting!

Was it really 15 years ago that I knit my first sock?

Being of a lazy nature I remember browsing the book looking for which pattern required the largest needles (Lithuanian Amber Socks #4 needles), although I eventually did knit that pair of socks for some reason I decided to start with "A Classic Sock." I purchased my first skein of sock yarn, a blue and white flecked wool, and a set bamboo #2 double point needles. From the minute I cast on I didn't want to stop to do anything else! I believe it was a Thanksgiving weekend, I sat it the window of my sister's kitchen knitting away, I was of little help. Her husband questioned me on why I wanted to knit socks in a bemused manner, my husband for some reason understood me. It was the same weekend that we discovered the Internet! Monumental! It should be a national holiday...oh wait it is, but not for the same reasons. By the time we left I had finish one sock and I couldn't believe how energized that sock made my foot feel. My feet had to take turns getting energy from it. And all I ever wanted to do was make socks and wear homemade socks every day of my life. The joy of discovery is a wonderful thing.

Since that time I have continued to knit many pairs of socks, repaired holes in worn socks, lost socks, knit them out of all kinds of yarn, handspun, and store bought. I even wrote my own sock knitting manual for my sock knitting class at Anacapa Fine Yarns where I taught many others how to knit socks. Hopefully many of those students became infected with the sock enthusiasm too. I still have that pair of blue socks in my stash somewhere, I should zig zag the bottom of the cuff on my sewing machine, cut the feet off, and use them as cuff warmers. If I find them I will do that!

What brought me to think of socks this morning is an article in Cast On magazine (the official publication of the Knitting Guild Association) on knitting socks from the toe up. This is something I have not yet done though I have every intention of doing it. It states in the article that experienced sock knitters have definite preferences for types of needles they use for sock knitting! Although I'm sure many sock knitters do have a preference, I must say that I do NOT! I love the classic technique of using the double pointed needles as well as the flexibility of using 2 circular needles...ok...maybe I lied! I HATE the magic loop or whatever it's called, I find having to pull the needle cable through the knitting periodically downright wonky! Ugh! OK no offense intended if this is your preferred method, please don't write me any hate mail!

Unfortunately I believe my lack of allegiance to one particular type of needle over the other made my class somewhat confusing to the sock students. I wanted them to know about all the methods without prejudice (yes even the magic loop) and I brought them samples of the different methods and offered to teach them to use any method the wanted. Maybe I should have had separate classes for separate methods. I didn't realize at the time that too much information can be confusing. And although, I have a brain that likes to know all the choices first not everyone does.

I have so much to do this week! I have to try to remember my ATS basics before going off to take the Teacher Training course from Carolena Nericchio. If you take belly dance from me or have ever, you know that I teach a combination of ATS, our sisterhood/she'enedra fusion improv, and just belly dance basics...so I need to revive the purity of ATS in my mind this week. I am behind on the garden...as usual, the house looks like a bomb went off in it (I like to exaggerate) and I have to finish our pirate choreography...just to name a few of the things I should and will be doing while pining over dreams of starting some toe up socks!

Check out this article on sock knitting and sock summit that happened in Portland Oregon this passed weekend (sad I didn't get to go ) http://blog.oregonlive.com/knitting/2009/08/sock_talk_nancy_bush.html