Spiked Apple Cider Socks

 

Last fall I got the Knit Itch. It had happened on occasion and this time was heavily fueled by my new found friendship with the British woman who lived across the street. She is a legit knitter. Like we grew up without electricity so you learned to knit kind of knitter. Or maybe it was indoor plumbing. Yeah, I think they didn't have indoor plumbing. Either way everyone learned to knit gorgeous fair isle treasures.

So I picked up some needles and knit Goose a terrible pair of socks from yarn I had on hand. Ever try putting socks, still on the needles, on an 18 month olds foot to try for size? Terrible idea. So they were different sizes and I think the heel was on the front of the sock for one of them. 

But I was inspired to try again. This time I thought I was hot stuff and found an real sock pattern on Ravelry (Simple Skyp socks by Adrienne Ku) and bought real wool yarn (Patons Dark Grey Marle). Real, as in, not acrylic. As in, I thought I was moving up in the knitting world. WHO BUYS WOOL NON-WASHABLE YARN FOR SOCKS?? Oh and it was worsted weight. Also a smart move. The pattern called for sport weight (which meant nothing to me).

I frogged them no less than 5 times before picking them up again after the Christmas stocking project. It was then I started to recognize my errors. Error # 1) the washableness. #2) The weight. #3) Swatching, what? #4) My lovely bi-color cozy wool did not show the stitch definition at all and this pattern was all about the stitch. Error #5) I bought one skein (yardage? what's that?). Luckily Michaels still carried it a year later and the colors are so simple that if the dye lots were different I can't tell.

So I re-started them on a family trip in July. I believe I had to ask my Aunt how to cast on because I couldn't remember for the life of me (oh how long ago July seems!). And that first sock took from the beginning of July until the end of August. I wasn't working on it constantly but it dragged. And I'd forget the pattern and then I water-logged the pattern. And they were never. going. to. be. finished.

Eventually I realized the beautiful sock in the pattern photo wasn't going to happen because of all the aforementioned issues. So these would be more cozy slipper socks. This was later confirmed as I tried on my first finished sock and realized it was too thick to even wear with my tall boots. I re-framed my vision.

In the new vision these were clearly comfy winter socks. Sit by the fire with my spiked apple cider and knit kind of socks. I finished them up earlier in the week and when today hit, the first below 50, rainy, time to build a fire autumn Saturday I knew the socks time had come. And lo and behold I had leftover spiked cider in the fridge from a party. (This recipe by the way and delicious!). Clearly the socks were meant to be and I have some super toasty tootsies.

On to the next project with this delightful wool. And this, my friends, is stitch definition. The skyp pattern would adore this wool (if it were the right weight... I've learned my lesson!).