Sock Summit is here!

And I've picked my first socks to be made! I'll be making the Thelonious socks that can be seen at http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/thelonious-sock, and I'll be making them in a brown Tonal sock yarn. After taking some measurements I decided to use a size 1 needle for the calf and size 0 from the heel to the toe. Today was mostly spent organizing my yarns and winding skeins into cakes and deciding on an actual pattern. I grabbed some photos of my starting supplies:

The book, the sock bible I will be working through for this project:


The starting yarns: Knitpicks (KP) essential sock (now stroll) in a solid green, brown tonal, and variegated pink/purple. Also 1 skein of Malabrigo sock that is dying to have a project to match it to.


Sock sized stitch markers made by my awesome sister-in-law:


And last but not least, the needles I have for starting. A selection of DPNs and a couple circulars for magic looping. Not a fan of magic looping socks, but if the pattern works better that way, so be it:

The technical stuff

As I am trying to get ready for this monumental project, I have been inventorying yarns, dyes, needles, etc. to figure out what I need and what I can start. I've been going through Ravelry queueing patterns, testing my gauge, and in general getting ready.

I learned that Cookie A.'s patterns are almost entirely if not completely in a gauge of 32 stitches per 4 inches. I am almost dead on if I do that at a size 1 needle. At a size 0 I am just slightly under that, which is actually good, because I have ridiculously skinny feet. I will be making the skinniest version of the socks in her book, and if I allow myself the 1" ease she dictates, the skinniest ones could end up a little loose. So socks for me, I'll be doing on 0. I bought a nice set of bamboo size 1's though at the LYS (local yarn store) for any I may be sending out as gifts or to trade. I have 3 sets of size 0, but none of them are going to work... 1 set is too short for adult socks, 1 set is missing half the needles (that would be the Knitpicks wooden set which I love) and 1 set is cheap nickel, which is too slippery for this endeavor. So I will be picking up either another Knitpicks set or a nice bamboo set.

The hardest part, hands down, is going to be the yarn. These aren't ankle socks, and I need to make a pair, so in a lot of cases, 1 skein of sock yarn won't cut it. Now, if you aren't a knitter, let me just say... sock yarn can be EXPENSIVE. Nice sock yarn is shocking in cost... and if you're spending the time to knit socks, you don't want something nasty. My wonderful yarn store has tags to attach to garments, and one of them said "Just because it's handmade, doesn't mean it's cheap." Amen! Since her gauge is consistent through this book, I will probably be both consistent and frugal for the most part, and do Knitpicks sock yarn. I like it, it's affordable, and they have a nice variety of solids, semisolids, and undyed, which gives me an excuse to break out the dyes and experiment. And I love experiments, can't you tell? I have some squishy Malabrigo sock yarn begging to join the project though, and the LYS has some positively gorgeous Madelinetosh sock yarn that will probably join too. And I'm guessing I won't leave Sock Summit without a skein or 2 of yarn that will find its way into this as well. I'd love to spin my own sock yarn, but I'm ashamed to admit I'm not great with lighter weights yet, and obviously it needs to be an extremely consistent spin or the socks wouldn't be very comfy. So another thing to aim for before my project is done!

Getting started

A little about me to get going I suppose. I am a mom of 2 living in a small town in Oregon. I am a fiber fanatic, we cloth diaper and use wool for covers, and I love to knit, crochet, and handspin wool yarns. (Yes it sounds kind of Little House on the Prairie, but that suits hippie me just fine). So most of my knitting goes to my kids, which is great because they are much cuter models than I am.

Well, for my birthday, I got a giftcard to a knitting and fiber store from my mom (love you, Mom!) and got blank fiber to spin, practice dyeing, and some blank yarn and some knitting books. Small piece of heaven in a box, right? The best part - a book of sock patterns by my favorite designer, Cookie A. I love almost every pattern in it, and the best part is, it would be projects for me - soft, comfy, warm, handknitted bliss for me!

Now I am already borderline crazy, having 2 kids in diapers still, trying to start a WAHM (work at home mom) business out of my spinning, going back to school for my bachelor's degree this fall, and suddenly I get the craziest (perhaps stupidest) idea. I'm going to knit this whole book. I see this Julie & Julia idea unfolding around me, shattered by the notion that, hey, socks take a LOT longer to make than a meal does. And the funny thing about socks is, you need two of them. Well, I guess not everyone needs two, but I certainly do... and these aren't exactly simple knit while half asleep kind of socks.

So I am working out this challenge with myself, it may be a race to see how many pairs I get through in a year, or how long it takes me to do a pair of every sock in the book. Mostly I'm excited to learn new techniques and get some squishy socks out of the deal. Who knows, maybe if my family gets some for holiday gifts, they will learn about the addiction of handknit socks too!

Sock summit is the last weekend in July here in Portland, so I have 2 weeks until my "kickoff" for this project. In the meantime, I'll be flagging patterns, picking out yarn, and finishing up projects so I can have time to devote to this from the start. Maybe, just maybe, along the way of all this craziness, I'll get company from other equally crazy fiber fiends too. :)