These socks hold more fond memories than perhaps any pair I’ve knit to date. They joined The Husband and I on our journey to California to visit his family and Disneyland.

We worked a visit to the Pacific into the trip so I could dip my toes in the ocean. As I eagerly headed for the waves, my pants already rolled to my knees, I hurriedly approached a four foot sand cliff. Planning to jump down, I stepped near the edge and it collapsed beneath me, cramming damp sand in every crevice on my back side. My entourage was a few steps behind me and found my mishap hilarious. As I’m the biggest beach lover among us and possibly the most experienced faller, I was glad to be the one to go down.

…and I grafted the toes of the second sock Christmas Eve with my parents. Just magical.

They hold so many wonderful memories and now I’m adding more….like DFW Fiber Fest.

Pattern:
Inspired by Helen’s lovely Darkside socks, here is my recipe.
k1,p1 ribbing for 1 inch
Stockinette until the first colored stripe begins and then switch to Vanilla Bean Striped Sock Style (VBSSS)
Continue VBSSS through the first row of the black stripe and then back to stockinette
Heel: Eye of Partridge
Note: I swapped needle sizes up and down during the gusset decreases to get at least one round in each color.
Yarn: Must Stash Yarns – Perfect Self Striping Sock
Colorway: Dark Side of the Moon EPV
Needles: 2.25mm bamboo

Austrian/Bavarian/German twisted stitches are one of my favorite styles to knit. I can usually manage without a cable needle and their tidy magic enchants me. These socks feature twisted stitches and a fair bit of ribbing, so they are speedier than most patterns in this genre. If you’re looking for a nice balance of twisted stitches and quick to knit, these are the socks for you.

Pattern: Greenhorn (it’s coming out Tuesday so sign up for Hunter’s mailing list if you’d like a discount code)
Needles: Addi Sock Rockets 2.25mm
Yarn: SpaceCadet Oriana 8-ply

I’m already enjoying wearing these socks. Here are some fun places they’ve been:
Slumber party with my childhood BFF at a local hotel. She’s the kind of friend that will hold a lamp so I can get better lighting for sock pics.

and to the movies with The Husband.
I like them enough that I’m tempted to knit a second pair. What do we think? Red?

My love for gray is a real thing. It matches everything as easily as my favorite pair of blue jeans. I’m a little bit OCD, so things that match without effort have a special place in my heart.

When Hunter Hammersen asked if I wanted to knit for Curls 2, I leapt at the chance. (spellcheck says I leaped, but I’m pretty sure I leapt). My response was something like, “Gray? YES, PLEASE!”. Hunter mailed the yarn and I cast on as soon as it arrived. She included a swatch and the size needles she’d used. I went up something like 5 needle sizes to get a fabric similar to her swatch. I may have been wound a little tight. I’d never knit a Curl before and didn’t want to mess it up. So I cast on with US size 9?!? needles. A few repeats in, I remembered that I know how to knit and swapped out for 7’s which seemed a bit more reasonable. One more repeat in, I settled into the thing and found myself on 5’s. A season (or two) of Vikings later, we had a lovely wrap.

Pattern: Mendacity by Hunter Hammersen
Book: Curls 2
Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn Rastita
Colorway: 43 Plomo