Why I knit socks – Part 2

It was the fear speaking. I wanted to knit socks. They looked beautiful and unique. Italian even brought home a book one day on knitting socks, but the double pointed needles protruding out in all sorts of crazy directions really frightened me. I decided though, that I would not let fear stifle my new addiction and I attended a sock knitting class. I fell in love. The DPNs felt natural in my hands. The sock grew at a fast clip as the clicking needles went around and around. I understood the love knitters have for socks, and here is what I learned.

Socks are portable
One ball. That’s it. One center pull ball tucked under my arm is all I need to knit while I sing at choir practice, walk around at a casual party, or while on walk. I can knit and multi-task if I am working on a sock. Socks are perfect while travel in cramped spaces, say a compact car or a plane. I can almost always have knitting with me. A sock fits in my small purse and is ready for me in the event I’m stuck running errands or waiting at a restaurant. The sock is there to keep me company and to keep me patient.

Socks are meditative
Once a universal sock pattern is memorized, socks can be knitted without carrying around a pattern. The universal sock pattern I follow is kept on my PDA for easy reference, but I have found I don’t really need it. I can knit a sock while I think about other things and use the time to let my mind wander and see where I go.

Socks are a necessity
Really, they are. Granted, in this Southern Climate, socks are needed only 6 months out of the year. Buy knitting socks, I am giving my feet, and the feet of those I love, a useable example of my love for them. It’s the kind of love that is okay to walk all over. The socks will keep the feet of the wearer warm and toasty on cold winter days, the type of days where it might just dip into the 30s. Hopefully, when they are worn, the socks will remind the wearer that he is loved.

Socks are comfortable
A handknit sock is very comfortable. It fits like a glove (a handknit glove). Socks are made specifically for the wearer’s feet. Because of this, they conform to the curves and lengths of the wearer. They hug the wearer’s feet. You can’t buy that kind of hugging in a store. Well, not the stores that sell socks anyway.

Socks are unique
Once a pair of socks is complete, it cannot be reproduced. No one else will have socks just like those. They are special. They are individuals. They are their own. Knowing they are special is an extra incentive for knitting socks.

Socks are my favorite thing to knit. I always have a pair on the needles and a stash of yarn just for socks in my basket. So when I hear a nonknitter say, “you can buy those in the store,” I smile a half smile knowing what they are missing. When the comment comes from a knitter, I smile knowing she’ll be converted one day.

Above - Sock yarn from KnitPicks. The green colorway is Flyfishing and the blue colorway is Yukon which will be knit in for Alaska.