Insomnia Socks #1 - A Series

Needles:  Size 0 (2 mm) dpns
Yarn: 50% superwash merino and 50% tencel  from Tricoterie on Etsy
Pattern: Plain stockinette

I haven't been sleeping well lately.  I haven't been sick; it's just the changing seasons I think, and going to Daylight Savings Time on Sunday will not help. 

I'll sleep for a few hours and then wake up and be unable to fall back asleep.  I've begun getting up for an hour or two, drinking a cup of hot chocolate and knitting.  Because it's the middle of the night and I'm not concentrating that well, I don't want to knit a complicated pattern so I found some self-striping yarn I'd bought a long time ago and began knitting plain socks. This has worked well for me. I've gotten some knitting done instead of tossing and turning and eventually feel sleepy enough to tumble back into bed and fall asleep.  I suspect there may be more nights like this in my future and that's why I've made it a series and called this pair #1.

Smitten Socks

Yarn: Three ply superwash merino, 420 yards from Sarah Brown Design on Etsy.  Colorway is Plum Pudding
Needles: Size 3 (3.25) dpns
Pattern: Sockapaloooza, a free pattern which can be found here.

Ice Storm Socks

Yarn: 100% superwash merino wool, 4 oz (113 gms)/480 yards in colorway Icy Breeze from Fearless Fibers on Etsy.
Needles: Size 2(2.75) dpns
Pattern:Plain stockinette over 60 sts.

Root Beer Socks

Yarn: Merino sock yarn from StrickenSmitten on Etsy.  Colorway is Coffee Grounds
Pattern is free and can be found here.

Lemon Grass Socks

Yarn:  100% superwash Blue Faced Leicester wool from  Black Trillium Fibre Studio on Etsy.  Colorway is Froggy.
Needles: 2.00 dpn
 Pattern: Free pattern which can be found here.

Solar Flare Socks

Yarn: 150g Colinette Jitterbug 100% merino wool yarn.  Colorway: #71 Fire
Needles: 2.25 dpns
Pattern:  Free pattern from Ravelry found here.

Fun and easy!  Just right for summer!

Wisteria Socks

Yarn:   100% Superwash Bluefaced Leicester. 100g – approx 400m / 437yd from JunoFibreArts on Etsy.
Needles:  2.25 dpns
Pattern:   Simple Skyp Socks

Wildflowers Socks

Yarn: 85/15 Superwash Merino/Mulberry Silk.  100 grams/430 yards/393 meters from Black Trillium on Etsy.  Colorway: Strawberry Shortcake
Needles:  2.25 dpn
Pattern: Stockinette

You Are My Sunshine Socks

Yarn: 75/25 Superwash merino/nylon 455 yards per ball fingering weight.  Collorway: Summer Sun.  From Meg Warren on Etsy
Needles:  2.25 dpn
Pattern: Rnd 1: k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, p1, k2, p1
            Rnds2-4:  k5, p1, k2, p1

It's fitting I finished these socks the day before Father's Day.  You Are My Sunshine is a song my father used to sing to me when I was a little girl. 

Knitting 100 Pairs of Socks

This is my current goal and I'm three quarters of the way there.  I've given away a few pairs of socks, but I'm not sure how many so I'm only counting those pairs I have. 

When I did a Google search for "knitting 100 pairs of socks" I found this blog, 100 Pairs of Socks.  She's just finished her tenth pair.  Yay!  Take a peek!

I'm happy my rotator cuff problems have been resolved--no more physical therapy for me--which means I can go back to the gym, but I'm being distracted with one of my sons graduating from university with degrees in computer science and mathematics in less than two weeks and having a big wedding in August, and another son and daughter-in-law expecting their first child (and our first grand-child) in early November.  Life is good.

Sock Drawer

In a post I wrote almost three years ago on August 1, 2009, I stated that I had been inspired by a photo of a drawer full of socks I'd seen on Flickr and that I wanted a sock drawer like it.  I have it now. Click on the photo to see all the socks.  There are 55 pairs of socks and I have 20 more pairs that didn't fit.  I've also knit about 35 pairs of baby/toddler socks.  Am I finished?  No!  I love knitting socks.  My husband keeps asking me if we have enough socks now and I tell him no.  Perhaps I'll stop when I reach 100 pairs.  Or perhaps not.

Starry, Starry Night

I bought this yarn over two years ago and finally decided it was time to use it for a pair of socks.
In my journey to find the perfect plain vanilla sock pattern I did the following:  I cast on 64 stitches, used size 0 needles, and continued with k2, p2 for the ribbing.  I had planned to switch to stockinette at that point, but I liked how the ribbing emphasized the colors in the yarn so I just continued in k2,p2.

Watermelon Slices Socks

Yarn: Fannie's Fingering Weight yarn, 400 yards, 4 oz.  80% Merino, 20% Nylon  Colorway: Watermelon
Needles: Size 0 (2.00 mm) double pointed needles
Pattern: Plain stockinette.  See here for a sock calculator.

Watermelon socks?  In May?  Well, yes.  I haven't knit any socks in almost three months and when I saw this yarn in my stash, I thought--this is it!  I am so tired of cold wind, dark clouds, and rain.  We are just starting to get some nice weather--a little blue in the sky, some sun.  I am done with winter and I skipping right over spring into summer.  Oh, I'll go back (maybe) and knit some spring socks.  But for now I'm going to pretend it's summer.

I plan to knit quite a few pairs of socks this summer, many in plain stockinette.  I am on a quest to find the perfect plain vanilla pattern.  This pair was knit over 60 stitches using size 0 needles.  I  began with k2(b), p2 ribbing for 12 rounds.  The needle size seems right but on the next pair I knit I'm going to use 64 stitches.  We'll see how that works.

Robin's Egg Blue Socks

Needles: Size 1
Yarn: Robin's Egg Custard Sock Yarn 100 percent Merino wool, 3.5 oz/100g approximately 490 yards/448m from Wool Candy on Etsy.
Pattern: Summer Lovin Socks designed by Dawn Matkovic available free on Ravelry.

I finished one sock last year and started the second. I love the yarn and the color and how they turned out. Finishing a UFO has helped me jump start my sock knitting again.