On...why knit socks?

Wollmeise Sock Yarn: "Pfefferminz-Prinz", originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Okay, I'll get to the picture description later on....but first, I have some philosophising to do.

Seriously, I'm posing the question now: Why socks? Why do I keep knitting socks at all? I really don't know...but I'm going to try to find out.

Let's go through the normal stuff first: It's small, portable, quick to knit (unless you've got size EUR 44 - about US men's 10.5 - feet...like me, unfortunately), you can try out patterns, there are many scrumptabulous yarns out there to use - and not only for socks, etc. etc. But above all, for me, it's now down to the feeling I get from wearing hand-knit socks. Granted though, that all the hand-knit socks I've worn are knit by me. I have never got hand-knit socks from someone else yet.....but that's another story.

Over the past few days, the weather has turned chilly and overcast...and occasionally wet here. Maybe it's the first nip of Autumn...which I don't mind. What's new to me though, is the fact that ever since the weather had turned like this, I have been wearing only exclusively hand-knit socks (unless the weather turned totally warm again)....and from this constant wearing hand-knit socks, I have come to fully understand why I knit and, more importantly, wear those hand-knit socks at all.

We can talk about the comfort, the perfect fitting, the warmth, etc. Those are, of course, obvious. But most importantly, it's the appreciation that I get through it. The appreciation of all the work that has gone into creating this petit objet d'art, stitch by stitch. If I go and consider the process of producing the yarn that I was holding in my hands while knitting, the appreciation will go even deeper. The gratitude I felt today as I was standing out in the cold came with the feeling of cozy warm toasty feet that helps keep the rest of my body warm. I know that for me, nothing I can do will get my body to warm up as long as my feet are cold.

Let's get back to the creation of the socks. Leaving out all the processes of making yarns, because that merits its own entry, you start creating this three-dimensional piece stitch by stitch. Pulling a loop of yarn through a previously created loop of yarn. You increase and decrease, works yarn overs and crosses the stitches to create an intricate pattern. Even the simplest pair of socks knit entirely in stockinette stitches will offer you the same quality any hand-knit socks can offer you: The appreciation that someone has put in their time and effort to create this piece.

If you get a pair of hand-knit socks as a gift, don't even think about how ugly the colours are and that it clashes with each and every colour of clothing in your wardrobe. Instead, think about the love someone put in to making this particular pair of socks for you. Heck, it doesn't have to be socks, any hand-knit garment would do...but since I'm talking about socks, we're going to stay with socks.

Like I said before, I've never received a pair of hand-knit socks from somebody else before. All the hand-knit pairs I have, I had knit myself. I made my first attempt at sock knitting 3 weeks into my odyssey in the art itself (and yes, knitting is an art). I used worsted-weight yarn and knit on 4 mm DPNs. I got through the heel-flap and turned the heel beautifully, but picked up the stitches incorrectly and thus, I ended up just threading the yarn through the live-stitches and knot it together. That was my first try.

The second try followed suit the week after. That time, I went for proper sock yarn and 2.5 mm DPNs. I managed to finish the pair within 2 weeks, sitting there knitting until 4 a.m. in the morning. I was really proud of my work, even though one of the twins had some serious flaws at the toe-decrease. Unfortunately, I hardly wore the hand-knit socks. Why? Because it clashed with my wardrobe.

After that, I struggled for almost a year with my first pair of JayWalkers. But the result after a long hiatus was so rewarding that I got back into knitting socks again. Perhaps it came with my increased confidence in knitting and the knowledge of how to fix things. But even more significance was my discovery of the Wollmeise yarn. Ever since that point on, a whole new world of hand-dyed yarns opened up to me. My stash grew exponentially within this year...not only with Wollmeise, but with all kinds of scrumptious yumminess that are hand-dyed or hand-painted yarns...mostly sock yarns.

In the mean time, I've started to venture into trying to earn some money with making socks. It's not something I would do as my main job, because I've really come to realise that you cannot price a hand-knit item accordingly to get the deserved amount of money that would equate to the time you've invested in making it. But money earning issues aside, I think I find it most rewarding to see and know that the recipient truly appreciate that hand-knit item you have just presented to them. THAT is the price that equates the time you put into knitting that pair of socks.

So, why do I knit socks? Because I can take it anywhere, I can try out new patterns on it, I can play with scrumptious yarns, I have a pair of socks that fits perfectly, etc. etc. But above all...because I appreciate and love it...not only the socks themselves, but the story behind them, the time and effort and love put into knitting them. That's why I keep coming back to socks.

Have you knit yourselves or someone else a pair of socks yet? ;-)

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That's my philosophy for the day. Seriously, I don't know where that came from. I could write a whole different entry on why I knit (maybe I'll save that for another day when I feel inspired). Let's get back to my regular random blogging.

That picture of sock yarn you see....well, it's the Wollmeise "Pfefferminz-Prinz"...in the light version! I couldn't believe how drawn I was to this particular hank! Usually I would totally go for the medium or dark version. But when I saw this one, I instantly fell in love with it. It was love at first sight. ;-)

Wollmeise Sock Yarn: "Campari Orange", originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Then there's also this gorgeous hank that I got!

Now most of you may know that I'm in a financial tight-spot at the moment, i.e. I'm broke...and you might be asking yourself how I came up with the money for these two yummy hanks. Well, I worked for it. (Haha, I'm a "yarn ho"!)

On Saturday, I went over to Bockstark Knits's to assist her in taking some photos for the Wollmeise. Yes, you heard it right: We were taking photos for the Wollmeise. For what purpose exactly I am not at liberty to disclose....all I can say is that we were allowed to fondle a whole load of Wollmeise yarns and met up with the Wollmeise herself. Alala was there, too...and all of us had loads of fun geeking out about yarn and knitting. (You should have seen how Alala and the Wollmeise were going through Bockstark's stash! That was funny!) At the end...we had this:

Wollmeise Mountain, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Yup! That's a Wollmeise sock yarn mountain! (photo courtesy of Bockstark Knits).

And from the help that I had given, I earned these two skeins of sock yarn. :-)

Drop Spindle from Alala, originally uploaded by elemmaciltur.

Then one of the best thing from Saturday: Alala brought me her drop spindle!!! I've told her on one of our impromptu SnB that I want to learn to spin, but haven't got a spindle to start with (I'm not even thinking about wheels!)...so she offered me hers, since she never uses it! Thank you sooo much!!!

Then there was the problem that I haven't got any rovings to try out and no money to buy any...and what happened??! Two generous people offered to send me some rovings! Thank you soooo much to Socktopus and Knottynaomi!!! It still amazes me how generous knitters are! (Especially when it comes to enabling other people in fibre-relating things)....thank you so much to you guys!

Well, I think that's all I have to say for now. Have a great week everyone!

Current Mood: Hungry....(don't worry, I still have enough to eat! *LOL*)
Food for the ears: 1812 Overture - Tchaikovsky