Brach's Candy Socks

Dear Mom,

I finished knitting the socks that hug my feet. This is a fraternal, not identical pair. I wasn't willing to sacrifice the yardage to find the exact same starting place in the pattern repeat. I'll do that for short pattern reps, but for long repeats I don't think it is worth it.

The yarn is Trekking XXL and I think the color ( #126) is discontinued. Too bad. It reminds me of a bag of Brach's candy.

This pair of socks is not my usual mostly generic sock pattern. I found the pattern here and I was intrigued by the unusual shaping. Strategically placed paired increases and decreases keep the knitting interesting and create a sock that is shaped to fit securely around the foot. Can you see that subtle arch shape along the bottom of the foot?

Keeping track of all that shaping made the knitting move along quickly, but it also made this a project that required more attention than my usual sock pattern. Also, they do fit my foot perfectly, but not the Young Lady's (yeah me!) , so if I am going to make them for another foot, I'd have to do some figuring.... Or just keep making them for me.

I'd show you the bottom of the foot, but I haven't mastered the skill of kicking my leg up and shooting a photo over my shoulder. I'd probably hurt myself. Not probably. I know I would. And it is weird enough that I am taking pictures of my stocking feet without asking somebody else to take the picture for me.

Another sock inspiration found me in a round about way when I was reading A Stitch to Wear last week. Reading about her baby blanket lead me here and it was as if I suddenly had magnets in my fingertips attracting me to all my sock yarn leftovers. And believe me, I have plenty of those.

Soooo, check this out.

After casting on with my main color (the leftover bit that I had the most of) and knitting a decorative border for the cuff, I knit a different yarn on to each of my four sock needles. One of those being the main color.

Because I am knitting in rounds, each needle has a "new" yarn waiting for me. All  I do is drop the "old" color and start knitting with the "new" color. And around and around I go. When I get to the heel, I'll use the main color alone, and do the same for the toe. The results so far are definitely worth the occasional yarn untwisting that I need to do.

And four partial balls of sock yarn will become a lovely pair of socks.

This is just the sort of thing that makes me believe in the magic of knitting.

Love,

Kim