Baby, It's Cold Outside!
Okay. It is now officially cold here in Chicago. Really cold. Like it was 7 degrees this morning when we got up. My husband is a public transportation commuter and his trip downtown on the bus leads to some outdoor walking to his building. So some of my personal knitting and spinning has been put on hold while I work on providing him with some extra barriers against the cold. In other words, it was time to make this man some boot socks.
The nice thing about boot socks is that you get to use nice big yarn. In this case, I'm using Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock, Heavyweight. STR Heavy knits up at about 6 stitches/inch on size 3 needles and it makes for a pretty quick pair of socks. I completed this sock in three days -- it would have been two if I had started on Saturday instead of Sunday. And it's actually taller than I normally make socks for John. Once again, my attempt to help keep him warm on his commute.
John is still a touch suspicious about the striping in the colorway, but he likes the feel of the yarn and the thickness of the fabric. And in the end, warm feet win out over somewhat dodgy color options for him.
What I am particularly pleased about with STR Heavy is that I can easily get a pair of good sized socks for John out of one skein. I was a little worried about this, so I actually split the skein in half before I started and then knit toe up. This sock is 12" from bottom of heel to top of cuff and the foot fits a standard men's size 10-1/2*. What this means, is that if John likes this pair of socks, then there will likely be more in his future, since I know one skein will yield a respectable pair of warm socks.
So now it's time to cast on for sock number two. With a KIP tonight, I should be able to make good progress on getting John a new pair of socks for his trip to work on Monday.
*Well, perhaps not entirely standard. John has very narrow feet for a guy. I was surprised to take a measurement and be reminded of the fact that the ball of his foot is pretty much the same circumference as mine. But even if I had been knitting for my dad or my brother, I would have gotten a very respectable sized sock. I had enough yarn left over to knit another inch or two I think.
Hi Theresa. I'm breaking out of lurkdom to comment at last. I've been reading your blog for a while and have enjoyed seeing your projects progress. The reason I'm leaving a comment today is that I am coming to Chicago for business in April and will take a couple of days off as well. I'd really like to do some yarn shopping and wondered what your current favourite shops are. I'd particularly like to get some Socks that Rock because it's not available here in the UK. Thanks for any advice you can offer.
Nice! I have that colorway in the stash, and after seeing your gorgeous sock, it's just moved up in the queue... I wish my husband would let me knit for him!
I think it's a beautiful sock and I don't really get the way guys are about color. Still, it's even worse if they won't wear it in the end. Perhaps next time you could use a different superwash like Dale of Norway and add some reinforcement thread to the heels and toes.
Or would that take all the fun out of it for you?
Great recommendation on that sock yarn for man socks. Thanks.
Dodgy colour options? LOL. It's BROWN! How can a guy object to brown?
Those are very handsome socks. My hubby is also very monochromatic in his sock color choices. Tan, black and white. He doesn't even venture into that scary "grey" camp. :)
But yet, this is the same man who will wear a bright orange fleece pullover or a Royal Blue dress shirt. Maybe it's just his feet that are shy!
Very nice. Your husband has the opposite of my husbands feet which are small and wide. We call our feet shoe boxes. I guess we'll be getting your cold weather soon, it usually follows by a couple of days.
That does sound like a good yarn choice for man-socks! I don't think I have ever used size 3 needles for socks, not even once. I bet that really takes the sting out of it! ;-)
A very stylin' sock for a very lucky man. This morning it occurred to me that even after this vicious cold spell breaks (a week from now!), the icy feeling will linger in our house for a few more days. The bones of the house hang on to the chill. Brrrrr. I need to knit up my STR!
It seems I just keep loving STR more & more. I'll have to make a note of that colorway. I think I know a few guys who would love socks like that. I'm currently knitting knee socks for myself using a single skein on STRH. There is an amazing amount of yardage in those skeins!
I think that is pretty cool striping! and thanks for the heavyweight STR reminder - I need to knit some hockey coaching (cold rink) socks!
I may not be a guy, but I certainly think that colorway is plenty masculine (and quite handsome). Lucky John!
I'm with you on the heavyweight STR. It does make for scrumptious warm boot socks.
This was extremely helpful! I have actually been telling myself this week that I want to knit a pair of brown socks...and then your post came up. I love that color. A Mudslide is one of my favorite adult beverages. And having large feet for a woman, knowing that you can get bootsocks out of one skein of heavyweight yarn reassures me (especially since I've had two pairs of socks in the past three months where I've run out of yarn before finishing. Waugh!)
Thank you again for all your wonderful work!
Yep, I too have been making socks for the family. I'm making similar ones for my DH, but in shades of green. Funny how a little cold will make the teenagers decide that Mom's hand-made socks maybe are worth wearing after all.
brrr. i think our birthday is opposite each year. last year was warm, if i remember correctly...this year. ugh. i don't know what wednesday will bring.
yay socks! I love your work.