Socks: November 2006 Archives
A couple of weeks back I posted about the need to find some yarn that would be good for boot socks for a man who gets cold feet on his daily downtown commute. I got a lot of great responses and I used some of those suggestions to make some initial purchases to help me get started.
1. Regia 6-Ply Marokko Color, Colorway #5497. This yarn is advertised as a DK weight yarn. Like most Regia yarns its 75% superwash wool and 25% nylon. After doing a recent survey of my handknitted socks, I can, indeed, say that Regia wears like iron and that even my Regia socks that are several years old look great, and I received a number of suggestions about looking into their 6 ply yarns. This yarn is a marled yarn that will have white, beige and blue stripes. When I found it, I didn't think John would want anything to do with it because of the stripes. But he actually liked it and picked this colorway over a more subdued one. I purchased this yarn from Carodan Farm
2. Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Heavyweight, Colorway "Mudslide". This yarn has about half the yardage per unit of weight (i.e. it's heavier weight) than the Regia so warmth and thickness shouldn't be an issue. The color has also been determined to be man-acceptable. I haven't told him yet that it's likely to pool and create some striping... I'm hoping that the "all brown" thing will win out. This yarn is 100% merino superwash, but it's a tightly plied three ply, and my experience with other Blue Moon Products suggests that it will have good durability. I purchased this yarn from Toni Neil at the Fold -- she has a very nice selection of STR heavyweight colors right now.
3. Regia Silk Color, Colorway 190. Clearly this yarn is not for John. However, given that it has 20% silk content, I figured it was possible that I might get the warmth of a boot sock from a thinner sock due to silk's superior insulating properties. However, I've heard rumors that this yarn doesn't wash well, so I wanted to try it out in a pair for myself before using it for John. One excellent thing about this yarn? It comes in solid colors. So if I like the socks I knit for me, there's a good option for John as well. This yarn is also from Carodan Farm.
Since there were some other very good suggestions for boot sock yarn in the comments to the post where I asked for suggestions, if you're looking for some similar yarn options, here's the link to the post. Given all the interesting comments, I'm sure that if you're looking for the same thing you can probably find some useful information to help you on your way.
The grey weather and descent into chilly temperatures we had this weekend went pretty well with the completion of the socks on John's feet. My sweetie now has another pair of grey socks in his collection. He's quite happy with them, and after we did our photo shoot on Sunday morning, they pretty much stayed on his feet the rest of the day. He might not like a lot of color, but he does like his hand knit socks. Almost as soon as it gets cold, he starts wearing his handknit wool socks and he'll pick them over anything else in his drawer.
Well, except for yesterday when we were at Costco and he purchased some boot socks. He gave me a sheepish look as he put them in the cart. I have to get these because I don't have any really thick socks that I can wear in my boots in the winter, he said. I forgave him because he definitely is correct on this account. He doesn't have any good thick boot socks.
So now I need some yarn recommendations. John is definitely not a handwash wool sock kind of guy. I need something that is superwash at the very least, a bit of nylon in the best case, and has some subdued colorways that a Chicago boot wearing guy in the winter will give his seal of approval to. My first thought is Socks that Rock Heavyweight (and I know where to find a good supply of that) in a semi-solid color. I have also heard/seen the Opal DK weight, but it doesn't (or at least didn't when I last checked) come in colorways that John will wear. Clearly I could also consider spinning some, but that means that he might not see these socks for a year or two. Any other suggestions for goot boot weight sock yarn?
Election nights are always good for knitting. For once, I enjoyed watching the election results, too. I apologize to anyone who might not share my opinion, but I am totally excited by the fact that a woman will likely be Speaker of the House. There are only a very few offices of government left where women have not had the chance to make a mark. I do hope that in my lifetime we will see a "Madam President".
Politics aside, John's socks progress. I am a bit concerned that they may be so fraternal as to have rejection potential. I've also made one small change in the second sock. The first sock was a bit loose in the foot. Not so loose as to require ripping, but loose enough that I thought it wouldn't hurt to take a few stitches out on the second one. So for the first sock, I did 76 stitches all the way from top to bottom. For the second sock, I did 76 stitches on the top and have decreased to 72 stitches on the foot. John has rather narrow feet, and I don't want the socks to be too baggy -- even if he did tell me that it wouldn't be so bad because then he could wear this pair over another pair, one of his favorite things to do in the winter.
I suspect a couple more nights will bring this pair to completion, and then it will be time to let him pick again. Although I may rig the election process and make the selection process for him.
