In Praise of Hand-knit Socks!

The weekend. A trip to the city on Saturday, with the boy and my mother, which included a stop by a newly opened yarn shop!!

A bag of happiness!!!

Follow that up with a cold, rainy Sunday, a Lord of the Rings movie marathon, and a pattern I've been just itching to try out. Add a cup of coffee and a little piece of chocolate (maybe two) and you have one very happy me!

There is such an excitement to casting those first stitches on...

I can't say enough about hand-knit socks. They are like pampering the feet. Even my son treasures his, and was delighted to receive a new pair at Christmas.

Christmas socks!!!

Because we don't wear shoes in our home, warm socks are staples on cold winter days, or chilly dreary mid-March afternoons! Knitting socks can be intimidating, but like anything else, with time and practice, they are quite simple to master. This was my first patterned sock, and it was exciting to see it develop.

Heel and instep!

Pattern becoming visitble...

Almost there!!

I absolutely love this sock!

I love the way the sock came out, and have started on the second. These socks are soft and airy, and will be perfect in summer when traveling and/or having some new adventure requires that I wear sneakers! I can't wait to make the second pair, and have already had requests from others to make a pair for them as well! 

So, if you have been shying away from socks, I encourage you to try this pattern. It is simple, quick, and the sock develops easily with a variation of knit and purl techniques - nothing tricky! To find the pattern, look for me on Ravelry.com under Zenmamaknits. Take a peek in my projects folder, and you'll find the link there!

Happy knitting!! 

Psst...if you are in the Upstate SC area like me, that new yarn shop is Yarn and Ya'll, located at 600 Laurens Road, Suite B! www.yarnandyall.com