A Sockish Meme

Thursday I read the Turtlegirl’s sock meme post and then went about my day. Saturday I read her Friday post, commented, and Cristi promptly sent a reply part of which said, “Did you see Thursday’s post? You might want to read it.” I read it again, and this time I realized I was tagged for the sock meme. Apparently, I am not a very careful reader. But it is a good sock knitting meme, so here we have my version.

1. What’s your favorite sock yarn? (please note that the word ‘yarn’ is singular. Just pick one. I know it’s hard.)
With the caveat that I have not yet knit with two favorite sock yarns of the blogworld, namely Koigu and STR, Cherry Tree Hill Supersock is my top pick. It’s a pleasure to knit, has wonderful colors that in my hands do not pool in an ugly fashion, wears and washes very well, and produces a supremely comfortable fabric. Every time I get out a pair of my CTH socks to wear, I swear I can hear my toes do a little cheer. My sock yarn stash may have some CTH SS in several colors.

2. What’s your favorite type and brand of sock needle?
I use dpns. I started with clover bamboo, moved onto Crystal Palace Bamboo, which I like much better as they are much slicker. But then I tried Susan Bates aluminum dpns. Super slick! And I easily knit a little tighter with them, which is a plus for me. I do still use the CP bamboo, but the Susan Bates are my favorites. I’m a cheap date.
I have two sock patterns that are written for socks knit on two circular needles, and this has put me in a quandary. The only 16-inch circs I’ve tried (clover bamboo or Inox) have needle portions far too short for comfort. Any suggestions?

CTH SS Potluck in Watercolors. I may have squealed when I saw this.

3. Do you knit your socks toe up, cuff down, or sideways?
Cuff down. Even with a 350 yd skein, I can get socks with the length leg I want and still have over 20 g left over. Why on earth would I knit toe up? Really, I’m asking, why?

4. Do you knit both socks at once or just one at a time?
One at a time. It’s the dpn thing, and I am willing to sweater sleeves singly, so I don’t anticipate a change.

5. What’s your favorite toe and why?
I have pointy feet, so round toes or star toes work best for me. When I knit for others, I usually do a grafted, standard toe as it tends to look more “normal” to the uninitiated.

CTH SS in Birches. Methinks this might make some mighty nice Marina Piccola socks.

6. Favorite heel?
Heel flap and a standard round heel turn, although I do sometimes do a square heel. I really like to edge my heel flap with 2-3 garter stitches compared to the slipped stitch chain edge. The garter stitches make picking up stitches for the gussets so easy, and it looks flawless even when done in the wee hours during a bout of insomnia. Gotta like that.

7. Do you prefer plain or patterned socks?
I’ve knit a lot of socks. I’ve knit one pair of stockinette socks. I’ve knit one pair of lace socks (a gift). Cables and knit-purl patterns rule my world. I’m going to dive into the whole Austrian twisted stitch thing too.

8. Who do you knit the most socks for?
Mostly I knit for myself, but I tend to knit a pair a year for various relatives and my friend Nancy. I knit Nancy the Spaced Check Socks in Claudia’s Handpainted A Walk in the Woods this year. Last year I knit her some ribbed socks in CTH SS Peacock. Now she wants to learn how to knit socks! The power of the hand knit sock is strong.

9. Do you darn your socks? If not, what do you do with them?
I haven’t had to yet. I tend to wear socks only when wearing shoes, so I am not very hard on them. If I loved the yarn and the pattern, I might just darn them. We’ll have to wait and see.

10. Do you only wear handknit socks?
That is my goal, with the exception of white athletic socks with sneakers. I am almost there. Occasionally, I don’t have an appropriately colored pair that is clean and then I wear purchased socks. My feet aren’t real thrilled with this.

CTH SS solids in Amethyst. What’s not to love?

Bonus question: What pattern, if any, is your basic “I-just-need-a-pair-of-socks” sock pattern based on? Do you keep it written down or memorized?

I no longer need a basic sock pattern if it’s a sock for me. The round heel I have memorized is Charlene Schurch’s. I often use Nancy Bush’s heel and toe directions from Vintage Socks. If I make things up as I go along, I now have learned to write down what I do in the first sock for the second. I can and have gone back to the first sock to figure it all out all over again, but writing is a wonderful skill and tool.

As for tagging two others, I think it only fair to tag the two people whose socks always make me say, “Wow! I have to knit that!” So Kristy and Christie, if you like, you are tagged. Has anyone noticed that there are a lot of women named K/C(h)risty/i(e) who knit socks?