Regardless of the weather outside, sock season for me starts on August 1st. That’s when I dig out my sock yarns, brew a cup of tea, pick up a pen, and start to design socks for the coming winter. Sometimes I choose to replenish my stash, sometimes I rely on the yarns I already have. This year, it seems my sock yarn drawer is overflowing with colours… most of these yarns will become socks, but the grey one might turn into a set of gloves and a scarf.
As nights become darker and colder, I develop an urge to snuggle up on the sofa, pick up my needles, and binge on mystery stories on Netflix while churning out endless pairs of socks. Last year, I published two sock patterns under the name Heather Wielding. One of them, a free pattern for basic knee-highs, can be found on heatherwieldingknits.com. I’m working on a variation of the pattern, and plan to share the results in a couple of weeks. Just like with the pink socks, I’m using a self-patterning sock yarn by AdLibris.
For this year, I hope to design two patterns. I want to knit purple knee-highs with lace details and cables, and pink over-knees that’ll really keep you warm. I’m looking forward to casting on these projects. They’ll have to wait a bit, though. Having too many UFOs lying around can be overwhelming. I try to limit myself to something small, something large, something mindless, and one thing crocheted.
Though August is considered a Summer month, I associate it with seasonal change. August is a season of harvest, of planning and preparing for the coming winter. For me, preparing for the cold season means endless hours of designing knits. After a summer of leisure, the change is a welcome one. For me, sock season feels a lot like – well, slipping into a well-worn pair of woollies after a long night of dancing.
I do hope you’ll like the knits I have planned for the coming winter.
Love,
Heather