I was never very excited about the idea of knitting socks, in spite of their popularity in knitting circles. I understand the appeal of a small, portable project, but I couldn’t really imagine wearing them. Socks, to me, are something I buy in the lightest possible weight, in the simplest possible style, in cotton, and preferably black.

But… I was ordering some needles from Web’s for another project, and then I started poking around the yarns, and, well, you know how these things go. I ended up with a cone of lace weight bamboo and a couple of skeins of Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock from their Color Commentary series, “Cookie’s Deep Dark Secret.” The pattern is “On-Hold Socks” from Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy D. Johnson.

I finished the first sock (pictured) and I’m about to start on the heel gusset for the second. The needles are tiny (2mm!) but there’s something about the precision of small, neat stitches that I find appealing — I hear people get bored and have trouble finishing the second sock, but I’m not hitting that. And I’ve learned some new techniques: Judy’s Magic Cast-on for a perfect, seamless toe; and knitting socks in the round using two circulars rather than double-pointed needles, a technique I’ll probably use everywhere I used to use DPs because there are no ladders between the stitches that were on different needles. I like the two circulars in conjunction with the toe-up method of knitting socks because it’s easy to try on the sock to check the size, because the cables are flexible and the stitches don’t slide off.

So the whole sock experience has been surprisingly fun! I still don’t know if I’ll wear them or knit another pair, but I’m glad I tried it out. See my Ravelry project for more details and photos.