Emerging: Melody 2.0

While doom scrolling on Instagram I stopped to watch a short video post from a knitter who just fell down the rabbit hole with sock knitting. Aha! I remember that same feeling when I learned to knit socks and often got up in the middle of the night to finish a cuff or a toe. It is so addictive and sole satisfying (get it?)  to make a pair of socks. Fast and gratifying.  And that led me to Youtube to rewatch a real sock knitting addict talk about her new designs and feel that rush with her of loving the project. Hmmm. Could this get me back on the horse to begin being creative again?

I know I had several old sock starts sitting in project bags and decided to first finish those and then challenge myself to try some new techniques that would broaden my repertoire. I also alerted a student that I was ready to teach her socks if she had time this summer. We meet on the 12th and we'll see how far we get.

Her birthday is the 13th so I got her this book, and then ordered one for me and a different one from the same author. Summer Lee.

This one has all the directions for beginners and challenging patterns for those of us who have an inflated ego.

 I have made a zillion pairs in the years since I began and even created my own designs. But as with all knitting there are endless variations on construction, patterning, and fit, and I want to try everything, before my brain wears out. I love the fact that this idea has lit a flame and I will have something creative to do with all the sock yarn in my stash, plus the new yarn I just ordered (shame on me). 

From left to right: The basic sock as I learned it. Then the afterthought heel where you cut into the heel and pull out a row and then pick up stitches from there and knit the heel. Then the forethought heel where you use waste yarn to knit the place where the heel will be and later come back undoing the waste yarn and putting those stitches on the needle to knit the heel. The last pair are my own design Peppermint Toes, which I knit 16 years ago.  Here are some of the projects from people who have used my pattern.

 This pair just got washed and is blocking on sock blockers. It is the original pattern I learned in 2001. I'm going to clear a drawer out just for socks and make a check list of all the new techniques I want to try and patterns I want to learn. I am listening (on Libby) to John Grisham's The Widow as I knit. This is gonna be a great summer. I will still be a bit of a hermit, but my time will be fuller and probably less napping will happen.