So, I’m not quite there yet, but yesterday I wove in the ends on my 97th adult pair of socks. Then I started pair 98 – Hickory (rav link) by Jane Cochran, published in The Knitters Book of Socks by Clara Parkes.
For my 100th pair I want to do something special, but can’t decide! I’m tempted by colourwork, knee socks, and beautiful, tiny intricate cables. Here are the contenders:
Kirkwall by Mary Jane Mucklestone
Perambulation by Natalie Selles
Kensington by Nancy Bush
Butterflies are Free by Rose Hiver
Nightingale by Vintage Purls
Maybe you can see where this is heading. Seems like I’m leaning towards colourwork…
Please help me choose, and here’s the poll -
These are just a few of my favourites. Please feel free to make suggestions, and they don’t have to be super-fancy. Simple, beautiful and satisfying is good too!
100 pairs of socks, wow!
Well, my suggestions to you are my own last choices:
Simple, yet a kind of colourwork: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/LuisaM/burning-stripes
Intricate cables too: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/LuisaM/alpha-stockings
Even before I scrolled through the options, I thought NIGHTINGALES!!!
i think you need make all the socks eventually:) when did you start sock #1? i mean how long has it taken you to knit this many socks- yer amazing!!!!
I’m leaning towards Kirkwall….and I would also like to know the answers to above. I am very, very impressed.
i voted for Kensington they are amazing and looks like the pair i’ve got from my grandma when i was a child. she knitted them and i always look at hankitted socks like something precious
also Perambulation are gorgeous!
Same question as Woolydaisy : when did you knit your very first pair?!
I’ve had a look at your ravelry projects for socks and there is indeed a lack of colourwork (and too many Cookie a patterns) …what happened??
Wallflower by Stephanie van der Linden is beautiful and The Needle Lady has some very interesting sock patterns too, especially Sokkene Jernverk.
Whatever pattern you choose, the 100th pair deserves a round of applause from all of us.
Yes, good question! I knitted my first pair in the summer of 2007, so about 4 and half years to knit the 100 pairs. I seemed to have picked up speed significantly in the last year or so, and usually make 2 pairs a month. There’s definitely a lot of Cookie A in the 100 pairs! I am off to check all your links and suggestions so far – thanks!!
I’m deeply impressed. I seem to struggle with socks in that I love all those gorgeous complicated patterns that are so pretty but, invariably, I end up making mine plain. I use sock knitting as something portable that I don’t need to think about and can pick up or put down at any given point. If I’m feeling adventurous I knit a Jaywalker….
I must try harder!
Aww, you should knit what makes you happy
(and Jaywalkers are awesome!)
If you’re leaning towards colourwork, here’s another something to make the choice a bit more difficult: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/garden-gate-socks
I love them! Simple, yet effective.
And, by the way: 100 socks in 4 1/2 years? Impressive, especially if one considers that you also knit a lot of other, bigger things. Do you sleep at all?
Oh yeah, I love those ones! Definitely in my queue for knitting at some point, Emily Johnson has so many beautiful designs….
I have voted (sensibly) but if I were to have free reign I would choose the first two only because I love the shoes – I am a sucker for red shoes………
I’ve voted for Nightingales too, and Kirkwall is a lovely modern take on Fair-Isle. I love colour-work socks, and have been favouriting loads recently. http://www.ravelry.com/people/Nightwood/favorites?page=2&q=colour-work
I also think a lot of mittens patterns could be appled to socks – Imagine these as a pair of socks:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/kissing-koi-mittens
I love Butterflies are Free. Might have to add them to my list. I’ve got a long way to go to catch up with you – only at 36.
Sarah, How did you keep track of how many pairs you’ve made? Was it just keeping a running count in your head or..? I’ve knitted maybe 20-25 pairs but can’t recall exactly. I’m just curious how you’ve kept track since 2007! Lisa xo
I only know because I have them all on my Ravelry project page!
(well, all except 2 pairs from my pre-Ravelry days)
Wow, one hundred pairs of adult socks. What an inspiration you are!
I voted for Kirkwall, it’s altogether pleasingly Scottish. I have yet to do a colour work pair o’socks, and I haven’t attempted knee-highs yet either. One day…
Until then I’ll lurk happily on your blog and Rav project pages
What about Chuck’s cabled socks by Eunny Jang?
http://www.eunnyjang.com/knit/2006/06/eine_kleine_sockmusik.html
Noticed like me, most of the voters have voted for the more complicated colour work socks…
Gosh now I am inspired to knit a pair of my own….Jan
So nice to see a post from you. Learning to knit socks is on my list of 2012 resolutions this year. 100 pairs is incredibly inspiring!
Congrats on so many pairs!!!! That’s wonderful. I think any of those above are great choices, but I voted for Nightingale.
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The thing I like about your blog is your crazy super efficiency. It’s really incredibly inspiring both what you can make, but that everything turns out so beautifully. So, I’ll say it again: 100 pairs of socks in four years = awe and wonder from me. Congrats!!
one hundred pairs, how exciting !
They are all lovely. I particularly like the Kirkwalls, but the Nightingales… Oh, so lovely. I’m in complete awe of your knitting skills – 100 pairs of socks! Having struggled for six weeks to knit the sleeves of a cardi on four dpns, thinking beforehand it would be good practice for the socks I’d like to knit, I have reluctantly decided I just didn’t enjoy the process and probably won’t be knitting socks any time soon… My knitting is slightly awkward probably because I’m self-taught and have never managed to improve the original technique! Anyway, great work. If only you had a hundred pairs of legs so you could wear them all at once!
fiona
Awww…thanks! There are other ways of knitting socks too, you could try magic loop which is what I use – I find it less fiddly and I never loose the needles. I’m self-taught too and there are loads of great tutorials online – I hope you find a method that works for you for whatever you want to knit