This was the first of six shipments in the 2011 Rockin’ Sock Club.  This is my second year as a Notorious Sock Knitter.  I really enjoy the “surprise” aspect of being in a sock club, but even more, I love the challenge of being open to new colors and (this year especially!) new color combinations. Left to my own devices, I would likely knit lovely things in shades of green/blue/purple for the rest of time. Sometimes it’s good to knit outside my normal color scheme, and a sock club is the perfect way to do this.  The January shipment (above) had two skeins, and two colorwork patterns to go with them. At first glance, it was “interesting” but certainly not within my usual corner of the color wheel!

I chose a pattern and got to work.  They have been my “steady in the background” project for a while.  Because the yarn is mediumweight, they worked up quickly, even with very little concentrated knitting time. I finished second sock the same day that the March 2011 shipment arrived … I can’t WAIT until it’s cool to share photos! Talk about colorful. (The club has rules to protect overseas subscribers from being spoiled.)

Project: Jan 2011 RSC Socks

Pattern: Social Network

Designer: Lucy Neatby

Available: to club members now (join up! it’s fun!) and to the general public in 2012

Yarn: BMFA Socks That Rock Mediumweight in Aubergenius  and Pinkie Swear

These are socks for lounging, not for shoes.  Cushy garter-stitch heels and toes, plus the sturdy two-color cable-net pattern, and the slipped-stitch cuff, all mean these socks practically stand up on their own! I’m reminded of Dr. Seuss’s story with the “pair of pale green pants with nobody inside them.”

That story scared the bejesus out of me as a kid, even though the whole point was that you needn’t be scared.  Frankly, I thought that story was terrifying, and the pictures only made it worse. Somehow my stand-up-alone socks don’t rate as scary though.