Jingle Bell Socks

Yeah, it’s a little early for that crap. And I dare anyone to put any holiday stuff up in my ‘hood before Halloween.

Crafters, however, are exempt. We have to work way ahead or we’ll never actually get things done in time for said holiday!

Of course, that explanation isn’t much good when it comes to these socks. They were languishing in the bottom of my knitting basket for nearly a year before I decided (yesterday) to bust them out and get them finished.



I started these socks in October of 2008, the very first time I ever taught New Pathways at Bloomin Yarns. I remember Helen and April sitting in the sun room at the old store and thinking “Oh, Crap! I’m gonna screw this up!”

Toe Pic!

That was about a month before I took a class with Cat herself. My teaching style for that class has changed drastically since I learned from the master. But I digress!

Gotta take advantage of the fall foliage while it’s still there!

In that there photo I just showed you, the difference between EZ’s Sewn Bind-Off (right foot) and Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off (left foot) is obvious. I love how JSSBO flows color-wise. It’s definitely going to be the go-to for me from here on out!

Back to class. The first time I taught NP, I knit the socks along with my students. I demonstrated my garter toe, then demonstrated going up the foot, measuring row gauge, calculating E … I purposely chose a thick and squooshy yarn so the socks would go quickly.



Then we had a two-week break between classes. And both of my students had other stuff come up, and they never really finished. One came back and took the “new an improved” class. But meanwhile, I had this awesome pair of socks languishing in my knitting basket. One sock done, one eagerly awaiting the J increases and heel turn. As soon as I finished my Calvin & Ripple socks yesterday, I picked these up and was off to the races. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the Hill Country Yarn that I was working with. I’ll have to find more of that! It truly is instant gratification! (yes, that means I did the heel turn and leg of the sock in about 24 hours, including about 9 hours of sleeping and two of errand-running)

I’ll have awesome holiday socks come December, and I enjoyed this knit. What’s bad about that?

Christmas Socks

Pattern: Woven Ridge (Ridgeline) from New Pathways for Sock Knitters
Yarn: Hill Country Yarns Instant Gratification Sock Yarn
Color: Christmas (way to go out on a limb, there ...)
Needles: US4/3.5mm KnitPicks Options (Magic Loop)
Started: 11 October 2008
Finished: 26 October 2009
Mods/Notes: These would have been super-quick socks had I not put them aside in hopes of finishing a class that would never be finished. Highly recommend this yarn! Soft, squishy, and I can’t wait to wear this pair!