More socks for William

During the fall I like to spend as much time as possible outdoors; picking apples, walking down the road, and jumping in leaf piles. Well, I rake the leaves while the kids spend time flattening the leaf piles back out.

William in leaf pile bliss.

This is why one pair of cool weather socks is never enough. So using my favorite easy sock pattern, I knitted a second pair of socks for William, this time in Debbie Bliss cashmerino chocolate. If you've never tried sock knitting before, I highly recommend using this pattern as your introduction. It is simple and clear and produces excellent results each time (and did I mention free?!@#*). It's also very quick because it uses a thicker yarn than most sock patterns call for. I can often knit one child size sock while watching a Netflix movie after the kids are in bed and the second sock the following evening.

North Country Baby Socks in chocolate for my little guy to enjoy the cool weather. The yarn is a blend of merino wool, microfiber and cashmere.

Now there's more time for this:

in between changing out wet socks to dry and shaking the leaf particles and twiggy bits off.

Warm socks for William

I've always found it difficult to find really good warm socks for babies. During the winter months, if you keep your kids indoors, cotton socks are fine but we spend the winter ice skating, skiing, hiking in the woods and generally trudging through the snow for whatever needs to be done.

I was so happy to find the North Country socks pattern for free because it is so easy to knit and solves the winter sock problem. I knit this pair for William with Mode Dea yarn in a wool-bamboo blend. I love the yarn and will definitely use it again. It doesn't pill or fray like most wool yarns and is very soft, yet has the warmth you expect from wool.

I think William looks very European wearing his new socks with his brown sandal shoes. This winter he'll be wearing them with his boots so he can play with big sister in the snow and possibly to learn how to ice skate on the pond.

Fingerless mittens

I've been trying out a bunch of different patterns for fingerless mittens and I've come across one pattern that I love. It's knit from the top down to the wrist, making it useful for anyone using up stash sock yarn because you can make the wrist cuff as long or short as you need to. The pattern also has a great thumb gusset.

Here's my first attempt, which I'm quite happy with. The yarn is Mirasol Chirapa from Peru, a hand dyed 100% merino wool, colorway Spearmint candy. My daughter Savannah picked it out for socks, it's not exactly my color, but it does remind me of the colors in Monet's garden.

This pattern is offered for free for anyone who wishes to attempt a pair with leftover sock yarn. Props to Jeanne for sharing the pattern with us.