In the Interests of Safety

In the interests of safety, I picked up the tunic and started the second sleeve.  It's going well.  While I was knitting the sleeve, I was contemplating again.  This is how I get in trouble, though it is usually only knitting trouble so long as I firmly direct my thoughts to knitting.

Today I was thinking about socks.  It has been coming on for a while now.   At Christmas at my mom's house, I ran into one of my nephews and he said, 'Hey auntie, what does a guy have to do to get a pair of socks."  I replied, that you just have to tell me.  So he says, "That's it?"  

And it really is. For a first pair when I am in a good mood and where the asker had no expectation of getting socks.  He was really just commenting on his mom's socks and teasing me about the sock knitting thing.  I suspect though, that he has stolen her socks when she is out of the house, to wear while he was watching TV.  He felt a bit bashful when I said yes, that I really would make him socks.  In the end, I asked him for a mandala, which he makes.  His mandala work off paper is truly stunning and all I would want is a paper design of one.  I would love to stitch one with blackwork embroidery. I cannot draw to save my life, but I would love one for it's symbolism filled with something I can do.  I know that they can be a very private thing, that the search for that path might be too personal to just give away or reveal to others.  He will get socks even if he does not wish to make a mandala. His sister too, just because.

I asked if he had a colour preference.  He just asked for something fun, which gives me a pretty broad range.  I am stash diving, because I do have an awful lot of sock yarn.

 This is a quick gander at the ones I think might work.

 The orange and brown DGB Confetti is probably the loudest of all of them, but DGB is always what I call fun knitting.  The other is Trekking XXL, and would make a really sturdy, long lasting pair of socks.  Might be a little less fun, though I do hold high hopes for the green stripes in it.

 Up next is the Arne and Carlos from my summer trip to Vernon.  From everything I read about this yarn, it is certainly classed as fun. BUT, the yarn is relatively fine with 210 metres on a 50 gram ball. Might need some heel reinforcing.

 Fine is relative in relation to this, Kroy FX, 50 grams and 152 metres.  These balls are my most favourite yarn in my sock stash (favourite as in Tove favourite).  I love these colours and it is hard not to like Kroy.  I would have to add a black, green or charcoal for toes, heels and ribbing, though, so that there would be enough yarn for the tall socks he wants.  Or stripes.  I could use a plain colour in between sections of the Kroy too.  Stripes are always fun.

Then there is another fun to knit, but more conservative to wear green DGB sock yarn.  I knit a very similar ball in blues and ended up so hypnotized by it, that I stayed up working on it, till 3 in the morning. I just had to see what would happen next. The blue and orange denim ball is one of my favourites.  I knit one ball of this up a long time ago for Brian, gave one ball away, and kept this one for me.  I must have really liked it, or surely I wouldn't have bought it three separate times.

And then there is a ball of Lion Brand Sock Ease.   I love this blue, even though I have been completely unable to take a decent photo of it.

It's a yarn I haven't worked with before, and I am little leery about giving away a pair of socks in a yarn I haven't torture tested.    I sure do like the way it looks worked up in a patterned something or other though.  It can be very striking.

I'm going to ponder these for a while.  There are other choices in the tub.  So much to think about and it makes me very happy.