I really wanted to make a pair of Christmas socks this year… but it didn’t really happen. One, I finished these socks the day after Christmas, and, two, they didn’t turn out as Christmas-y as I had imagined. Which I guess is good, since that means I can wear them for the rest of the year. I’ll just have to wait for the end of 2018 to make some real Christmas socks!

I picked out these yarns at Mockingbird Moon in Rogers, Arkansas when I was visiting my family before Christmas. The red/white yarn is Mockingbird Moon’s own hand-dyed yarn (75/20/5 merino/nylon/stellina), and the black is a mini skein of Hedgehog Fibers sock in the colorway Graphite. I thought that the red, white, and black were sort of Santa-esque, and the stellina sparkle could only make the socks more festive. The overall effect is a lot more pink, though, so they’re not so obviously Christmas socks.

These are just vanilla socks with contrasting short row toe and heel – 64 stitches around on a 2mm (US 0) needle. The cuff is a 2×2 rib. I used the same number of stitches and same needle size as I did for my first pair of socks, but these turned out quite a bit more loose than my first ones, which is probably because my first ones had a lace pattern. I definitely like the fit of these ones much better: they’re easier to get on.

I really want to have more hand-knit socks, so I’m hoping to participate in Kristin of the Yarngasm podcast’s Box O Sox KAL in 2018…. meaning I need to get started working on a pair of socks for January! I think I’m going  to make the Festoon socks by Rachel Coopey from Pom Pom magazine Issue 21, but I haven’t decided what sock yarn from my stash to use yet.

Aside from just wanting more socks, I also want to learn more toe/heel techniques while knitting my Box O Sox. And I think I want to do at least one pair of colorwork socks. What are you favorite sock patterns/techniques/tricks?