Socktoberfest!

Yay! Time for beer socks!

Ok, so this post might be interesting for my spoiler in Sockret Pal… Be warned! I have already told you I have many many sock yarns and frightened myself with just exactly how many there are, but here is a pic…

So we have on the bottom row:
red leftover Nature’s Pallette, denim blue/purple Garnstudio Alpaca 4 ply, Storm blue Hip Knits sock cashmere, Summer Pudding Hip Knits sock cashmere, 2 balls of RYC Cashcotton in purple, two in blue, a Kool Aid dyed mad lollipop coloured hank of Opal sock yarn.

Moving up from the Kool Aid dyed Opal, we have two balls of Regia Bamboo (which I’ve just started knitting), above it, a ball of Kool Aid dyed green Opal yarn, to the left of that, 2 balls of Tivoli Luxury Tweed DK, a hank of Curious Yarns Heathertop, some leftover Curious Yarns Beach, leftover Fyberspates Alpaca Silk 4 ply, below it leftover Artyarns Candy in Sour Apple, leftover Lorna’s Laces Desert Garden.

At the top, a cone of Texere lambswool 4 ply waiting for me to pick a dye colour range, and those two balls of Opal that I mentioned before but never got photographed.

That’s a lotta socks.

Ermmm. This is where I feel a little embarrassed. But the cashmere I’ve been saving for something special, and at this point I feel that Socktoberfest + end of course = special enough to just go ahead and pick a bloody pattern, damn you girl! And the other yarns have just been waiting because of all the commitments I’ve had (apart from the recently purchased choccy and pink Opal). So what will I do for Socktoberfest? Which patterns will I knit with which yarns? I have a loooong list of patterns I want to make, from Knitty, Magknits, Socks Soar on 2 Needles, Knitting on the Road, Vintage Socks, Amelia Raitte and any others I’ve forgotten. Believe it or not, I may have more patterns than sock yarn… If that is humanly possible at this point.

The bamboo is obviously already claimed, and given that I’ve started I plan to finish this month! But what else to choose? How many socks can I knit in a month? Should I try some new technique or just aim to enjoy what I have and use up stash? I know I want to try the stranding for the herringbone socks, and I’d like to try a new toe up cast on – I’m stuck on figure 8 and should really try one of the provisional ones too given Cat Bhordi swears by them in ‘2 Needles’. And the yarns I have don’t always seem to go with the patterns I like, so I may need help deciding what to make with what. The oddments will go on baby socks for lots of pregnant people 🙂 The Cashcotton I’m thinking of using on the Bavarian Twisted Rib thingy in ‘2 Needles’ (well I have had that book the longest) because it will give nice definition and won’t go too out of shape on the cables. But what of the dk Tivoli? And the Garnstudio Alpaca? And the variegated stuff? I’m not sure whether I’ve used up all my variegated patterns now, but maybe one of the other Amelia patterns would work with the Heathertop colourway? And I still have a sock of my own design in the making, so I’d like to finish that this month too, but will I manage? I should ask for opinions on it before I decide that much! And if I do make it, I’m already thinking that nothing else but a blue solid or nearly solid will be needed for the final version, and again it will need superb definition for the stitch pattern. And I’d like to try a new sock yarn too for it, but that might be too risky. You see? This is all before I’ve even decided whether it would work! But I’d love to have a go with Socks that Rock and the Natural Dye Studio’s ebay shop has loads of gorgeous ones. And I’ve not tried Koigu yet either. ARrrrgh! This is all too much!

But soon I will have time to do all these things, and who knows – I might be able to achieve at least one thing in October from my list 😀

*edited to add* Gah! I just realised I have at least one other sock yarn that must be hiding in my stash – remember that choccy brown Regia Silk? Whoopsy…