I used to knit socks now and then.  The ones I made before have long been worn.  Recently, I've begun it again.  How could I not, when everyone is knitting socks and  having so much fun doing it?
 
 

	This is a pair of white acrylic socks I finished recently.  I started these many years ago, got one done, and the dreaded second sock syndrome took over, and I never finished them.  These were made on #2 double pointed needles.
	This is some Regia Jacquard yarn that everyone was raving about.  The fun part is supposed to be that this yarn makes its own jacquard pattern as you knit.  The trick is to get the right number of stitches per inch and the right size needles.  As you can see, I started these on double pointed needles, but somewhere along the way, I decided to try two 24" circular needles, and I found that was much more fun and made for faster knitting.  These were made for a man's 8 1/2 E foot.
	I decided after I got the heel of the first sock done that I wasn't going to have enough yarn to finish the whole pair out of the two skeins I purchased.  So I had to order a contrasting yarn to use for the heels and toes.  That order got lost, and they were delayed.  Here, though, are the Regia jacquard socks finished.  As you can see, I did get identical socks, and I only lost a little yarn doing so.  It irked me that I couldn't get a sock out of one skein, but I guess I did put longer tops on them than a lot of people do.  One thing I learned is that I hate patterned yarn like this.  While other people find it endlessly fascinating to see the pattern unfold, I found it boring.  The fun part of this yarn just escaped me.  I think I'd rather make single-colored socks and do cables or something than plain, patterned socks like this again.  They fit, and my husband enjoys wearing them more than I expected.
	This pair of toe up socks was made from Regia 4 Color on size 1 needles. Now and then, there are washes of one color or the other across the knitting; at times, this looks a bit like stripes.  I used Denise Powell's Cybersocks for the basic sock, the heel stitch, k2p2 ribbing, and Elizabeth Zimmerman's sewn cast off to bind it off.   I used my own design for the tops of the socks, a pattern I call Bumpy Road.  I knit these on two 24" circulars at the same time.  You may be able to see something of the pattern in the shots below.  It yields a soft, cushy sock top.
	The Bumpy Road pattern goes like this:  1. *P3, K3, repeat from *. 2. P2, *K3, P3, repeat from *, end P1.  3. P1, *K3, P3, repeat from *, end P2. 4. *K3, P3, repeat from *. 5. *K3, P3, repeat from *. 6. P1, *K3, P3, repeat from *, end P2. 7. P2, *K3, P3, repeat from *, end P1. 8. *P3, K3, repeat from *.  I did 7 repeats for the sock top.

(c) 2002 by Glynda Black.  All Rights Reserved.