Meredith Green is a reader who knits the greatest socks in the world. Actually, a few of you have mailed me knit socks and as far as I am concerned, they are ALL the greatest socks in the world. When a package comes to the farm of a certain bulk and weight, I squeeze it and silently pray "socks socks socks" because a pair of hand knit, 100% wool socks are my homesteader crack. You have any idea how great a new pair of wool socks feel under your rubber boots on a November morning? It's like putting armor on against anything the farm can throw at me. Between their warmth and insulation and the Wellie's waterproofing rubber I feel better outfitted than someone in Gore-tex liner and Vibram soles. I am farm ready. I can step in a 6" puddle of almost-frozen water and poo and come out dry and toasty. And when you come inside from all that and I'm thinking about this because I have two unworn pairs of Meredith's socks here and I am saving them for the first frost. They sit wrapped in my kitchen just as she mailed them, waiting to be called by name in a little pyrex bowl under the bookshelf. (My kitchen doesn't have a microwave anymore, I moved it to the tack room and turned it vertical to hold my western saddle, but I do have bookshelves!) It's almost August 1st and that means first harvest to me. It means it is time to start buying or trading for cords of wood. It means getting chimney's cleaned and the pony barn walls up. It means getting hay, A LOT of hay, put aside and fences mended. It means getting ready for the big Mother Earth News Fair and then Antlerstock on Columbus Day Weekend. Antlerstock is always a huge party but I am hoping to celebrate that weekend knowing that hay is in, wood is stacked, and I am ready.
I want this to be the winter I learn to make socks. I really, really, do. I can knit, purl, cast on and cast off. I can make hats in the round, and scarves of course. I think I have all the tools I need to learn socks and the darn truth is all I need to do is sit down, start knitting, and pay attention to some books, videos, and knitters. If anyone has any favorite beginner sock resources, the no-fail type, please let me know!
*Random Updates*
I have an update about the Against the Grain Workshop. I am ordering books and printed cloth sacks for the seed distribution, but they have not arrived yet. I will mail out the packages for those taking part in the online or in-person workshop soon as I get them in. I wrote by August 1 but I didn't realize how soon that was, so expect them shortly after, before September.
Webinar subscribers, you are not forgotten. You will get nine more videos, and your subscription lasts until they are delivered even if it spills over into 2013. Next up is Wool: sheep to spindle and is 20 minutes long or so. Your link will be emailed soon as I have the 5+ hours to finish it up, but since I am working on them every night they are coming along.
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