Catnip Socks after a long catnap…

I can’t believe we are past the half-way point for 2016. I took a little time off from designing at the beginning of the year to concentrate on some projects around the house. Then life threw us a curveball when our mini-dachshund, Frank, began dislocating his shoulder. After many vet trips and referrals to surgeons down in Louisiana, he is now recovering from shoulder surgery that we hope has fixed the problem! So, not very much design work happened throughout that ordeal either (but there was some! I do have some new things on the horizon! Wahoo!).

Throughout it all, though, my knitting never stopped! What was I knitting these past 6 months to keep my sanity? Socks, socks, socks! And when I was sent a skein of Kraemer Yarns Saucon Sock yarn to try, I was extra excited! Why? Because I realized that all of my handknit socks are made of wool! And Saucon Sock is a cotton blend! What a treat it would be to make a pair of cotton socks! And, really, it just makes sense, right? I mean, I live in south Mississippi! Why do I have so many wool socks?! A cool, lacy pair of shorty socks were just what I needed for summer and I went in search of the perfect pattern.

The pattern I landed on is Catnip Socks by Wendy D. Johnson. It was a perfect match for this yarn! I did make a few changes to the construction, though. I knit them top-down instead of toe-up, like the pattern was written. I also used my favorite Fish Lips Kiss heel and my (new) favorite toe – the Swirl Toe from the book Sock Architecture (my love for this book is never-ending!).

I love everything about these socks. Really. The pattern is fantastic and the yarn is a new favorite, for sure.

I will admit that I was a little nervous about how I would like working with cotton yarn for socks. When I think of cotton yarn, I tend to think of kitchen cotton and was wondering if this would tear up my hands like kitchen cotton does. But Saucon Sock yarn blends the perfect amount of cotton with the perfect amount of nylon and acrylic to keep my hands happy! I honestly didn’t notice a difference between knitting with this yarn and my usual wool blends.

And when I knit the entire cuff and realized I had cast on the wrong number of stitches, I decided to rip it all out and start over. Not just because I’m a perfectionist (ahem…) but also because SCIENCE! This would be a perfect test to see how well it stands up to being ripped out! The verdict? It rips and re-knits beautifully. No fuzziness. No tangling. Perfect!

I am so excited to have found a new sock yarn to love! And one that is climate-appropriate to boot! I am already plotting which color I want to knit next. There are a lot to choose from and I want them all! (by the way, my Catnip Socks are knit in Sea Blue)

I have a lot more socks to show you along with a couple of sneak peeks at some new shawl designs that I’m excited to be working on! Not that I haven’t enjoyed knitting all the socks, but it is nice to get back to my first love. ❤️