These Socks Left The Cities

And went to North Dakota! I used the basic sock pattern from the Yarn Harlot, which is pretty much my standard sock pattern these days. This was the first time, though, that I turned a heel without actually consulting some other pattern for detailed steps. I feel so liberated!

I have no idea what this self-striping yarn is. I bought in on a trip to Arizona this winter, and I thought it would simmer in my stash for a long time. Instead, I ended up bringing it with me on a business trip, and I hastily tore the label off of it and misplaced it. At any rate, I'm not usually a fan of self-striping yarn, but this one really fit the recipient.

And yeah, I suppose I could have made them look the same, but when I use self-striping yarn, I prefer to make each sock look a little different. I like seeing how each part of the sock knits up differently. It's a good thing I prefer that difference, too, since the yarn was actually broken and knotted together, with a big chunk of the pattern missing.

I think these socks turned out okay. I made them for my mother, for her 75th birthday. Her first pair of handknit socks. When I make handknits for other people, I like spending my knitting time thinking of that person and what they mean to me. I enjoyed making these socks, and thinking of my mother, how she likes to quilt, and how even though I don't quilt, we share this broader connection to hand made gifts. Hopefully, she'll like them as much as I enjoyed making them for her.