There’s Nothing Plain About Vanilla – Another Set of Stockinette Stitch Socks

It’s been a few weeks since my last post, but I’m proud to say I’ve survived a stint with strep throat, my son’s first birthday party (with 24 of his kindergarten classmates), and Easter, complete with a visit from the Bunny, an egg hunt in the backyard, and a trip to see Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey’s circus. It’s been a whirlwind, to say the least. But in that time, I’ve been sneaking in some knitting when I can. To feel creative and productive (which don’t always co-exist happily), I find it best to have a pair of plain vanilla, stockinette stitch socks on my needles at all times. I can trot them out of my project bag and knit a few rounds while waiting for folks to shop our yard sale, like I did this past weekend, or while I watch the kids play outside in the front yard.

The first time I saw the Regia Jacquard sock yarn was on Susan B. Anderson’s blog. I was saddened to learn it’s since been discontinued. But during my Google search, I found it discounted at several online yarn shops, as well as my old standbys, Etsy and Ebay.

I purchased three skeins – kolibri (#07204), elsvogel (#07206), and blaumeise (#07202).

Since I haven’t mastered stranded knitting yet, the Regia Jacquard would allow me to produce a fair isle-like garment without the fair isle technique. Now I know I need to keep challenging myself and adding to my knitting repertoire. But the daily demands of work and home mean I have to make some trade-offs every now and then.

All in all, I’m pleased with my new socks. I like the colorway, and I knit them with a longer leg than my usual socks, since I think they’ll look best with boots or layered over tights come fall or winter. The striping, checkered patterns of the yarn also made them interesting to knit, so I never got bored with the plain vanilla pattern. It made casting on and finishing the second sock that much easier, and if you’re a sock knitter, you know how hard that can be.

I don’t have any other socks cast on at the moment. But I’m thinking of casting on two different sets – a plain vanilla pair (so I can knit with ongoing distractions and interruptions - and trust me, with my three- and six-year-old boys, there. are. many!) and something more intermediate that would add interest and texture to my socks. I’ve been pouring over Charlene Schurch’s books – Sensational Knitted Socks and More Sensational Knitted Socks – that I checked out from the library this week. So stay tuned. I hope to have some new socks on circs shortly. Until then, bon tricot!

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Bon Tricot

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