Voila! My first pair of socks, on the sock blockers I ordered on Etsy – they are an art form in themselves.

My love for knitting started early. My mother has shared a memory of me sitting on the steps and trying to knit a square at the age of 5 or 6. It took me a while, and must have been painful to watch. When I was an 11 or 12 year old Girl Guide, I earned my knitting badge, though I have no recollection of what I actually made.

When I was 22 (ish) I made my first loved and worth-keeping sweater for my nephew. His mother saved that sweater and passed it on to his children who have worn it on many occasions. I am so grateful that it continues to find a useful life.

Some years later, with children of my own, I tried my hand at knitting again. Here we are, all wearing sweaters I made.

My patterns of choice were care of Knitwear Architects. Their projects were very straightforward and kept my hands busy on long nights when I was home with sleeping children.

After a 20 year hiatus, I rediscovered knitting while in Edmonton. Our receptionist was a big knitter and a real inspiration for me. Long cold evenings were filled with the knitting of garments that offered warmth: hats, cowls, shawls, scarves and even a blanket. I have not stopped since.

But this post is really about celebrating my big leap from virtually flat objects to something more complex. I have felt a strong desire to move on, to learn more, to create things that may be more challenging. So it begins, with socks!

I know what I don’t know. And let’s be frank I know absolutely nothing about knitting a sock. So I signed up for The School of Sweet Georgia, a local knitting and fibre company, and began my journey. I watched and re-watched every video, and carefully followed every step.

Choosing the fibre was easy. I stuck with sock weight yarn from Sweet Georgia so I could avoid the angst of a wool that could lead to multiple attempts at swatching (the chore most knitters avoid – often at their own peril). Good call on my part – got it right on the first try.

The first sock took me 1 month. I rarely had to “tink” (the painful act of backwards knitting fix a mistake). I was ridiculously pleased with the result. That one sock was made to measure and fit me perfectly.

The second sock took me less than 2 weeks. I was more confident, occasionally too confident. This resulted in some serious rounds of tinking, especially at the heel.

But here they are. Done and ready to be blocked on my fancy new sock blockers..

I really did enjoy the experience and see many more socks in my future. I now spend my time browsing socks on Ravelry (a site for knitting patterns) and am winding wool to prepare for pair #2.

Beware – if this passion continues, you may find some of my stockings in your stocking next Christmas.