taking stock of sox

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today, as i was was scraping myself together before work, my eye fell upon the Sock Pile. the Sock Pile is the number of socks-on-hand that i have in stock at any one time. i keep ’em on a shelf in my cedar closet, to use for gifts, or for when our own sock drawers need replenishing. this time of the year, the shelf is looking a little bare.

just four pair—between the onset of winter, and the holiday gift-giving, my store is a bit depleted.

i looked at the clock and figured i probably had time before work to do some sorting and assessing of sock yarn, in order to dermine a possible strategy for filling the shelf (who am i kidding—strategy—geesh. we all know it’s about lust in the heat of the moment . . .).
or maybe i just needed something comforting to do before heading into heavy fire for the day.

my friend debbie is absolutely convinced that i have, hidden away, a giant trove of sock yarn that i am simply not ‘fessing up to. she just cannot fathom that i don’t collect the stuff by the bushelful.

but actually, my taste in horde-worthy yarn does not lead me into the whole sock-yarn-as-a-separate-stash habit. you know what i mean. suckering yourself into believing that sock yarn somehow doesn’t count, and therefore ending up with—quite literally—enough of the stuff to fill one or two of those huge plastic bins that have wheels.
(BTW, the wheels are a dead giveaway that possibly there is at least enough sock yarn in the house; think about it—how many 2-ounce skeins does it take to be wheel-worthy?).

yeah, i’m not like that. who knew??
i tend to horde luxury yarns. and no, you can’t see them. (i will tell you the amount in my bank account before i reveal that part of the stash.)
the thing is, every time i turn around there is another enticing sock yarn, so i figure it something good will be there when i DO need it. and usually, it is (stockists and dyers are very accommodating that way. . .).

anyhow, just so it is on public record, i have just two small bins of sock yarn, and that’s it. and the only reason i even have THAT much is that i spin, and spinning generates stash.

one tub is just for handspun and is fairly full. i want to use all of these next.
and what i have on the wheel right now? i want to use THAT next too.
i also want to use all of these next

trust me, i understand the propensity for the stuff. this is my newly-acquired stash of commercial sock yarns—just one year ago, i was still knitting socks exclusively from handspun. i had awful memories from the 80s and 90s of sock yarns being stringy and awful.

then last february, because i had a blog and was reading other bloggers’ sock yarn ecstasies, i caved and started trying some commercial stuff. and some of them are nice. i tried some more. so now i have a small stash. really.

see? it all fits very nicely into this small-ish tub with room to spare on top. and i don’t have plans to buy much for a while—this will be fine for the next few months. i need to knit down that handspun.

the only problem is which to use first? i love them ALL. if i allowed it, there would be 6 different socks going at once, and none of them getting done. i learned my lesson this past year, and am trying to keep my sock WIPs to two-at-a-time (and already failing i might add . . .)

i have a feeling it might be one of the new spunky eclectic yarns next, but i dunno. i could really use something with alpaca in it right now, so it could be the alpaca/wool twist yarn i spun last summer.

or, those two skeins of the new colinette jitterbug. i am thinking i might just venture into kneesox (or at least very high sox) with those.
but then, i haven’t knit with any Briar Rose yarn in a few months and i have 6 skeins that are begging for attention.

this is the problem with stash. i spend too much time daydreaming over it instead of knitting, and the sox just end up looking like this

tonight i went to a knit group with martina at the library that i had not been to before. and she agreed to model the smokin’ sox for a photo shoot, so i took her up on it, as she does have lovely narrow feet and ankles that are much more photo-worthy than my own

so, for those who have been wondering what the smokin’ pattern looks like on the foot, here you have it. of course, this means i also have a shot that will be perfect for the pattern cover, so i will get that together and post it in the morning.

25 thoughts on “taking stock of sox

  1. I like the sock pattern. You don’t have too much sock yarn. Just enough. I know what you mean about luxury yarn. It feels so yummy! And fun to collect.

  2. Wow anne….those smokin’ socks are…..SMOKin’……. Those mustard colored socks – are those socks??? Those look way cool too…..

  3. i have an enormous sock stash but I don’t delude myself in thinking that it doesn’t count.

    do you find that you tend to collect and spin in the same colour families? That turquise blue handspun really stands out because it’s so differnt from all the other warmer shades

    love the sock stockpile. It’s a good idea and one that i recently started doing too, mainly to avoid the stress of knitting to deadlines.

  4. What a lot of beautiful sock yarn. I’m also very impressed that you’re organised enough to have a sock stockpile – I’m too greedy to do that 🙂

  5. Nice stash(ette)! What colourway is that brown & grey Lorna’s? It looks yummy. very nice to the smoke spreading its wings. Does the other one swirl in the other direction?

  6. I am so excited for the sock pattern! As I was avoiding housework Monday night I tripped over the Fearless Fibers Etsy store and might have accidentally purchased a skein of Smoke (and another, but I clearly have the stash issues you are lucky enough to avoid!), just because I am a dork who loves to make things in the yarn and/or color called for. Can’t wait!

  7. If we’re now defining stash in the terms “It only counts if it takes up a whole tub with wheels,” and if there’s a loophole for stash divided between two smaller tubs, then I don’t have one either. But the stash I don’t have does give me the same trouble your non-stash gives you: I want to knit all of it, immediately.

  8. Oooh, I see you have Trekking in your sock yarn stash. I LOVE Trekking. It’s one of my favorite sock yarns.

  9. Anne, smokin’ looks fab on the foot! You know I think your handspun yarns are amazing, so I say stash them away all you please! As far as your small stash goes, it looks quite respectable to me. It just longs to be knit up, that’s all-right?

  10. All your socks and sock yarn pictures has my sock-in-progress calling out to me. Your handspuns are so uniform and gorgeous. Are they all two-plyed? What wool/breed have you found makes the best socks?

  11. Wow. That’s some beautiful sock yarn in your stash. And I love the Smokin’ pattern too .. one more paycheck I think and I can start stocking up on sock patterns!

    A question, though. What sock yarns do you prefer, now that you’ve started using them?

  12. i inheroted a lot of wool from my step mother a year ago. There is an entire large box of silk/wool blend in colors that she must have intended for sweaters. Not colors I would ever wear but on my FEET-that’s another story. My husband even said he will wear pink (actually salmon) one of the colors, if I will knit up some for him.It’s Sikenwool by Silk City fibers and he has size 14 feet, and yes, he wants ribbing all the way up his very long calves-but hey, giving him socks nets me nightly backrubs!
    Mary E

  13. Ohhh cool smokin’ socks!!!! Ok, granted, your sock stash isn’t “to out of controll” BUT you must say…you have a nice little stock-pile there, maybe more on the handspun bucket but still a very nice covet of stash at that!! Ohhhhhh, more to design patterns with hahaha….ok, ok, I know,you designing as fast as you can BUT we NEED and WANT more,more,more heehee. Oh to live int hat little space in Anne’s head…what luxury that would be!

  14. Great Sock pattern! You certainly have some beautiful yarns to choose from….YUM!

    I started Hypotenuse and am really enjoying the pattern!

  15. LOL I so completely missed the comment about the stash being in rubbermaid containers on wheels..well, THAT would definetly include me *sheepish grin* BUT in my defense, it isn’t just sock yarnt hat is in the 2 tubs with wheels, it’s all of my stash, I’m not picky about seperating it LOL. I have stuck by my resolution since the first of the year though, I haven’t bought any yarn at all and have been stricktly knitting from my stash, it has been alot of fun too I might add! It’s like I went shopping all over again, I found stuff I THOUGHT I hated from a year and a half ago and turns out, I like it fine enough!:)
    Love the handspun sock yarn Anne, it is sooooo beautiful!

  16. I love to see other people’s yarn stash. Mine is embarrassingly huge – especially considering the little time I have to donate to knitting. You have good taste, though – in fact, I think I have all those same yarns in my own sock stash! hehehe. Thanks for sharing!

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