There is so much going on in the world these days, and not much of it seems very encouraging. I’ve been returning to the tried-and-true, instead of taking a chance on something new, and maybe you’ve been doing the same. I’m re-reading many favorite books from my keeper shelf, and sharing them on my main blog starting this week. With my knitting, I’ve returned to socks, my perfect mindless-yet-satisfying knit.

Last week was hot here, really hot and unseasonably so. With perfect timing, our air conditioner needed a repair, and the repair people need a part, and with coronavirus changing all the schedules, they don’t know when they’ll get it. We lived here for years without air conditioning so the mister has his systems for cooling the house, but it still got pretty hot. And what was I knitting? Another pair of thick winter Snowshoe socks. Of course.

The irony is that I finished them up just as the temperature dropped and I actually ended up putting them on once the second toe was grafted. We’re having such wild weather.

This pair of Snowshoe Socks are knit with odds and ends of sock yarn, held double, along with a strand of Kidsilk Haze Stripe. They’re a little bit more chaotic than the pair I knit for the mister, but it’s the bits and ends. Here they are:

I decided not to try to make them match this time. The right one looks narrower, even though it has the same number of stitches, because both the Crazy Zauberball and the Viola Sock are thinner sock yarns and I was knitting them together.

And here’s the pair I made for the mister, which DO match:

I really like these with the KSH. It makes the socks extra squishy and soft, and very warm. I knit the first size this time – they fit but are a bit more snug than I like socks to be. I’ll knit another pair in the second size for myself soon.

This pattern is a very satisfying knit. It feels almost that the socks are free, since they’re from those leftovers – although knitting them also means fewer leftovers for squares for my sock yarn afghan.