Make with the socks, already!

There are some really, really awesome socks out there, and I can't understand why I don't knit more of them. After all, socks are great: they're useful and comfortable, and hand-knit socks keep my chilly feet far warmer than any of the cheapo cotton ones that currently line my drawer. There's such a massive range of patterns available that I hardly know where to start, and if I don't want to choose a pattern, there are so many self-patterning yarns that I needn't bother.

My stash is full of sock yarns, my skills are up to the challenge, and I have half a dozen pairs of KnitPicks' delicious slippery DPNs in sock sizes. So what's wrong with me?

I'm probably one of the few people who has sock disasters. Too big, heel in a weird place (on top of the instep, for example, or maybe halfway up the thigh?), too small, too difficult to actually put on, too long, too...pooling weirdly. I've actually had sock setbacks.

I'm not about to dwell on these. Today I cast on (using Judy's Magic Cast On, the only one I can bear to use) a pair of socks. First time in months, and months, and months. I love to work my socks toe-up, since I can try them on as I go.

Interesting (or not) facts about these socks:

• I won the yarn on eBay. I was the only person who bid, but I consider it a win and celebrated accordingly.
• The yarn is 20% cashmere, which is about as much decadence as I can bear for socks at this time of life.
• Judy (of cast on fame, see above) was my third word. We had a beautiful orange cat called Judy, and after "Mummy" and "Daddy", my third word was "Judy", which was usually sung out as "Ju-dy, Ju-dy, Ju-dy". I still miss her.
• Judy is also the name of one of my favourite cartoonists, Judy Horacek.

Those are all the facts I have about these socks at this time. Hopefully more will come to light as I work on them.