of socks and sacks

Since I finished the Simply Lovely Lace socks, I started some more socks. Socks are my "knitting on the go" -- and it seems like the only times I've been able to knit recently are while in the car or otherwise on the move. (Which explains why the only things I've posted about recently are socks...)

These are a simple pair of stockinette socks with about an inch of twisted rib on the top. I'm using Artyarns Ultramerino 4, which I first used on the socks that I made my mother-in-law for Christmas last year.

I tried a lace pattern first, but wasn't in the mood for lace, so went to stockinette. At first, the yarn was pooling, but I added a couple of stitches and got a pleasantly repeating splotchiness.

The yarn has some purple patches that are *exactly* the color of grape flavored popsicles, juice, etc. Every time I knit these, I want to go eat a grape popsicle. And I don't even really like grape!

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A couple of weeks ago, I was bitten by the crafty bug. While not fatal, it resulted in the addition of a dozen crafty blogs to my Bloglines subscription, and an overwhelming desire to knit, stitch, cut, assemble, and decorate anything that wasn't tied down.

To reaquaint myself with my sewing machine, I decided to make myself a "Sock Sack" with some materials from my stash. (Why yes, I also have a tiny lil' fabric and notions stash...)

This is the end product. The bag is lined in pink, which is then folded over the top to create the contrast edging.
And here it is, with contents shown for scale.

I had so much fun figuring this one out, I think I might make some more! The next version will likely have an inside pocket to hold a pattern (an 8.5x11 paper, folded in quarters) and perhaps even a second pocket, with closure, to hold a couple of stitch markers, a darning needle, and a tape measure. For socks, I don't need to carry around my full "knitting notions" bag, but it's nice to have the basics on hand.