sock it to 2017!

We’re putting the finishing touches on 2016 (and some would say ‘thank goodness!’). Right after we slide through the holidays, we’ll be looking onto clean, blank calendar pages – one of my favorite times of year. Fresh starts! Clean slates! So many possibilities!

It’s natural for us to think about improving things, doing it better in the new year. Better food choices are a natural starting point – but what about better knitting choices? What would you like to do to make 2017 your best, most productive knitting year?

I’m gonna start the ball rolling with socks. It’s no secret that BlueMoonLand loves its socks: they’re an endless platform for creativity (as our legion of sock designers from the Rockin’ Sock Club will attest); they’re portable; and they have so many interesting steps that you don’t have time to get bored!

Combine all that with Tina’s wicked sense of color humor and you’ve got a match made in heaven for a super-fun and productive Year In Socks!

Supreme Black Dalek in Tigger Targhee is ready to take on 2017!

Let’s think of all the great ways you could take on a Year In Socks:

1. The Pair-a-Month Challenge: knit up a pair of socks each month and you’ll have a full sock drawer by the end of the year! A friend of mine is on Pair #12 for his 2016 challenge, and he’s thrilled with what he’s accomplished. Pairs for himself, for his partner, for his mom … and a memory of a month in time attached to each one!
2. The Gifting Challenge: Isn’t this the time of year where you say “Next year, I won’t try to knit all my holiday gifts between Thanksgiving and Christmas!”? Wise thought, but how to make sure that happens? Do a variation of #1 above: make a list of each of your loved ones who are ‘sockworthy.’ Knit a pair a month, wrap them when you’re done (don’t forget to label who they’re for!), and hide them in the cupboard marked ‘Gift Shoppe.’ Come the holidays, you’ll have a trove of pre-wrapped presents all ready to gift – and you can spend December relaxing, taking walks – or casting on a pair of socks for yourself!
3. The Skill-Builder Challenge: Socks are such a nice, compact place to learn a new skill. Never tried lace? or cables? or reading a chart? There’s bound to be a great sock pattern out there that incorporates some new technique you want to know. And while you might struggle a bit through the first sock when the technique is new, by the time you hit the second sock you’ll be much more comfortable – and ready to take that technique off into the world of bigger projects, like sweaters!
4. The Try-a-New-Tool Challenge: Stuck on two circulars? Try a pair on Magic Loop! Never tried double-points? Want to learn how to knit TAAT (Two-At-A-Time)? Any tool can be used for any sock pattern – why not get comfortable on all of them?
5. The Play-with-Color Challenge: If you’re like me, you have a little ‘safe spot’ when it comes to color. Open up your closet and you’ll see a sea of … grey, or green, or name-your-favorite. Trust me when I say that Tina is your gal when it comes to shaking things up and thinking outside the box when it comes to colors! And socks are such a great place to play with color; for minimalists like me, it’s a little ‘subversive’ moment in my wardrobe. I may be wearing all neutrals, but no one knows that I’ve got Farmhouse socks on under my charcoal trousers. Extra credit: sign up for the Rockin’ Sock Club and you’ll have Tina-curated wardrobe-expanding inspiration every other month in your mailbox!
6. The Yarn Challenge: If you are feeling a bit of sock burnout, might it be that you’re not changing things up enough? If you love your tried-and-true sock pattern because you love the way it fits and all, what about branching out into a new-to-you yarn? Tina’s brought in two yarns recently that I had been dying to try – so I’m whipping up one of my Unpattern Cuff-Down Socks in Tigger Targhee (that’s them, above). I’m loving the bounce and the matte finish – and suddenly, I’ve got my sock mojo back! Next on my list to try: Super Sparkle. Because a girl needs sparkly socks, right?
7. The Rockin’ Sock Challenge: Thousands of avid sock knitters can’t be wrong – there’s no better way to immerse yourself in a bunch of sock-lovin’ fun than to sign up for the BMFA Rockin’ Sock Club. Six shipments a year, great color stories to go along with exclusive colorways, great patterns (and not just for socks) … the fun doesn’t stop all year. If you’ve never signed up before, let me tell you it’s such fun to be part of a group of avid socksters – excitedly awaiting their shipments, then ooh-ing and aah-ing over the colorways, digging into the patterns … Even if you don’t knit up every pair that year (though we all swear that this year we’ll keep up!), you’ll expand your notion of sock-ness into another dimension.

Turkish Bed Socks from Churchmouse Yarns & Teas – getting ready for gifting!

Of course, you can combine any of the above to double the impact! Try a new yarn for your next gifted pair of socks; learn a new skill with a new yarn; knit up your Rockin Sock Club projects as gifts … Any way you slice it, you could slide into 2018 a better knitter thanks to your socks next year.