it's a guy thing: a free sock pattern

There are a lot of men in my life. Some big and some small! There are a lot of perfect yarns in my life! Malabrigo Sock is one of them. And the Persia colorway leaves me speechless!

 I loved my men so much, and I loved this yarn so much, I had to come up with a super guy sock pattern from baby size to adult. And here it is. Seed stitch and mini baby cables combine to make a masculine, relaxed pattern, playing the subtle changes in color to the perfect tweedy effect. Don't they go great with jeans? And best of all, the stitch pattern makes the socks fun and interesting to knit, making you want to knit just a little more to get to the next repeat, even when the big men in your life are size 13!

The pattern is available as a free pattern on Ravelry. (Just click on the word Ravelry to be brought to the page.) I hope you and your guys enjoy the socks!

Shetland

Today I bring you Shetland! The Shetland fiber is the second fiber I decided to spin after reading the great book In Sheep's Clothing.
I picked the most luscious, richest, sensuous chocolate color that Shetland sheep come in.



Isn't nature amazing? As a color lover, I am simply in awe...

I spun the beautiful roving over the fold into singles, and then plied two singles to create a light worsted weight, which I think has become my favorite weight.
I love the density of the Shetland fiber. Shetland has more body than Romney, less crimp, and therefore seems to be less fluffy, and a little rounder. I find it easy to spin, fluid is a word that comes to mind.



I was holding the yarn in my hands, pondering what I should knit, when Mr. SockPixie said: "Hum, nice, I would like socks..." One quick smile was enough to convince me...I grabbed my Us 5 dpts and took my new yarn to knit night. In my bag was some leftover Romney from the mittens, so I decided to stripes the socks. Mr. SockPixie deserves a little whimsy!



This is the progress I made at knit night, and during homeschooling today. If I can finish the sock tonight I might be able to reclaim the needles to do EZ's thumb trick on the mittens. Wouldn't some mitten surgery make a fun post!