And for every amazing knitter whose work makes it on to countless needles, there are so many other amazing knitters and designers out there who inspire, offer great tutorials, teach classes, and design their own patterns. 

Over my years of sock knitting, I have admired many people for their sock knitting skills – I have mentioned many times how Terhi’s work amazes me – and each year I meet new people who continue to inspire… here are four friends I would love to introduce you to!

~~

If you follow Flickr, you may be familiar with Osloann – she is also on Ravelry as Pinneguri - and designs and knits *amazing* socks in Norway.  Do yourself a favor, and check her work out!

Not only does she knit beautiful socks with the greatest of skill – she also designs adorable (free!) patterns like the Bumblebee socks:

~

Although Chawne is very much on a quilting, embroidery and blanket-knitting kick of late (equally amazing!) it was her amazing sock knitting skills that first turned me on to this crafting virtuoso of a woman.  She has SO many beautiful sock creations to her name – and she is just so darn clever! 

Chawne’s free pattern for the Socks of Kindness (Ravelry link)

Whatever C does – and the sheer devotion that she puts in to it! – inspire me each and every day.

 ~

Dan and Virginia have created a beautiful little space on the web over at ScratchCraft.  If you have not seen their work, you are really missing out.  They are both in to fiber arts, and as their blog name implies – creating things from scratch (that includes food, furniture, home improvement, and lots of other goodies!)  Dan’s fiber work runs the gamut from weaving, spinning, knitting, and most recently needle felting.  Virginia is really in to knitting, socks in particular (but also beautiful mittens, blankets, and sweaters).  She has participated in the 52 Socks a year challenge and has succeeded (more than once, I believe!)  Her sock posts are like an overload – she knits so many pairs in a short amount of time that each post contains about 5 finished pairs!

Can you think of anything cuter than a husband-wife knitting team?  Dan’s amazing Beau sweater in his own handspun yarn was the inspiration for the Beau that I made for Kris in 2008.  

You can see all of their galleries over on Flickr - knitting, weaving, cooking, spinning, photography… everything these amazing people do!

~~

Who are your “unsung sock heroes and heroines”? 

Is it a person in your knitting group who is just so clever?  who knits like lightning?  Someone whose work you admire and want to emulate?  Someone whom you have never met, but see their work on the internet?

Please share!

*In Socktoberfest 2006, I did interviews with BOTH Nancy Bush and Cookie A – you can see all the Socktoberfest archives here

It’s time for the FIFTH celebration of the month-long sock extravaganza!

(My Whitby socks from a few years ago – warming my feet on the autumn evening!)

Are you casting on today?

Are you digging through unfinished socks today?

Are you clicking over for the first clue for ThroughtheLoops’ Mystery Sock?

~ Let me know what you are up to ~

Leave a comment, and a randomly chosen winner will get these beauties:

**HAPPY SOCKTOBERFEST!**

]]> http://lollygirl.com/blog/2009/10/01/kick-up-those-heels/feed 250 http://lollygirl.com/blog/2009/09/13/socktoberfest-for-the-little-feets http://lollygirl.com/blog/2009/09/13/socktoberfest-for-the-little-feets#comments Sun, 13 Sep 2009 11:59:59 +0000 lolly http://lollygirl.com/blog/2009/09/13/socktoberfest-for-the-little-feets

Fall Harvest Knit Baby Booties

Originally uploaded by saganaga

Experts say that if you do a task a certain number of times, it becomes a habit… and I have to agree, as I am beginning to feel that way about Socktoberfest! When the air begins to chill, my mind automatically – habitually – turns to socks. So funny! Especially since I have not even knit one sock this year…

The *fifth* celebration of Socktoberfest is just a few weeks away (seriously, can you believe it – we started in 2005 with over 1000 people!) and the buzz is already starting over on the Ravelry Socktoberfest board! People are planning designs, new techniques that they want to try out, talking about yarns… just general sock talk

Initially, I was planning to do a pair of stranded socks for myself… but the more I think about it, the more I want to stick to my theme for the past several months of gift knitting. And it just so happens that I have a little pair of feet that will need to be adequately covered “joining” the world smack dab in the middle of October! SO, why not switch things up a bit and make this Socktoberfest my chance to celebrate the little feet of this world, specifically the ones of my new niece-on-the-way, who we are calling “Baby V”. (By the way, look how cute my sister Mimi looks!)

Baby knits are like a huge knitting well that I only peered in to previously… but now that I am knitting for one on a regular basis, I am finding endless supplies of inspiration.  So many innovative and adorable patterns!  The booties posted above are a wonderful modification of the well-known Saartje’s Bootees knit by saganaga- but seasonally themed for autumn.  Since Baby V will be joining us in the autumn, it seemed just right!  I loved them at first sight!

Other favorites and potentials for my Socktoberfest selections:

• Knit Monster Booties
• Baby Moccasins
• Angel Booties (PDF link)
• Blue Steps (PDF)
• Basic Baby Socks
• Mim’s Baby Socks

…and there is a whole lot more where that came from!  I am hoping to use up some of the leftover sock yarn and make them extra special with little touches.  I especially love the Moccasins with the little embroidery!

So, are you up for another year of sock celebration?  Would you care to join me?

I would love to hear about any plans you have for socks!