And then I went crazy, and started making socks

I've had quite a bit more spare time than internet connection lately, so about two weeks ago I used a hot spot from Erik's phone to copy some crochet patterns to my computer so I'd have something to do when he took the Idiotnet away from me to go to work.  I've got a short attention span, as I've said many times before, so I wanted something that I could start, and finish, in one day.  Something which would not require a whole lot of brainpower.

This pattern turned out to be perfect: Super Simple Baby Socks.  These are little tube socks that are made flat and then sewn up.  Only really basic skills required.  The only trick is that they're made out of actual sock yarn, with a pretty small hook (3.5mm; in contrast I typically reach for a 5mm or 5.5mm).  So while they're simple, they still take a little while and are fairly tedious.

And yet, the finished object is just adorable:

In all honesty, if sock yarn didn't cost a ridiculous amount ($6 for about a 2 or 3 oz skein seems to be the standard around here), I would swallow the tedium and keep at it, because squee.  But these socks don't take up even close to an entire ball, and even adding in a hat (talk about tedium) doesn't use up a whole ball, and it's not like I want ten of the exact same sock.  So it doesn't seem like the ideal project unless you have excess sock yarn lying around.

What I do have an unconscionable amount of, however, is Simply Soft, which is a light worsted weight yarn.  Like I said before, these are little rectangles sewn into shape, so it's not hard to adapt the concept.

And so last week I spent a couple of hours making socks using a larger hook and heavier yarn:

If you're at all familiar with crochet, you can probably tell that both pairs were not made the same way.  The multicolored pair was indeed made out of flat rectangles, but the green pair was made, toe up, in an actual tube.  Because good God why was I adding several steps to fucking tube socks?

Because they're much cuter that way, turns out.

I'm not thrilled with the overall look of the heavier yarn/bigger hook combo, so Friday when out with my mother I bought some sport weight yarn and will try with a mid-size hook and yarn.  Fingering weight yarn seems to be virtually impossible to find these days outside of an actual yarn store.

I know, I know, this is pretty far off from my usual fare.  But Marie's feet were so big at birth that she did not fit in newborn or 0-3 mo. size socks (note to all L&D nurses: Do not exclaim "Ohmigod, look at how big her feet are!", no matter how big her feet are, because Mom will remember you forever after as a bunch of assholes), so I'm expecting to birth another Bigfoot in about six months.  Crap, five months.  Anyway, you can see why I'm just a wee bit obsessive--it would be nice to be sure I can put cute little handmade socks on this baby.