Passionately Purple Friday

It's Friday and the Purty Purple Rogue Socks are finished:



Aren't they awfully purdy?  They fit perfectly and I just love love love them madly.  I love them with a purple passion! (Sorry, I just had to say that). Wanna take another look?  (I know you do).

Someone else told me that these really aren't proper "first socks" because there's no little hole at the gusset join, the stitch pattern continues onto the foot, and did I mention they fit properly? The theory is that with many things in my life, when I make up my mind to do something, I just go do it and get it done. (Hey, I think I'll quit my corporate job and move to an island!) I decided to knit socks. Therefore - I knit socks. Done deal.

I'm not arguing with that theory in general, but I think I owe some credit to such overwhelming success on this project to:

A) Starting with a pair of baby socks.  Wendee's pattern and mini-skein of yarn in the goodie bag I picked up at the Bobbins Nest party on Stitches weekend was put to good use.  I made all my mistakes on those, ripping back and reknitting rows is so much less painful in only 32 stitches!  I continue to promote the idea of starting with a good baby sock pattern in all the Ravelry sock groups, it's my stock reply whenever someone posts that they want to learn sock knitting, but aren't sure where to start.  (And if you want Wendee's pattern and your own little mini-skein, visit her shop, where she sells it in a very inexpensive little kit!)

B) Having a sock knitting guru.  Seriously.  Which not only means that when I have a sudden question/doubt/panic attack there is someone very close by to render assistance, but that I have been surrounded by socks in various stages of being knitted for the past several years. And these socks have their own special language, of "gussets", "heel flaps", and "toe decreases", just to name a few.  (I know you think I don't pay attention, I do.  It just takes a little while to sink in.) It's not surprising that constant exposure to the world of sock knitting for several years should result in a reasonably well knit pair of first socks.  Don't believe me?  Fine.  Go see for yourself.

So, even though there are other projects hibernating quietly in a bag in the closet, I am very quickly starting another pair of socks.  (Although, I did hear something fall over in there last night. They could be getting restless.)  And I think it's going to use this: