It seems a while since I put a pair of hand knit socks up here. I’ve just checked back through the blog and find that it was actually August of last year! Don’t tell Dave. He’s been bemoaning the lack of new socks this year. It seems he has a point!
This pair run true to form for stripes and boldness. And they are probably the only pair he’ll get this year!
For the life of me I cannot capture the correct colour of them. The light here is so grey and flat at the moment. But the top picture is the nearest to reality.
The matching stripe pattern makes me happy. I do so love a good matching stripe!
The yarn is West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 ply from their Winwick Mum range.
The sock is my usual Regia sock pattern, and it was perfect knitting as we watched the world spiral in the run up to the American election, and the impending second Coronavirus lockdown here in the UK.
I am a bear of such very little brain at the moment. Life for all of us has been so incredibly stressful this year. The global pandemic, and the loss it has wrought, has been beyond the comprehension of all of us.
The American election and the ramifications of it are heartbreaking, even this side of the pond. Sickness, injury, unemployment and the loss of our little business have taken their toll on our little family. So simple knitting and sewing have been a lifesaver.
I am aware that I have significant privilege in the face of these challenges. Dave has secured a new job. The consultant is hopeful for my knee not needing surgery. Although we had a many conversations about selling the house and downsizing during the summer, we were never in the position where we might be homeless. I’ve always been able to put a proper meal on the table.
This has not been the same for every family. And I have other friends who have lost their businesses to Covid. We’ve been lucky.
Most importantly we still have each other.
So these little socks, as well as every project that I’ve completed this summer, seem like little emblems of hope. Hope for wellness and security. For creativity and peace. For a little piece of normality in a very abnormal world.
And hope that whatever is happening in your world, you have an equivalent touchstone. Today feels gloomy both in the UK and the USA, but we have come this far, folks. We can make it!
Well – the colour is totally hopeful! I share your feelings about the situation in the States. Heartbreaking captures it well. I just hope that – with the many necessary changes that must come over the next phase – there is kindness on both sides and that violence is limited. But the world’s about to see how divisive politics and a society that builds half of the population up on the backs of the other half is going to play out, “new world” style. I don’t know that I’m particularly optimistic today but I’m trying… In this year, I think Dave will understand how sock knitting (while very important!!) may need to take a bit of a break. But it means you’ll be that much more motivated next year. xo PS: I’ve wanted to try that West Yorkshire Spinners yarn! Now I have even more motivation.
So thankful that the Tangerine Twit has been ousted, but you’re so right that this is now where the work starts.
Trumps rhetoric is so divisive and I struggle to comprehend the immense support he has.
We have many of the same divisions in this country. Our government has just had to do another u-turn over feeding children who fall beneath the poverty line. It’s an abomination.
But whilst we’ve had lots of protests in recent months, we don’t have an armed populace in the way that America does. The images of folks at a Trump rally openly carrying firearms is truly terrifying.
There is long way to go, but hopefully the first step has been taken.