I’m taking a short break from my planned lace knitting to knit socks for the most appreciative member of my family. I actually don’t mind knitting mansize socks. I know that some people are all eek! big socks! but truly these are less effort and take less time than knitting something like lacy girly socks where I have to concentrate on the pattern far more.

These are just basic mansize socks using the usual recipe from the free Regia pattern leaflet (cast on 68, half for the heel flap, etc) and I’m using Trekking XXL in shade #184.

I think Trekking is taking over from Opal as my favourite bog standard sock yarn. I may have whined complained mentioned that I’ve not been enamoured of the Opal colourways recently. The new ones are just more of the same and I like to use self-striping sock yarns when I want a simple, mindless sock to knit. This colourway is knitting up in a very pleasing way and meets the approval of Mr B, which is the most important factor!

I don’t knit with 100% wool sock yarns as a rule because I am rubbish and tend to felt things in the wash. However, I did machine wash the Jules socks for the first time yesterday (30 degrees, wool cycle) and nothing bad happened, which was a relief. I’ve been handwashing them which means they have only been worn a maximum of three times because I am slack and never remember to do it. Now at least they’ll get a bit more wear!

My break from lace knitting was self-inflicted. I did the very stupid thing of trying to knit lace while being absorbed in Masterchef and ended up admiring potato dauphinoise and wrecking the pattern. Unfortunately, it wasn’t something I could fudge as I may sometimes do with other lace patterns *looks innocent* and it had to go. Now I’m having a crisis where I don’t want to cast on again and other patterns are looking more tempting. But more about those in another post which I can make secret and hidden from prying eyes.