Welcome welcome welcome to the kick off for the Summer of Socks 2008!!!!
I think this year is proving to be extra special already with over 1500 people signed up to play along and a Ravelry group that’s just gone crazy! I know by now many of you have already cast on your first pair (myself included!) and I hope you are enjoying our first day of sock knitting. To set the festivities off with a bang, I’m very happy to present you all with an interesting little interview with Wendy of Wendyknits!
We all know that you’re an accomplished sock knitter now, but can you tell us about your sock knitting beginnings? Were you in love with sock knitting the first time you tried it? Who helped you with your first sock? What did it come out like?
I resisted knitting socks for a long time because I didn’t see the point of knitting something that was so disposable. I caved after seeing Opal Tiger yarn in its first iteration a few years ago. I did some research online and knitted toe-up socks with an “easy” toe and a short-row heel. Those first socks looked like this:
Be gentle with me and try not to laugh too much when looking at the photo. I had no help or guidance!
For a first pair, they sure look pretty darn good to me!
I’ve noticed that you use a wide range of colors ::cough:: unlike some people I know (me!) ::cough:: and yarns in your designs. Do you have an absolute favorite color and fiber or do they all appeal to you on some level?
My favorite colors are earth-tones – browns and greens. But I will happily knit socks in pretty much any color. My favorite fiber is wool (surprise, surprise). Merino! And more Merino!
MMMMmmm… who wouldn’t like Merino?!?!
So what kind of qualities do you look for in a good sock yarn? Do you think nylon content is a plus or a detriment? And what about some of the “newer” fibers (such as bamboo and seacell)? How do you think these effect the quality of a sock yarn?
Merino, with a firm twist, please. Nylon is a good thing, because sock yarns with a bit of nylon added will make the resulting socks stand up to wear much better. But I prefer to knit with 100% merino wool. I’ve knit with a wool/bamboo mix and a wool/seacell mix, but I still like plain wool best. You can keep tencel. 
I haven’t had a chance to try some of these newer fibers in a sock yarn myself yet, but I bet I’ll agree with you when I do.
What about designing. How did you make the transition from knitting socks to designing your own?
It is all part of my evil plan to make everything in the world conform exactly to what I think it should be. I only like to knit socks toe-up with certain heels, so I therefore design socks the way I like to knit them.
Actually, I started out knitting socks according to my own pattern (if you could call it that) and have only knit a very few socks by other people’s patterns – fewer than 5 pair, I’d say.
Wow! I don’t think many of us can say that.
Where do you find your inspiration for your designs?
Everywhere! I see sock designs in everything I look at. Some of them spring full-grown from my brain, and some are the result of my doodles on graph paper. Some start with a pattern from a stitch dictionary, and some are totally original.
Can you tell us more about the specific inspiration for the SOS’08 sock that you’ve designed just for us ::we’re not worthy! we’re not worthy!:: ?
I set out to design a sock that was easy so that beginners would be comfortable knitting it, but was pretty enough to appeal to a wide audience. I wanted something open and lacy because that seemed right for summer. And I wanted to do a design that worked in a wide range of sizes. I wrote it up in 5 different sizes and it’s a pretty easy stitch pattern that looks nice in a lot of different yarns, so hopefully I’ve achieved the universality that I was striving for.
I’m sure you’ve achieved that goal and I can’t wait to see the socks that people will be making during SOS with your pattern!
You’ve talked about using published stitch patterns in a few of your designs. When you use a stitch pattern from a book or other source when designing a sock, how do you determine when you’ve changed something enough to make it “your own”?
I’m moving away from using stitch dictionaries at all because I don’t want to duplicate someone else’s pattern. The last few sock designs I’ve done using stitches from dictionaries I’ve given away as freebies. But I do think it is okay to incorporate a known pattern as an element in a sock. I mean, it’s hard to do a lace pattern without doing a k2tog yo, right? The originality of a sock comes from how the designer puts the different stitches together.
I’ve noticed that many of your sock patterns focus on texture or lace patterns. Do you have any plans for socks involving colorwork any time soon?
I’ve been thinking about colorwork in socks a lot lately, but haven’t done anything about it. I have not done any colorwork socks thus far because I find them uncomfortable to wear for the most part. (And, as I said, it is all about me.) Of course there are exceptions to this and I may explore colorwork sock designs at some point. I tend to go through phases in my knitting focus. So you never know.
I’ll definitely be waiting with baited breath to see what you come up with if you do delve into some colorwork!
I was so excited when I found out that you’ll be the author of a new sock knitting book early next year! With so many sock books on the market, can you tell us more about your new book? What makes it unique (besides the magnificent Wendy magic contained therein of course!)?
What makes it unique is that it is all about toe-up socks. Not only does it contain 23 patterns, but it has a huge reference section on essential techniques for knitting toe-up socks. The techniques section is comprised of step-by-step instructions, all illustrated with drawings. And it also includes every tip and trick I can think of to make your sock knitting more fun and enjoyable.
That sounds like it will be a great reference for those of us already in love with toe up sock knitting and a fantastic resource for those wanting to try it. I know a few of our SOS participants are going to be stepping into toe up waters this time around. We’ll all be counting the days until it hits the shelves!
Most people know I’m a bit of a spinning addict. I know you’ve got a spinning wheel. Have you ever tried to spin you’re own sock yarn? Any tips to share?
I have spun my own sock yarn and knit socks from that yarn. Here they are:
I’m not sure I’d call my handspun sock yarn a big success – it’s a bit overspun so it’s somewhat scratchy. I haven’t done any spinning in over a year and when I was spinning I was a novice at best, so I have no advice to offer, apart from “don’t be like me.”
Well they sure do look nice in that picture!
There’s a rumor out there that you don’t keep many of the socks you knit. Where do they end up?
My family is well outfitted with handknit socks, and they are also foisted upon friends and acquaintances.
Sounds very similar to most of us.
Finally, do you have any personal goals for SOS this year?
Not really – last year I kept track of how many pairs I knit and made an effort to knit a lot. Right now I’ve got so many things going on that I don’t want to set any goals that I’ll feel pressured to try to meet. In fact, I haven’t picked out a pattern for my first SOS pair of socks.
I guess I ought to do that pretty soon, huh?
I suppose you should!
Thanks again Wendy for sharing your thoughts with all of us! I’d also like to thank all of the Ravelers that suggested questions for this interview.
Now what are you still doing here?!? Go knit those socks!!! 
News flash: The e-mails for Wendy’s pattern have been sent! Please check your spam filters if you don’t see it in your inbox. There were several e-mails that bounced and several that were malformed to start with. I am currently figuring out how to deal with those issues and will keep you posted.
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SOS'08
