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Materials: 1 skein Opal Magic (75% wool, 25% polyamid) sock yarn in #1051; two size 0 circular needles Time: Months of very intermittent knitting at friends’ houses. Cost: $14 yarn + $13 Addi Turbo needle = $27...

Materials: 1 skein Opal Magic (75% wool, 25% polyamid) sock yarn in #1051; two size 0 circular needles

Time: Months of very intermittent knitting at friends’ houses.

Cost: $14 yarn + $13 Addi Turbo needle = $27

Now that I'm working on more big, less-easy-to-transport projects like sweaters, I've come to appreciate the portable genius of socks. No pattern necessary (after your first pair, anyway), little concentration required, and mistakes can easily pass for "character." And the more Wisconsin winters that I go through, the more appreciative I am of the warm/cushy/non-sweat factor.

Significant changes from my first pair of knit socks include casting on more stitches at the toe -- does nobody else get a pointy-toe elfin effect with most toe-up sock patterns? -- and using the k4, p1tbl pattern (idea from here around the leg and on the top of the foot between the heel and the toe increases. It looks sharp, I think.

This pair is also a little large on me, proably because of slight expansion after a couple of machine-washes. But it's not like it matters -- they stay in place when I wear them, and it's not like I care if my socks make my toes look fat. Now, if only I could finish more than one pair of socks per year, I'd be set.