Knitting Relics: More Socks

I was in Kansas for a quick trip over the weekend to play a recital at the school where I did my undergraduate work. Our suitcase arrived a whole day after we did, and my duet partner got stuck in Chicago overnight and didn't get into town until about 6 hours before the performance, but despite those hitches, everything went quite well.

As it happens, I have quite a lot of family in central Kansas, including my parents-in-law. A couple of years ago, I made each of them a pair of socks for some occasion - probably birthday presents. How thoughtful of me, no? I'd completely forgotten about these pairs of socks until my mother-in-law brought them over to me. Let's see how they held up, shall we?

Example 1: blue socks for my father-in-law.



It appears that I

1. used regular non-superwash wool, and
2. failed to tell him that they shouldn't be machine-washed and dried.

Oops.


At one time, these blue beauties fit a medium-sized man's foot. Now they're completely stiff and too small even to be oven mitts. Perhaps I can salvage them by cutting out mittens for Daniel. (Yes, even though I make hats endlessly for my little guy, I have yet to make him any mittens. I'm a bad, bad mother.)

Example 2: brown cabled socks for my mother-in-law



I chose the color so carefully; she wears a lot of deep, dark brown. I chose the pattern so carefully; a pretty cabled number from Knitting on the Road. I knit them up so beautifully. I also finished the toes so crappily they came apart the first time she wore them.

Bugger.