The Other MineCraft Socks

Okay, I'll admit it, I'm on a Minecraft kick.  I had just finished knitting Little Bear's Minecraft socks when his older brother asked if I could do socks for him next.  Frog Buckets (yes, that's what he likes to be called) picked out his yarn from the big box of yarn.  I've been gifted a lot of yarn lately, thanks to some wonderful people, so we've got some options to work with.  He chose this yarn, kind of earthy, and with shades of green and a hint of blue.  It's Comfort Sock by Berroco, a nylon and acrylic blend.  I can personally say I wouldn't have chosen it because I don't do acrylic for my feet.  My kids, on the other hand, do just fine with acrylic on their feet, so it's a perfect choice for my son.  My next challenge was finding a pattern.

I'm not entirely sure what I was going for when I started searching patterns.  I knew I was looking for something free, knit in fingering weight, and had a picture with the pattern.  Somehow I came across the pattern for what was called MineCraft Socks.  Given my son is obsessed with Minecraft, I wanted to check it out.  I must admit, I didn't see why these were called "MineCraft Socks".  I didn't think they at all looked like anything Minecraft.  To me, it looked more like a hex pattern on the Ravelry page.  It didn't make any sense, but my son decided he had to have them, so that's what I made.  I started up my MineCraft Socks for Frog Buckets.  He was super excited.

At first I didn't get it, but it wasn't long before I started to see what the designer might have been getting at.  A few rounds later and I started to notice, yes, that's kind of how the pixel pattern on the blocks kind of looks, at least when you're building with constructed stuff.  It doesn't scream Minecraft to me, but knowing it was Minecraft, it did make sense.  I just don't think I would have figured it out if I didn't know that the pattern was named for the game.  Most importantly, my son likes them, and that's what truly matters.  I'm actually finding I love the pattern too.  I might just have to try this again for the other kids.  It's easy enough to modify for various foot sizes.

Not long after I started these socks, they came on an adventure with me.  It's been a while since I've had a project to knit on the go, at least to easily take with me.  I've taken my knitting with me before, but it's not the easiest to take knitting along with me when I'm working on projects that are too quick or require too much paying attention.  These were perfect to knit on the bus.

Actually, I was really surprised because I not only was able to knit them on the bus, but I knit them on the walk home too.  It was about a thirty minute walk from the bus, so I was able to get a lot done.  The only down side was that I ended up knitting it too far!  I had to tink back an entire pattern repeat in order to put the toe on.  I guess that will teach me to knit while walking!  I should probably reserve that for things like knee socks.  Then I can knit for rounds without having to worry about it.

After the toe was finally done, it looked pretty sharp.  In fairness, I can't really review the pattern completely because I didn't use the recommended heel.  I prefer a short row heel for my kids' socks because it's easier to recalculate the heel than with a flap and gusset.  I also didn't use the toe in the instructions.  I'll be honest in saying I didn't really understand it.  I might have gotten it if I had knit it as I was doing the pattern, but I just didn't feel like it.  I decided I'd rather go with something I both knew and was certain I enjoyed.  The pattern and the yarn actually work out pretty well together.  I love how it turned out.  If it wasn't an acrylic yarn, I might consider making some up for me!  I might just use a different yarn and do it anyway.

For the longest time I was stuck on the idea that I had to constantly progress with my knitting.  I had to do something harder, something more challenging and new.  Now I'm finding I'm knitting a lot of very basic socks, which is better than I thought it would be.  I thought I'd be getting bored, but I'm feeling pretty good about these.  I'm knitting up some fantastic socks for my kids, stuff I can stick in a box of Christmas stuff for my kids.

The second sock is going up quickly enough, which is almost sad because I really like knitting them, and now I'm going to have to find a new pattern to knit.  I know socks go quickly enough, especially when they're for small feet, but I never anticipate them going this fast.  I would joke that I'm going to run out of yarn at this rate, but I know there's no chance of that happening.  I've got plenty of yarn for once.  I'm just hoping I can get some bigger patterns started soon, that way I won't have the disappointment of knowing it's all over much too soon!