A Pattern for Socks

So, I knit a lot of socks.

Practically all of them are for myself, and the vast majority are worsted-weight boot socks. The benefits to wearing boot socks in boots are immesurable and discussed at length on lots of hiking and outdoors sites and blogs.  (So is the opinion that boot socks suck... but all of them are wrong ;)  While I started off wearing store-bought socks, they were expensive and rarely fit right, so I started knitting my own.

I started off with patterns I found in Patons "Pull Up Your Socks!" book I'd picked up while working at Creative Corner in Valley Junction, Iowa. The 'Hiking Socks' pattern worked Ok, and certainly did the job of teaching me the basics of making the heel flap and gusset approach work.  Still, after a couple of pairs, I started playing around with the pattern to make it fit a bit better.

After the next half-dozen pairs, I started to really get the hang of it.  The sizes allowed for in the book patter weren't nearly enough to suit me so I kept increasing the number of stitches I cast on.  I played with the details of the heel-turn reductions to get something that fit my narrow little heels properly without giving up the overall width the rest of my foot needed.  While some of the basics methods of the original pattern remained, I'd pretty well dialed in the modifications that made the sock work for me.

Then, just this week, I started teaching a sock-knitting workshop with my local knitting club and I realized that, while I might have the pattern so down in my mind I hardly realize when I've gone from doing ribbing on the cuff to reducing the gusset, that wasn't the best approach for teaching others how to do it.  So, I wrote it all down.

I've just put up on my ravelry page (linked below) my sock pattern.  It's not in pretty colors nor does it come with pictures of cute feet wearing perfectly knit, previously un-worn socks.  What it does have is a reasonably detailed description of how I make the socks that I love, with some hints and suggestions for how to make the pattern work for you.

The Lantern Moon rosewood needles I use to knit my socks are amazing and well worth the bucks you'll drop on them.  A full review of them will be forthcoming, but check them out.  For my yarn I tend to use whatever workhorse, 100% wool worsted-weight I've got to hand, but that often is Homespun from Bemidgi Woolen Mills.  It's not fancy, but it is a good, solid, basic yarn that I have depended on for many-a-project.  Again, a deeper review on it will come out shortly.

Regardless of what you choose, the pattern I use is meant for US#5-6 needles on a good worsted-weight yarn.  If you haven;t ever tried socks before, this might be a good time to give it a shot.  And if you decide you don't like some aspect or another of it, feel free to change it!  In that case, though, do me a favor and drop me a note on Ravelry.  I'd love to see what you're doing with it!

Hard Working socks are Hard Working

Basics Socks at Ravelry.com

Stowford Press Export Cider by Westons

Thanks to Allison at the Royal Mile for posing for a photo as well as excellent service

The Royal Mile in Des Moines, Iowa prides its self on keeping a wide array of imported and otherwise hard-to-find ciders and beers available in bottles in a long set of coolers behind the bar, right below their impressive selection of whiskeys and scotches.  Having been out of the cider-tasting game for a bit, I decided to dive back in while out to dinner with a friend not long ago and ordered a bottle of the Stowford Press Export Cider by Westons.  I'd had a good sample of the Westons line of ciders while working in England in 2008, and I have find memories of the kick delivered by Old Rosie and the Westons Organic cider I had there.  Stowford Press Export is an authentic taste of the flavor and character of those hard, flat ciders from across the pond with some added carbonation to appeal more to an North American palette.

Westons is a family-owned cider-maker based in Herfordshire, England.  At least one of their ciders can be found on tap in many of the pubs scattered across the United Kingdom.  While most of their line consists of flat ciders, ciders without carbonation, with a medium- to full-bodied flavor and a high alcohol content, as high as 12% when I was there, Stowford Press is marketed in England as a light cider.  The export version I had in Des Moines was 6% ABV, lower than some of the other Westons ciders, but higher than the English Stowford (4.5%).

The cider came in a chilled bottle and a chilled pint glass.  While cold, the carbonation was enough to reinforce a crisp front end without numbing the richness of the body.  The flavor was centered around a sound apple but without some of the over-ripe overtones that sometimes accompany other Westons ciders like the Old Rosie.  As the cider warmed through the meal, the presence of the body gradually grew but never became overpowering.  The carbonation, never extreme, remained present but to the side of the body of the cider through the last drop.  In my case, the Stowford Press Export was paired with a plate of Shepard's Pie with a dark gravy, but I would expect it to go well with any savory meal of red meat.

While not as refreshing as the Strongbow Traditional that has been my mainstay for many years, Stowford Press Export Cider is an excellent choice for drinking at a measured pace or during a meal.  Having more than one or two in an evening might be a bit much, as rich as it is.  This ought not to detract from enjoying the full range of flavors this cider will offer over the course of dinner or a good bull session.  A great sipping cider that I'll be happy to have again.

Stowford Press Export Cider
16oz Bottle - $10 @ The Royal Mile - Des Moines, IA
http://www.westons-cider.co.uk/