Socks

     I save socks. I save unmatched socks. I'm worried that one day I'll find the match. I'll pull out the saved sock, unite the two into usefulness once more. But that happens so seldom. Why should it happen ever? I have found those socks one at a time over the years between layers of hay and muck in the barn, and under the rugs in our truck, and rolled up in the dried mud under the porch. In the garden is a good place to find socks, mine have ended up there.

     Again, no wonder, we are a barefoot family, everyone, except my husband, who never has missing socks unless the children or I borrow them. At least one of my children every day will make a mad dash, in the winter snow or mud, barefoot to up the driveway to check the mail or to close up the animals at night. Needless to say what our feet look like during the summer.We do have good intentions and start off well shod, socks included, but they do not always come back as a team with the feet. OK, my bad habit handed down to the next generation.

   But a barefoot mama still saves socks. Maybe this is why I go barefoot -to save socks.  There is no mystery in a full missing sock basket. My mother had one and my grandmother as well...I'm guessing. This is the way things are here.

    A few days ago we made a huge attempt in getting the sock story straightened out. Decidedly there were plenty of socks to be had by all and then we could be well rid of the socks without heels or toes. Still I couldn't throw them away, I've been hanging on to some of these for eleven years.

    I sat down with the little boys, and with a few brave whacks with the scissors, set about making a pot holder, or two, or three. But prongs on my pot holder frame are too short and my homemade loops kept popping off. I knew the limit to my patience, after all there wasn't much left after tying my three oldest children down to the sock pile for two hours.

                                                                                     I have a rug, crocheted, made with short sections of cotton knit. If I messed around maybe I could figure out how it was made...   

            I started by making a chain with the loops to a desired length.

 Continue to do loop- de- loops around the black foundation chain to the end. Shown here color loop by color loop.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Keep in mind that loops will be different sizes and degrees of stretchiness. Each loop will make one stitch. Keep it loose and simple. It helps to understand crochet. Then you will see how it should be to interlock the loops together.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Your fingers act as a crochet hook. 

Meanwhile my daughter was busy with her own fun- with- socks project.

A finished rug. This took two sittings to complete. Quit a bit quicker than it took me to do this blog post.