Question for all of you Sock Knitters (and a giveaway hidden inside…)

Socks are a great portable “take it and go” project, I don’t have to tell you that. However. For me, socks take and E.T.E.R.N.I.T.Y to knit! Forever! I would love to get into knitting socks, but when it takes longer to knit one sock than a whole sweater, I lose my drive.

So, how do you, as sock knitters deal with that? I’d love to find a pattern that uses worsted, dk, or even sport weight. Can you steer me towards one?

The last catalog that KnitPicks sent out (not this past one, but the one before that) featured socks. The socks, all supposedly hand knitted, were all lined up in a drawer and looked so soft, comfortable and squishy. Made me want to knit nothing but socks the rest of my life.

I know what you’re saying, figure it out yourself, how hard could it be, but I’d rather hear from you tried and true knitters on your failsafe patterns.

Anyone? Anyone at all?

The above book, Sock Innovation is by Cookie A. Pretty cool book, lots and lots of neat ideas but beyond that, it’s a technique book. Take the cuff you want, the heel and toe you want, choose a gusset and put them all together, the way you want to. Even an after thought heel. (there is hope for my sock knitting after all!). There’s a chapter on stitch techniques, working with charts, taking a written stitch pattern and converting it to a sock pattern and lots more. The socks in this book are all gorgeous, there aren’t any I don’t like, so why give it away? I’m sure someone else could better be served by this book. Someone like you!

So, of all the comments that I get (steering me toward sock patterns that use worsted, dk or sport weight yarn), I’ll send an email to everyone. First one to respond with their mailing address gets the book. K?

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Human brains are pretty amazing, allowing us to think, feel, create, communicate, move and more. But humans aren’t the only animals with cool brains, as Crab Museum explains in the book The No-Brainer Brain Explainer (illustrated by Bruno Valasse).

This book, aimed at kids in grades 1-4, is colorful and silly but also educational about how brains actually work, with billions of neurons sending electrical and chemical signals around the body.

“Everything we think, feel and experience comes from an electrical relay race, with neurons passing chemical batons to each other,” the book says. “The constant chatter of billions of brain cells creates your entire world.”

The book compares the brains of mammals to those of crabs (the book is “written” by a crab after all) and notes that crabs have fewer neurons and of course are much smaller, but they have separate parts of their brains that control their eyes and their legs. Crabs are also capable of remembering things, using tools and solving puzzles.

Some animals’ brains allow them to know more about their world in different ways from humans, such as spiders being sensitive to vibrations in their webs and catfish having an amazing sense of taste, with taste sensors all over their bodies.

It notes that 95 percent of brain activity goes toward things we do unconsciously, like breathing, walking and catching a ball flying toward us. It also talks about dreams, memory, how our emotions try to predict the future, where brains came from and fun facts about brains. For example, did you know a sperm whale is believed to have the biggest brain of any creature that’s even lived? Their brains weigh 18 pounds, compared to just 2.5 pounds for humans.

Information on what creatures have the smallest brains, the toughest brains, the most brains and those who actually eat their own brains will delight kids (and maybe gross them out a little bit). They’ll also enjoy learning about the mycelium network of fungi, which is like a brain without a body, and slime molds, which are like a brain without a brain.

It ends talking about why human brains are so special because we’ve found ways to work together, communicate and build communities on a scale bigger than any other animal.

Kids and adults alike will enjoy this colorful, silly and informational book about brains!

About the book: 64 pages, hardcover. Published 2026 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail price $19.99.

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Have you read?