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?

As if Diwali weren’t colorful and fun enough, The Festival of Lights: A Lift-the-flap Diwali Celebration by Namita Moolani Mehra, illustrated by Darshika Varm, makes it even more fun to read about with flaps and things to lift and pull to see more information or details in the illustrations.

The book is a story about a family getting ready for Diwali and what happens on the different days of the five-day celebration. There’s cleaning, shopping, crafting, food preparation and getting the home altar ready for the big day.

It covers decorating the outside of the house with rangoli, diyas and lanterns, buying sweets to share with family and friends, the sights and scents of the mandir (home temple), getting dressed up in new fancy clothes, the story of Diwali and celebrations with relatives.

Flaps (there are more than 140 in all) give you vocabulary words for different foods and definitions, as well as fun things like what’s inside the shopping basket or where the cat is hanging out. They also help illuminate the story of Diwali, which is the triumph of good over evil as Lord Ram defeated the demon Ravana to save his wife, Sita.

This pretty and colorful book helps kids understand what Diwali is and how it is celebrated, regardless of whether they practice it at home. This would be a nice book to keep in a classroom (it’s rated for kids ages 3-7) or to have at home to teach kids about Diwali even if it’s not something you celebrate. Where I live there are a lot of people from India so we are probably exposed to Diwali more than some other regions of America, but it’s a nice holiday to know about wherever you live.

Combine with the book Diwali and check out some fun lantern crafts and printables for kids to round out your experience.

About the book: 24 pages, hardcover, published 2025 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail prices $22.99.

Have you read?