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I just finished Dan’s second pair of birthday socks!

(Yeah, I ran out of green at the second toe :)

I actually knit two whole pairs in time for his birthday (back in May) but they didn’t fit so I ripped them out and started again. And then I had to finish the little quilt by fair delivery day, so the socks had to wait a bit. But now they’re all done! Here’s the first pair:

(Forgot to knit the ribbing on smaller needles)

Excuse me while I rave about this yarn again — it’s Briggs and Little’s “Tuffy”. It knits up into thick, tough, strong socks that wear like iron. Our Tuffy socks are our absolute favorites. I have two pairs, and Dan now has four! You can buy it from several online stores, but I like to get it from Halcyon. They ship *fast*. They sell it as “Canadian Sock Yarn“. You can squeeze a pair of socks from a single ball of yarn if you make shortish cuffs.

Here are my notes on how I made them:

cast on 40

(Size 1 needles) k2p2 for 8 rounds

(Size 2 needles) 18 rounds stockinet

green stripe pattern (1 green, 1 grey, 3 green, 1 grey, 1 green) then 3 rounds grey

heel flap on 20 for 12 ridges:

Here’s my new favorite heel:

knit across half the stitches from the heel flap. Knit one additional stitch, ssk, knit 1, and turn the work. On the next (wrong side) row, slip 1, purl 3, purl 2 together, purl 1, turn. On the following row, work to within one stitch of the turning point from the previous row, ssk, knit 1, turn; slip one, purl to within one stitch of the turning point from the previous row, purl 2 together, purl 1, turn.

4 more green stripes, three rounds grey, then toe.