On the morning of our first full day at Squam a few weeks back, my friend and cabin mate Mary Jane Mucklestone popped out of her room, declared that she was ready to go, and proceeded to make pretty much every single person at the retreat fall in love with her. In her effortlessly MJ way, she was wearing a sort of prim, navy, polka-dotted shirtdress with her Kanoko Socks and a pair of black Doc Martens boots, and nobody has ever looked cooler tromping around the woods of New Hampshire. (I couldn’t take a photo that did the outfit justice.) This adorable spotted socks pattern of hers had been among my favorites of the many stunning projects in the third issue of Making, the Dots issue, from the moment it arrived, but that was the day I went from admiring them to coveting them, and I may have to knit them, even if I’ll never be as cool as MJM.
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Love the socks.
Really “adorable spotted socks”!!! I was almost buying the 3rd issue of Making when I asked myself: what if they don’t ship it to Brazil? Do you ship orders to Brazil Karen?
Hi, Elenice — this is DG in the shipping department. We do ship to Brazil; shipping an issue of Making is $22 (sorry; magazines are heavy!).
Thank you! It’s almost the price of the magazine! Let me thank for a while.
I love those socks!!!! Very understated and generally perfect.
One sock finished the other on the needles. No one is as cool as MJ ❤❤😂
Definitely didn’t put in that laughing/crying emoji?
Love, love, love the socks! But, I think the Olive Oyl combat boots hide their beauty. I would opt for shoes that show more of the design to the best advantage. If I spend the time to knit them, I’d want to flaunt them!
I’m definitely making those socks and I want to wear them with THOSE BOOTS.
Outfit and sock perfection! Any further details on the dress?
Sorry, don’t know.
Just bought some yarn to make those because they are the cutest!
Very pretty and you are talented.
I’d love to hear your thoughts about sock yarn. I have been an avid sock knitter but i’ve cooled a bit since learning about superwash and its impact on the environment. Would love to know how you approach socks, sock yarn and slow fashion… Are socks a loophole??? (I’ve been driving myself a bit nuts with this and i miss making socks… thanks-in-advance)!
I’m not a sock knitter, and that’s one of many things holding me back. I love the idea of sock knitting, but A) I don’t really like to wear socks, other than around the house, B) I’m extremely hard on socks and shoes — seems silly to put handknit socks on my crusty feet, and C) yeah, I don’t do superwash. So the only thing I can really even consider is knitting house socks in nice sturdy rustic wool and hoping I don’t wear them out too quickly!
Thanks, Karen! I really appreciate this (and Julia’s response! Maybe vintage yarn is the way to go…). I love making and wearing wool socks and I do wear mine when we get the rare snow storm… I just wish I knew of more options. I even remember Clara Parkes book on socks not having much in fingering weight non superwash options.
Thanks again for taking the time to weigh in!
Just gonna say… you can knit socks from non-superwash fingering weight yarn (I mean, socks are older than superwash). It’s not as easy as finding superwash “sock yarn”, but there are good yarn candidates out there. That would actually be an interesting project, making a list of non-superwash yarns with fiber content and construction appropriate to reasonably hard-wearing socks… seems like someone should have already done this, but I’m not finding anything with a cursory search.
The one that immediately comes to my mind is Blue Moon’s Tigger Targhee http://www.bluemoonfiberarts.com/newmoon/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=182_1212
For sure. I should have included D) I don’t knit fingering. All of which is why I just don’t know enough about what the good sock yarn options are, but surely someone has compiled such a thing!
I totally forgot another great candidate, if we’re talking sock yarns for the farm yarn lover: Solitude’s 3-ply Targhee https://solitudewool.com/collections/local-single-breed-yarns/products/targhee-3-ply-sock-yarn
Or, for sport weight socks, their Dorset Hike https://solitudewool.com/collections/local-single-breed-yarns/products/dorset-hike
With the right fiber (and knit firmly enough), it is possible to have machine washable socks without using superwash yarn!
Thank you, Julia! (I had the same thought about that list! Fingers crossed someone might consider it. But for now: thank you for the suggestion about Blue Moon’s Tiger Targhee! one more for the list: Solitude wool’s 3ply targhee sock yarn (though it has nylon in it). There’s also their 2ply yarn that I’m thinking might work!
That’s it, I need some Docs in my life again. The coolest.
LOVE
Funny thing, I just start this pair of sock for the Summer of Basic chalenge. They will be dark gray with yellow, orange, pink and red dots.
I love those socks, but really have no interest in other patterns in the magazine. Does she ever sell single patterns?
The Making patterns do eventually revert to the designers. But also, just fyi, that issue is an absolute trove of great projects — dyeing, embroidering, patchwork, sewing, crochet, knitting … it’s amazing, and there’s no way really to convey how much great content is packed in there.
Thanks, Karen.
I love this! Have been eyeing those socks, this confirms my desire to knit them. And inspired me to bring my Docs out of the cupboard again.
I don’t usually respond to comments, but I wanted to state my views. I have enjoyed following your blog, and even after 45 years of knitting I have found new ideas and techniques interesting and challenging. My first comment on the boots/shoes seems to have inspired some snarky comments, and I want to explain that I’m 70 years old, did not know that these shoes were Doc Martins, or popular with most of your followers. I don’t see wearing these, as my choice of shoes has become more limited, as well as my choice of wardrobe. When you put yourself out on the net, you may want to remember that your followers are diverse with many backgrounds – I didn’t think that I would be made to feel I didn’t have a place to participate here. My original statement was not an indictment of your choices, just an ignorance of youthful fashion on my part.
Hi, Cheryl. I’m so sorry you felt snarked at but want to reassure you that it looks to me like a simple misunderstanding. You mentioned you don’t love MJ’s boots, which is obviously your right, and several other people mentioned that they love them. Those comments were just their own responses to my post, as yours was, and were not intended as direct replies to anything you said. (They would have been nested under your comment as this one is, had they been sent in reply to you.) I don’t see that anyone was being snarky — just a succession of people weighing in on my post about her socks and boots, a mix of yays and nays.
For the record, I’m almost 50, MJ is older than I am, and I suspect many of us loving this look are nostalgic for the time when we were a bit younger and Docs were all the rage. But nobody is suggesting you have to wear or like them, or condemning you for not doing so.
I hope that clears it up. I thought your comment was great and hope you won’t hesitate to weigh in again! I was out on the trail last night thinking “she’s so right about Olive Oyl, but I just love that look.”
I feel a little embarrassed (red-faced)! I don’t usually make these kinds of comments, but my excuse is sleep-deprivation from two new additions to the family – a new puppy, and a bonus grandbaby! Please know that I appreciate your response. Now, back to knitting.
I keep thinking I should try a pair of socks…
I can’t wait for the holiday weekend so I can cast these on!!!
I am knitting these socks right now. They are super cute so far! I love knitting socks and have been trying to use non-superwash when possible. I was nervous at first about how these yarns will hold up as I am very hard on socks. I have used Quince and Co. finch and chickadee for socks and they are holding up well so far. The yarn has felted a bit on the soles and made them a bit more durable. O-wool has organic superwash I would like to try sometime soon. And I am hoping to try Mondim from Retrosaria. It is a nonsuperwash sock yarn.
Thank you for sharing your experience with finch and chickadee! I was curious about how these might hold up!
I am so not a sock knitter, but I am in love with that pattern! Might have to make it into mittens…hmmm….
You’re plenty cool.
Funny how hard it is to just start knitting a pair of socks. I’ve knit one pair, liked it a lot, and probably won’t do another for a long time, even though I went on a self-striping yarn buying binge on the strength of my one sock-knitting experience.
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