Old Yarn, Green Socks

As much as I love the color green, these were starting to get just the tiniest bit on my nerves. But they're done (albeit unblocked):

Pattern: Gentleman's Plain Winter Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush
Yarn: Knit Picks Essential (75% superwash wool, 25% nylon), colorway Grass, two skeins
Needles: two 12" US 1 (2.5 mm) Addi Turbo circs
Started/Completed: July 16/July 23
Recipient: my father (but not until the holidays!)
Mods: changed the last few rows of the toe so I could kitchener (you know how I love to graft)

I'm pretty much completely certain that, excluding scraps and leftovers, this yarn was the oldest sock yarn in my stash. Now, I know what many of you are thinking: I've been knitting approximately 20 years, so how is it that my oldest sock yarn was only about two years old? Remember that for the vast majority of my knitting life, I was knitting garter stitch or ribbed scarves out of acrylic. It was only a little more than two years ago that I knit my first pair of socks. Shortly thereafter, I discovered Knit Picks and stashed my first KP sock yarns.

Because this yarn was so old, it was a bit more rustic, shall we say, than Essential has been in the last year to year and a half. This is still the generic wool instead of superwash merino, so it's not as soft, but I hardly think my father will know the difference. Socks knit from the same order of yarn were successfully tested by The Mister, the pickiest knitwear critic I know. The fabric will soften up with a wash, and I'm hoping a dip will cut down on the hairiness as well.

As long as I'm doing Christmas/Hannukah knitting in July, I cast on for some socks for my father-in-law in a much newer (and softer) batch of Essential Tweed in Flint. I'm sticking with a variation of my regular stockinette sock recipe for these so that I have to think even less while knitting.

There will be some more thoughtful sock knitting in my future, though -- my latest STR arrived today, with not one but two patterns!