The Sweetness of Socks

As much as I love a good sweater knit and I'm enjoying my sweater knitting a great deal, I don't always have the mental capacity for a long row like that. Sometimes I just need something smaller, more portable, more wonderful.
Enter: The knitted sock. Anyone who has read this blog at all or knows me in person knows how much joy I find in knitting socks. I am rarely without a sock project and the few times I find myself without one, I don't know what to do with my hands. I almost exclusively knit them when out and about and do not hesitate to whip out a sock and knit a few rounds anywhere. In line at the grocery store, waiting for a train, almost anything.
Lately I've been pretty obsessed with Vesper self-striping sock yarn. I love how soft it is to knit but it gets even softer after it's washed. So far all my pairs have worn really well (although I only knit my first pair last October so that's not very long-term yet.)
This year I've been participating in the Vesper Socks KAL in the Vesper group. I am loving choosing a skein of Vesper to knit each month and earlier this year, it encouraged me to buy a few skeins so I was sure to have enough to make it through the year. I'm yarn/fiber dieting now until my local knitting group's retreat weekend in Duluth and it kills me a little bit each time she posts that new colors are going up. (I have barely contained myself when it comes to Sweater Vest and honestly, I'd love to collect all the pretty colors.)
I have consoled myself by knitting Vesper that I already own. This is Dragon's Blood. I honestly wasn't too sure why I decided to buy it but I'm so glad I did. I really love how these look.

Despite my misgivings about how close in color they are to last month's socks, I'm not finding myself dragging my feet on them at all. I've finished the first sock and I'm working away on the second now. Right on schedule and if I focus on them for the weekend, I could probably finish the second sock.
I'm doing another toe-up sock pattern. This time the toe-up sock with Slip Stitch Heel (scroll down to help and download the Sock Templates.) I can't say why I've been drawn to toe-up socks lately. It's not as though I'm trying to use up as much yarn as I can but I don't mind them toe-up with these patterns and I'm actually enjoying them so onward I knit! Maybe it has actually converted me to a toe-up sock knitter. Only time will tell.
In the meantime, I'll just be over here with my stripey socks.