Christmas Socks

This year I decided to knit socks for my family and closest friends as Christmas presents.
I started early - Ravelry tells me that I cast on my first pair in March and finished it in April. There were periods when I felt like knitting socks and long months when my socks in progress were left untouched. The intended recipients of the finished socks also changed - as Christmas approached I realized that I neither had the time nor the inclination to knit all the socks I had planned, so my immediate family members - husband and children, were crossed off the list, as they receive socks knitted by me regularly during the year. And I'll definitely knit them more socks in 2019.

I love this picture, sent by a friend who truly appreciated her socks:

All of the socks I knitted this year were made out of sock yarn, hand dyed by me:

I've blogged about most of the socks in my Christmas pile, but the last two pairs. The latest is this gradient cherry color pair out of my recent sock yarn dyeing session.

Pattern: Flying North by Maria Montzka, 58 sts
Yarn: Alize Superwash, hand dyed, 60 g
Needle: 2.5 mm
Time to knit: 5 days

I like how these turned out and I believe the unobtrusive design compliments the gradient color transitions.

And a pair of men's socks, 64 stitches, my own design, afterthought heel. I dyed the yarn in a long skein, dipping it in denim blue (dark blue + black). To spice the stripes I added some light ribbing texture:

Pattern: Denim Socks (personal pattern)
Yarn: Alize Superwash, 75 g, hand dyed
Needle: 2.5 mm
Time to knit: unknown

For striping socks I prefer the afterthought heel, as it best preserves the nature of the stripes and mirrors the toes of the socks.