Sock Show Thursday: With My Thanks to the Tsock Tsarina

The knitting community recently learned that our lovely Tsock Tsarina is having some pretty serious health issues.

Too often, we lose someone without warning and without the opportunity to say thank you. Having gained a little advance knowledge this time, I wanted to make sure she knew how much I appreciated her.

I learned to knit socks in 2009, over a weekend, from her Tsock 101 kit. I'm sure I've told the story here before but one the kids in my group at the library had asked to start a pair of socks and I'd given her the line I always gave my students when I had no idea how to do something "Sure! Let's start that next week." Thankfully the kit was already in my stash and one baby sock later, I was a sock knitter. I finished my first full pair in October 2009, and today I'm working on pair 72 out of Holiday Yarns FlockSock. Rather fitting, as I'm pretty sure I bought the kit from Holiday Yarns 7 years ago.

72 pair of socks. I've knit 1-2 pairs that were patterned but quickly fell into my beloved 1x1 ribbed socks. My hands pretty much have it memorized, I just show up for the heel turn and a bit for the toes and making sure they are close to the same size. And that's only from having worked through the top down instructions. Imagine what might happen if I go back and read the toe-up instructions.
 And I am just one knitter. The Tsock Tsarina has had profound influence far beyond me.

I am incredibly grateful that she shared with us this news, that she explained how she hopes the Tsock empire will live on. I am glad that I get to say how much her work has meant to me and how I've been confident to knit so many socks because of her excellent instructions.

From my own warm feet and the warm feet of those I've knit socks for: Thank You and many hugs.