Monday, July 16, 2007

Socks... and purple streaks!

My sock drawer has been tagged by Zuma!

So, here, without delay, is my sock drawer. It's part of the ugly blue chest of drawers I got for cheap when I was moving into my first unfurnished apartment, and as a grad student, I had to take whatever I could get.


'Regular' socks are to the right, hand-knit socks (the ones on the far right were knit by me, the purple lace socks came from stariel, the green ones from AKknitter, and the bit of red that's peeking out are the sock swap socks I got from Jespere), and under the whole thing, there are tights.


This is a very special pair of socks. They are the first socks I ever knit. I made them when I was 17. My parents went to the US for Christmas, but I stayed home in Germany because my high school graduation exams were coming up and I wanted to study. Hella Mantwill, a lady who looked after me and my sister while we were growing up, slept over at night to make sure I was safe, and she knit socks. I saw what she was doing and wanted to try, so she brought some green worsted weight wool she had lying around and showed me how. No pattern, just 48 stitches, and lots of patience.
She has been gone for almost 5 years now, but I'm holding on to these socks. We had such a good time watching movies, talking, and knitting socks. She gave me the gift of sock knitting without fear because she never once said it would be hard to learn. And next to her, it wasn't.


At this point, I think I also need to mention that I have an obsession with fashion tights. I love funky tights, and I have an entire drawer full of different kinds, from stripey to bat to a Baroque pastoral scene to solar system (seen here at the top).

And, since we're talking fashion: I had some purple extensions put in today! I love the way they look against my own color, and the best part is that they stay in for 4-6 months and can then be taken out without damaging my hip-length hair. That's so much better than bleaching and dyeing.


And now, back to socks. Hmmm, whose sock drawers would I like to see?

Oooh, I know! How about pixieriot, stariel and weezalana?

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the purple extensions. I definitely want to do something different with my hair after the wedding-- maybe green ones for me?? or not....

Unknown said...

Is this where I admit I don't have an actual sock drawer? Shelves, baskets, socks are ALL OVER. But this is my week of doing laundry and organizing my closet, so I'll get all my socks in one place and share a pic toward the end of the week.

Bezzie said...

What a great story!!

I've got a couple pairs of kooky tights from foottraffic.com...if you haven't, you should check them out!

Maureen said...

Love the socks and the tights! Purple adds lots to your hair! Love it!

Jo said...

I didn't know you had hip-length hair. I want to see a pic of all of it - purple hair extensions and all!

Rebel said...

Oh wow! Your sock drawer is so vastly more exciting than mine! I love the green socks, what a great story to go with them!!!

I love the purple hair too, I've wanted to go blue, but don't have the guts. - zuma

chemgrrl said...

Oh, love the purple! I'm on a red streak meself these days, but I may return to purple in the near future.

Anonymous said...

OH MY !! I LOVE your hair !! I'm growing mine out, and it's mid back length right now, and I am SO tempted to get some funky colors put in, too !!

~MM

weezalana said...

I love your green sock story! And those purple extensions rock!

Off to photog my sock drawer!

Unknown said...

I love the purple locks! And all of those handknit socks, drooool... :-)

cpurl17 said...

I had no idea your hair was that long! the extensions look great. I think you're one of the coolest person I know

Stephanie said...

Batty~ Have you seen this? http://www.localharvest.org/store/wool.jsp

Stephanie said...

PS- I think James could really use a pair of knit socks...

Anonymous said...

Ahhh, there's some real sock goodies in that drawer! And I love your purple extensions, they look fantastic with your dark hair!

sgeddes said...

The extensions look nice! I can't imagine having hair that long. It must be a small chore to care for it all the time!

Love the tights. Very cool!

Teresa said...

Wow, you don't go nuts with hair that long? I had middle of my back and it drove me nuts. It's probably because my 8 month old son swung from it like Tarzan. I'd love to see the picture!

Elspeth said...

I love the hair - it's gorgeous!

Mag said...

Goodness, your hair extensions are beautiful! Good sock meme too! Stariel has been tagged at least 3 times now, so maybe we'll all get a treat.

TheKnittingBee said...

I like the extensions. I used to dye mine red, pink and blue, but when I realised it would go from long to Long if I quit dyeing it, then I quit dyeing it!

(long hair is *really* easy to care for, for those wondering. I spend less time on my past-butt-length hair than most people do on their short dos - I can put it up in less than a minute, and it's a great second use for DPNs!).

I really like the story behind your first pair of socks :)

spinndiva said...

YAYYYYY for purple hair!!!
Love the sock story!
neat drawer... ( that could sound weird...)
I have my socks in a pile on the bottom of my closet...I am in the "yesiknowineedachestofdrawersandIwilleventuallygetone"phase....

Jen said...

bummer, the pictures aren't loading so I can't see your sock stash. I'm sure I'd be jealous. and whoah, purple extensions! Cool!

You've also been tagged, so go check out way more information about me than you really want to know...

Larjmarj said...

Pictures aren't loading for me either :-(

I also didn't know that you had hip length hair. Prrrrppple extensions?
COOL.

fleegle said...

Gee, I don't have a sock drawer. I love to knit them, but never wear them.

Rain said...

I love those streaks. What a lovely story about your first socks.

Anonymous said...

hallo schlunzi,

deine lila haarextensions sehen absolut klasse aus! das beste ist wirklich, dass die dinger deine haare nicht beschädigen. sie passen perfekt zu deiner haarfarbe!
ich melde mich die tage bei dir, lars und ich fahren nach berlin. nach einer magen&darmgrippe bzw. gastroenteritis, wie der arzt meint, bin ich froh, wieder halbwegs bei kräften dafür zu sein.

dir und andrew ein schönes we

hab dich lieb

little schlunz

Anonymous said...

Look at you go mama! I love it! And those bloody tights are gorgeous!

Have a great weekend!