Kia Socks Love Fest

These are my Kia Socks by Dawn Henderson. They are a free pattern that was offered at a time when all of the knitters online were starting to confront racism in their virtual and real lives. Not that the movement began then, just that January of 2019 seems to be the moment it really broke through to everyone.

See how the raised purl ridges form a an equal sign (=) and serve as a reminder that we’re all valid, deserving of respect, and a voice. It was a meaningful design and also something beyond a vanilla sock to accompany all of the reading and soul searching so many of us were doing.

I have strong feelings about this design, the time it was released, the designer, and even the yarn dyers who dyed up this beautiful colorway.

I’m not sure when I first saw Dawn’s feed on instagram, but I knew her as a photographer, stay-at-home mom, and sometimes knitter. Her family was younger than mine, so her snapshots of family life moved me and brought me back to a time when the walls of our home, and the circle of family members within it, constituted our world. All of my memories from that time have a golden, dreamlike glow about them. I still get bits of that world when we can all be together, but I dream about it constantly.

Dawn was in the thick of it, making the most of those tender family years and relating some of her everyday joys on instagram. I loved her for that. Sometimes her feed made me just a little heartsick for those days, but mostly it made me smile.

Seeing her thoughts about possibly trying to design /do something creative and challenging for herself touched me because I could identify. I have lived a life very focused on other people the last several years and I’ve often thought about doing something, just for me, with this blog or with knitting but would then think, “Oh that ship sailed while you were focused on your kids graduating.” “Or if this were 8 years ago, yeah, sure, you’d be relevant, but now? Nah.” There were loads of other phrases and cliches like “saturated market” or “You’re kind of wrung out now.” and “Aren’t most blogs just ads now anyway?” that come to mind.

You get the point. I wonder if Dawn had similar thoughts to combat when she released this first design? When I look at her designer page on Ravelry, I see how much work she has produced in such a short time! It is completely inspiring. And this little sock pattern seems to be where it all started. Thank you Dawn for sharing it with everyone for free and thank you for sharing that this new creative endeavor was an intimidating, emotional effort. It was a choice you made to challenge yourself through self expression, despite discomfort. These are things I always seem to need to hear.

The love fest doesn’t end there. The yarn I used for this pair of socks came from the Friends Yarn Club by Mockingbird Fiber Co, two sisters that have become very dear to my heart due to our shared love of making and shared family experiences. Did I mention that their yarn is incredible? I love every colorway I have seen and I have more finished objects in it to show you as soon as I can catch up on posts.

This colorway is Monica’s Apartment. Can you picture it from the set of Friends? Purple with little blue accents. In this post the production designer talks about his color choices for the walls, if you’re a nerd and like that sort of thing.

The funny thing is when I told my husband the colors were based on Monica’s apartment, he immediately said, “Yeah, and the yellow is like the little frame she had around the peephole.” That was weirdly accurate.

Monica’s windows and funky kitchen were what I remember from the show. You can see where the blue speckles in the yarn came from. When the show first aired, I often thought how ridiculous it was that she had such a great apartment at her age and with her lifestyle. This article in Scene Therapy talks about what an apartment like that would cost per month.

Details: So I used US size 0s and magic loop to knit these up. The yarn base from Mockingbird Fiber Co is called Scrummy sock, which is 80% super wash merino and 20% nylon. The colorway is Monica’s Apartment, with a bright yellow contrasting mini skein for heels and toes. This yarn is soft and easy to work with. I gotta say it was hard to put these down because I was subconsciously waiting for another blue speckle and would just keep going and going.

This is my favorite length of sock leg, but it is really hard to make myself stop when I have quite a bit left of a color I enjoy looking at. I do, however, now have a little ball of Monica’s Apartment to add to my Scrappy Granny Stripe Blanket, so that’s cool.

(more on ravelry, instagram, flickr)

I talk about my Kia Socks on lots of Podcast Episodes. From 26: That DIY Mixtape Ethos all the way thru Episode 34: A Beach Tee, where they were completed.  

Have you tried Mockingbird Fiber Co yarn yet? They are hosting a sock KAL at the moment on instagram.

And which of Dawn’s patterns have you worked up? I think her Lyne socks may be my next knit to try, but I also love Bembe from 52 Weeks.