I like to make socks as a wedding gift for my nieces and nephews. It's an intimate gift, but not too intimate, and hand knit socks have that lovely combination of everyday utility and specialness, and to therefore symbolize what early marriages should have. I also like to knit them with my Great-great grandmother Adeline's knitting needles. My great-grandmother (her daughter) gave them to me and they are about 11 inches long, steel, and of slightly varying diameters but roughly a size 2 - 2.5. These are very experienced needles; over 100 years old and owned by women with large, northern Maine farming families.
I like to think of Adeline while I work, and to think about the children, her great-great-great grandchildren, who will be wearing the socks. It's a way of linking up the generations going backward and forward in time and, at least in my own mind, introducing them to each other. And it is also a way of knitting the new marriage partner, in this case my nephew Scott's winsome bride Elizabeth, into the family. The pattern for these particular socks can be found on Ravelry or Etsy, or by going to the Pattern Page on my website.
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