LBJs are in the (UK) birders' world those little brown birds that all look unremarkable, brown, and yet can be the most amazing species you'll see only once in a lifetime. Or if it's a passer domesticus, you may yet be enchanted by its exotic patterning, as Inspector Morse was.
LBJs are not flashy with WILD!! COLOURFUL!!! MARKINGS! but I still like them.
Turns out you have those LBJs (or LGJs, Little Grey Jobs) in socks too... And with a little bit of effort, you can turn them into something worth observing, IMHO.
I ended up knitting these socks for mum in something of the following way:
Mum: Hm, I have this beige sock yarn I don't know what to do with. It's too meh for me. Me: Oh. Can I knit with it? I don’t have any yarn with me. Mum: Sure, you can use it. *I start knitting a cable into the leg* Mum: Ooooh that's nice! I like that. That looks a lot more fun now. Me: Do you want me to knit them for you? It's your yarn after all. Mum: Erm... 😬
(Fortunately they fit her!)
This is the world's easiest cabled sock to knit: take your basic 72 stitch top down sock pattern. For the leg, once you're past the cuff, knit 4, purl 3, cable over 8 stitches (cable every 8 rows), purl 3, and knit all the rest. Keep the rest of your basic pattern as is. I kept the cable going for the foot.
For the *other* leg I counted out the pattern so it was knit 18, purl 3, cable over 8 stitches (cable every 8 rows again, and if you're really fancy: turn them the other way), purl 3, knit all the other stitches.
If you want a pattern, check out Socks on a Plane (Ravelry), it's a toe-up version.
