We all know that sometimes during summer, our motivation to knit or crochet can all but disappear. On super hot days, sometimes even the thought of touching wool or mohair can break me out into a sweat. However, what has kept me from my knitting most this past month has not been the heat but a pixelated little farm in Stardew Valley.
Stardew Valley is a beloved farming simulation game that has captivated players worldwide. With graphics reminiscent of the games from my early childhood in the nineties, it offers a charming escape into a pixelated world of tranquillity. As the main player, you inherit an abandoned farm from your grandfather. It’s your task to bring it back to life and make it a vibrant part of the Stardew Valley community by cultivating crops, raising animals, and forging relationships with the town's inhabitants. There are many other things to do and to discover besides the farm. For instance, there are little alien creatures to bring gifts to and mines full of monsters to explore. It is such a fun game; I’m obsessed.
A sock for every season of Stardew Valley
So imagine my absolute delight when I discovered the Stardew Valley Socks by Oakwood Knits. The talented designer behind Oakwood Knits, Kim, has a sock design on Ravelry for every season in the game. The Spring socks are called The Valley Comes Alive, which is aptly chosen as almost nothing grows in winter. The summer socks have the poetic name The Sun Can Bend an Orange Sky and feature different kinds of summer fruit and flowers, as well as the beach.
The Fall socks are called The Smell of Mushrooms and indeed feature some of the mushrooms you can forage for around the town, as well as many of the cute animals that can come live with you on your farm. The winter socks are called The Wind Can Be Still and feature a beautiful purple sky, bare trees, and some festive and wintery icons.
The color work is incredibly detailed, with multiple colors being used for most fruit and vegetables. So detailed, in fact, that if you want to knit all four seasons, you need 32 different colors!
In my honest opinion, these socks are true masterpieces. Each season features weather-specific details as well as crops that only grow during that specific season. If you’ve played Stardew Valley before, you can see how fantastic and fitting these designs are. If you haven’t played it before, I highly suggest you do, and then come knit some socks with me! Maybe we can even organize a Knitleaks-community-exchange of leftovers so we don’t all have to buy 32 different colors (*wink wink*).
