Saturday, April 6 marks the last Winter Market of the season for Blazing Star Grange in Danbury. Open from 9 AM to 1 PM, the market has two floors of vendors with a wide array of products. A hot breakfast of egg, sausage, and cheese on a muffin is served with coffee or another beverage. For lunch there will be homemade clam chowder and hot dogs.

Featured at the market this month is Bristol resident Margaret Hoyle demonstrating her technique for knitting woolen socks without seams on her antique hand-cranked knitting machine. The World War II vintage machine has produced hundreds of brightly colored pairs of socks right here in the Newfound region, and Margaret still carries on the age-old tradition of knitting socks for the troops serving overseas.

“I make washable wool socks using yarn that is a blend of wool and nylon and is machine washable,” says Margaret. “Everyone needs a nice pair or two of warm socks for the cold winter months. This is more of a hobby for me, and I enjoy educating folks about the use of old machines and the yarn.” To learn more about sock machines and their history, especially with relationship to the war effort, visit SockMachine.wordpress.com.

Margaret will have her machine with her at the April Danbury Winter Market and give demonstrations to those who are interested in learning this pseudo-modern technique for knitting socks. A pair of socks that might usually take a week to knit can be made in 40 minutes, according to the article on the Web site.

Danbury Grange Hall is situated on North Road just off the center of Danbury at the intersection of Routes 4 and 104. For more information, visit DanburyGrange.org.