SOCKONAUTS

When I told my mother about this project, her first response was, "What is it with you and socks?" and I can't honestly answer that question because I don't know myself. I've always been a fan of socks -- not necessarily having them on my feet, but socks in general. They come in so many different colors, styles, and shapes and are pretty much the only sort of undergarment one is allowed to display in public. They keep your feet warm, make great dog toys, and, if you cut the toe off, usually fit perfectly around a can of Pringles.

Socks are great. As a teenager, I used to have people autograph them for me -- friends, other internet dorks, and classmates. A few weeks before graduating high school, I asked everyone in my math class (all 8 of them) to sign a sock and bring it to me. Everyone laughed and agreed I was crazy but at least 5 of them did as I asked; even the teasing was entirely good-natured. Plus, I still have them, every last one. Most are in a bag in my mother's attic but at least a few I brought with me abroad. Perhaps I will contact them about using their sock for my website: "Hey, long time no see. Remember that sock you signed for me in school? Would you mind if I cut it up and made a little dude out of it and sent it to people from the Internet?" Maybe.

Several years later, the whole sock-stuffing, button-applying phase began. After spending a year as a nanny in the Black Forest of Germany, the young girl I watched asked for a homemade sock monkey for her birthday. She had seen the one I had made several months before while gleefully pilfering through my room and asked for something similar. Well, I had no monkey-making kit and I've never been so great at recreating the same sort of genius more than once, but what I ended up with looked cool enough and seemed to satisfy her entirely. She named it Baileys since the bow around its neck had been taken from a bottle of Baileys Irish Cream in the kitchen. This alone should be very telling of what sort of nanny I was: an awesome one.

But I suppose that's how Sockonauts really started: a love affair with socks, a nerdy personality, and quite a bit of free time.

My name is Kelly and I'm 26 years old. I grew up in a small town in southeastern Missouri where the closest anyone ever gets to Europe is BBC America. I have no idea how I didn't die at an early age from lead poisoning, a stray bullet, or being blown away by a tornado.

These days I live in a lovely German city called Mainz with my friend Rames and our cat, Spleeny, who sees me as more as a cat toy than a respectable owner. She regularly wakes me up by attacking my toes.

I'm a wallflower, a bookworm, and a musical theater dork. You can find me on Twitter if you're into that sort of thing. I'm not sure what it's for, either. x

You can reach me by email at sockonauts@gmail.com.

Want to donate some socks? Buttons? Just feel like sending something my way? Send to:

Kelly Severs
35353256
Packstation 123
55120 Mainz