In which I am an idiot. (Again)

So I got this beautiful handpainted sock yarn from Joe for my birthday. It was an especially good choice, because I chose it and Joe bought it. (I say this now, in the beginning, so that all may know that it is not Joe’s fault for what happened next.) We were at Lettuce Knit, I saw that Laura had dyed some pretty yarn and I chose two skeins out of the bowl of prettiness and I handed them to Joe. He bought them and I was so taken with it that the yarn jumped the sock queue and was started instantly. I knit the first skein into a monkey sock.

Mismonkeyl2406

Then I put that one away and I knit the second skein into a monkey sock.

Mismonkeyr2406

Excellent. Two skeins, one pattern, a pair of socks…yes?

No. At first I thought that the two skeins had just knit up a little differently. (This happens with handpainted yarn. It’s one of the beautiful things about things made by hand. They have interesting variations.) A little differently?

Mismonkeystg2406

Perhaps that picture is too subtle. How about this?

Mismonkeyoff2406

Or this?

Midmonkeyssole2406

Dudes, I picked up two different skeins of yarn and didn’t notice. Similar, but not the same. They are in the same colour family for sure, but they are not matching skeins. Worst of all, Laura dyes them in pairs so I have not just made a mismatched pair for myself, but have left two skeins of mismatched yarn at the shop, just to make sure that nobody else can make a pair either. (The irony that Laura herself has just knit a perfectly matching pair of socks while acknowledging that matching hardly ever happens is not lost on me.)

I suppose the fact that I didn’t notice until I had a pair has to mean that they are at least passable…but still. Idiot.

Do I have to buy the other two skeins out of guilt?

292 thoughts on “In which I am an idiot. (Again)

  1. buy the other 2 skeins, knit them into the same socks and voila….2 pairs of matching socks.

  2. if you buy the other two you can keep a pair of birthday socks and have one for christmas (this early) and have two matching pairs

  3. oh the first one…!
    Yes you MUST BUY the other skeins ;o
    [or at least one of them}
    glad the dedicated server and the new company are working well! (as a former IT person I am APPALLED at their not CALLING YOU on the phone!)

  4. Of course, you don’t HAVE to do (almost) anything! But don’t you maybe sort of want to?
    The yarn matches your blog! On my monitor, anyway, the color of your header bar is the same as the lighter blue in the sock yarn. It’s like your blog’s mascot sock yarn.

  5. In my has the first post I neglected to actually THINK before I posted…I now realize the Michelle (the first poster by a millisecond) is not only smarter and wiser but quicker with the ‘enter’ button!

  6. You could buy the other two skeins, knit one up, and then offer a Harlot-knit sock and skein of sock wool for the next big Knitter’s Beyond Borders fundraiser.

  7. Dude, I say pick up the other two skeins and knit another pair. First of all you can never have too many hand knitted socks. Second, you can never have too many pairs of Monkeys (the most comfortable and fun socks to knit ever!). Third – Hand painted sock yarn, nuff said. Fourth, you’re supporting a local business, which means they can continue to make pretty sock yarns for all!

  8. Of course you have to buy the other two skeins! And then you have to buy another two skeins of a different colorway – matching, this time – just to prove to yourself you can do it. Falling off a horse and all that.

  9. You have to love how knitters will IMMEDIATELY jump in to tell you to buy more yarn. If you’re looking for justification, vindication or just a really good support group for your stash habit, ask the other knitters.
    And I, of course, vote you buy the other two skeins. Two full pairs of Cookie A socks… what could be wrong with that?

  10. You know what that means, right? Time to go back to the yarn store for the other skeins! *nodsnodsnods* It’s the only thing you can do!

  11. I don’t think you have to buy the other two out of guilt. I think you have to buy them out of artistic obligation. I’m not entirely certain what that means either, but it sure sounds more noble than guilt.

  12. no i would say you dont have too.
    besides i dont think most people would notice.
    and perhaps now that you have let the cat out of the bag = someone else will notice and want two mismatching socks as well.

  13. Far from an idiot, you have come up with a brilliant way to get two more skeins of gorgeous yarn! (It’s the only ethical thing to do!)

  14. They do too absolutely match!! Lovely pattern. Will you show us a picture of the green solid-colored ones you are doing so we can see the monkey pattern on them?

  15. Send Joe in to buy the other two skeins for you! Perhaps, out of guilt, he’ll pick up another couple of skeins too.

  16. I hate to rock the boat here, but forget about the other two skeins. How many times have you gone to the store and found a skein you love only to realize that it has no mate. This is just all part of the yarn buying adventure. You should keep the semi-matching socks and wear them on days you are feeling particularly youthful and care free.

  17. Unless I’m mistaken, this is some of the same yarn you used to distract us and calm us down during the blog-hosting brouhaha…and now it’s being used to wind us all up to a condition of great stressedness again? You DO know how to get the most out of your yarn.

  18. What you have there, my dear, is a pair of socks of the same genus, but different species. I wears socks like that on purpose because I’m easily entertained that way.
    You were sorely missed during your server hiccup. So very glad you’re back!

  19. glad your server is working – I lurk daily and was wondering if my company shut down my access and now I was hosed – the security guys would be on my behind.
    Buy the 2 skeins – knit 2 socks. Keep one pair & put the other pair in your Christmas bin. so IT doesn’t happen again this year. I recently read about IT in one of your books – my family can totally understand. they want to start a support group of other family-of-knitters to deal with holiday stress
    your blog is wonderful

  20. You buy the other two skeins, not out of guilt, but to make two actual pairs of socks. Then you congratulate yourself for completing a holiday gift in June.

  21. So you’re asking us to rationalize what you are going to do anyway?
    Of course you need to buy the other two skeins just to save someone else from the awfulness. And you need to save Laura’s reputation. Can’t you just imagine the foul language which will be directed at her when some other poor knitter ends up with mismatched socks?

  22. Idiot? Definitely not. Overly enthusiastic? Definitely. Now to the real question do you buy the additional yarn out of a sense of guilt, no… buy the yarn because as a responsible knitter you would never subject anyone (ok, maybe your late non-lamented server guys) to the same kind of anguish you felt when you realized your socks didn’t match.

  23. Yes, you should buy the other skeins – what is better than having a reasonable excuse to buy such gorgeous yarn (or just plain yarn for that matter)?

  24. Well you have to buy the other two but guilt is only part of the reason. The other part is that you may never wear those fraternal socks otherwise and that’s just plain wasteful.

  25. Well yes, buy the other two skeins, if they are there, but live with the socks – they are twin sons of different mothers!

  26. I love fraternal socks! Far more interesting than their identically matched cousins (imho).

  27. Yes, you should buy the other two.
    But this begs the question: why doesn’t she package the matching skeins together? Or make a single skein that can create a full pair of socks? That’s my approach to dyeing…

  28. You know… matching socks are WAYYY overrated. I mean, when you’ve woken up at 7:10AM and school starts at 7:45AM and it takes 30 minutes to get to school and another 2 to get up those damned stairs in front of the school (they did it on purpose)… matching socks aren’t your priority. No one’s going to notice, just wear long jeans with them and you’ll be okay. Just knit up the other two into similar socks, not the same pattern, but similar and wear them as you please.

  29. Not out of guilt, no. Buy them because you want to. Buy them because the current ‘pair’ is driving you crazy. But not because you feel guilty.
    That being said, my daughter, the 10-year-old, with the, ummm, interesting taste of the average 10-year-old, wears mismatched socks on purpose. And I do mean mismatched. Not even vaguely fraternal. Like one sock is purple with black cats and yellow stars while the other is white with turquoise and orange polka dots! By comparison, yours are identical, Hon.
    Glad to see you’re back up and running!

  30. Buy them! Not out of guilt, Steph, but because it will drive you absolutely apeshit if you don’t have matching socks! Plus then you’ll have two pairs, and that’s way better than one. You can always pass the karma on to someone else by gifting one pair, thus eliminating any guilt that you might feel. Personally, I have no guilt when it comes to yarn. I’m just sayin’.

  31. Beautiful socks even if they don’t quite match and who can see your socks anyway?

  32. You have just created ‘doppleganger’ socks… wear them when you plan on being up to no good, perhaps you could go to the library and “lose” all the crappy-parenting books,(the Ezzo books come to mind) or just enjoy that somewhere, two different children will have socks that match half your pair! I love what you have wrought with thine hands, fair knitting maiden. (meaning, I totally covet the monkeys) Cami

  33. You’ve just been granted a totally reasonable excuse to go buy more yarn. Are you really still sitting here reading this??? GO! BUY! LOL

  34. Well, heaven forbid I should be the only one to tell you that you don’t need to buy the other two skeins but, you know, only muggles wear matching socks. Dobby the house elf would be the first to tell you that ‘they has made a mistake in the shop … they is giving you two the same!’.

  35. Yes, I like the “buy the other two, knit the same pattern, stash one pair for ah-hem… the holidays”. Avoid one less thing for IT.

  36. If you don’t, does that mean that Second Sock Syndrome has bested you TWICE? You could look to a higher power for guidance: WWEZD? (What Would Elizabeth Zimmerman Do?)

  37. Do you really think you could spend your knit nights at Lettuce Knit and NOT walk out with the other two skeins? Who’s kidding whom here anyway?
    Oh, and if a few other skeins hop in the basket, well, you have this nice roomy cedar closet now…
    YES! BUY THE YARN!

  38. Okay…I have been accused more than once of Not Being a Perfectionist (and I’m not sure what’s wrong with that)…but I don’t see the problem. They’re beautiful! All I ask of a pair of socks is that they have the same general colors in them. 🙂 That said, yes, you should go buy the other two skeins. Because it’s buying yarn, and it should be done.

  39. if you bought the additional yarn, you’d have more monkeys to knit, more beautiful socks, and no guilt! A win win win situation.

  40. If you do get the other two skeins AND knit them into monkey socks (obviously) give one pair of them away or you’re going to hate doing laundry every time!

  41. Oh, and I just realized – you had two birthdays this year! What with the catching up, and all. You should definitely get the other two skeins!

  42. Buy the other two skeins, send them to me, I’ll knit monkeys and we’ll trade one sock! Or just wear the fraternal twins–they’re very in right now.

  43. I think you do. While the two socks look nice together, the guilt factor will eat at you, knowing that there are two orphan skeins at the shop. Oh the horror of having to knit with such a lovely yarn again….and then you will have two pairs that mostly match and one can be put aside for a Christmas gift, which means there will be one less gift that causes you not to sleep in December. I think it’s brilliant!

  44. First, you should wear them proudly and with confidence. No one will know. Jonathan, of Two Sock Knitters fame, has knit mosaic patterns where the second sock is the negative of the first.
    Julia Child told people never to apologize for their cooking…just to let people assume that things turned out exactly as intended.
    Yet another situation where asking yourself “WWJD” helps.
    As for buying the two related skeins, you could do that…and knit a matching pair for someone you love.

  45. You have to buy them for no other reason than “the right thing to do” teachable moment it gives to your children – they really do make us better people, don’t they?

  46. I’m with the folks who say to buy the other 2 and knit another pair. Hey, if you can knit a bazillion step-outs in green, why not two more monkeys in purply-pinky-white (lighter version and darker version)? You could then auction off one pair and use the proceeds to pay your web host bill. Or give it to MSF. How much would a pair of socks designed by Cookie A., made from yarn hand dyed by Laura, and knitted by the Harlot herself with half yarn Joe gave her for her birthday go for? Why, you could have the Blue Moon Bankers running for the hills . . .

  47. I love them wonky like that and think whoever gets the other two skeins will be lucky!

  48. I think the knitting goddess has decided that you should buy the remaining 2 skeins, knit 2 more socks, you now have 2 pair of matched socks,keep one pair and give the other pair a nice home with someone who would love it like a new kitten!

  49. I would have to buy the additional skeins. I cannot stand it if the stripes/pattern does not match precisely on my socks (a totally reasonable obsession, I’m sure–it’s a control thing). For less crazed folks, the socks look great and, seriously–how often are your feet absolutely together that anyone would notice–it’s not like wearing a brown shoe and a red shoe.

  50. Well, you could buy the other 2 skeins. Not out of guilt, mind, but out of the awesomeness of that yarn.
    If the fraternalness of the socks keeps you up nights, give them to one of your girls. We young hipsters find mismatched socks neat.

  51. No, you buy the other two skeins to reward you for going through all the webhosting angst, silly. Duh. [g] Plus, you know, if you don’t, you might invoke some sort of curse. Or something. Quick, buy the other two skeins!
    (Btw, loving the new server. Using Firefox, and it loads superfast even for broadband! No prob w/making comments so far.)

  52. I think you’ll have to buy them to protect other knitters from mismatched socks. It’s a totally altruistic yarn purchase. Yep.

  53. I can’t think of a better reason to go back and buy the other two skeins than to have two matching pairs of socks (or four pairs – two matching and two similar for those days when you feel like being non-matchy).

  54. Of course, you have to buy the other two skeins, plus two more matching skeins, and perhaps enough skeins to make a gorgeous sweater, too!

  55. Oh dear, buy the other skeins. You see, I am a freaky matchy matchy person. I know, its just me and it may not bother you but to have 2 pair of those pretty socks would be so fun. A pair and a spare you know.

  56. My husband and I agree you should definitely go get the other skeins of yarn. Never disagree when a guy says to go get more yarn. 🙂

  57. I think 2 socks = a pair so in my book the universe will still be right if you leave them as is 😉 Knitting logic, on the other hand, can always justify another yarn purchase, that way lies madness!

  58. I’m bucking the crowd here, but I actually did not think the mis-match was a big deal. Usually, I am really anal about getting self-patterning yarn to match up, but with a handpainted, I believe you are absolved of that. It’s the beauty of the hand-painting after all. Forget about those other skeins. Move on to a new yarn experience and enjoy your beautiful Monkeys.

  59. yes, and several more to make up for it… nice job!!!@ whodathunkthat up but you? wish I were so creative

  60. (I meant that not as a guilt inducer of telling you what to do, I meant that as in I personally would step in and save you from your guilt and buy them myself and go have fun with them if they’re not already gone by now.)

  61. Well, as many have pointed out, it would be nice of you to buy the other two skeins. *And* you have the bonus of then having *two, matching* pairs of socks! However, you could buy the two other skeins and make a funky “pair” of mittens to match the socks!
    (At the very least, you should let the shop know to put a sign out so someone else doesn’t pick them up, thinking the same thing you did….)

  62. It sounds to me like you’re looking for permission. So yes – go ahead and buy the other two skeins. 🙂
    So glad you’re back. I was wondering what had happened to your blog.

  63. Yes and no. Joe should buy them for you for the OTHER birthday you had the same day.
    Alternatively, you should buy them because it would be the noble thing to do.
    But are you sure they are still there?

  64. I don’t think they have to match – they look pretty nice together. On the other hand, if you rescue the other skeins, you’ll have two pairs!
    (Of course, this is coming from someone who will wear mismatched socks so often that my students’ parents will even ask to look at my feet.”

  65. Um, is it just me, or are those two colorways so similar as to require labels to tell them apart? (Of course, they may have had labels, in which case I retract this comment…)
    They are very lovely, and I think it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to just buy the other mismatched pair of skeins and end up with 4 very pretty socks. But really, how you’d be able to tell them apart without captions, I don’t know.

  66. Of course you should buy the other two skeins, but what are the chances of both of them being there? Someone like me who buys on impulse will have bought one of the two, and you’ll end up with a matching pair and half of another!

  67. This is a feature, not a bug. First, you get to buy two more skeins of yarn. Second, you get to knit two more Monkey socks. And third, you are one pair of socks closer to the Christmas finishing line! 🙂

  68. I don’t think you have to. I would because I’m a little OCD about matchy stuff. Of course, I’d also be buried in guilt for making someone else pick up yarn and not find a match. Not to mention how the lone unmatched skeins feel being abandoned alone in a basket of twinned skeins. They’re probably clinging to each other in fear that the other matchy skeins will gang up on them since they’re alone, cold and afraid.
    But, no, you don’t HAVE to buy the other two skeins….

  69. If that had happened to me I’d say sod it and, to be honest, would not have noticed they were different colourways in the first place – I’d have put it down to variations in the variegation.
    BUT if I was you, I’d buy the other skeins (go on, you know you want to) but I WOULDN’T knit the other socks. Instead I’d give the one-knitted-sock plus the unknit skein of each colourway to a knitter friend for Christmas – and there you have it, you’re ahead on IT, you have two presents already made and the sock yarn isn’t crying AND you have a perfect knitter’s gift – a cure for Second Sock Syndrome!

  70. i was just watching you on YOUtube, knitting in a park in oregon. birdie in your hair and all; you are sweet. like me,if your knitting weren’t productive it would be a nervious twitch. get those other skeins out of love not guilt and produce!

  71. how do you know the mate hanks are still at the shop? 😮 Maybe someone else did the same thing. And if so, maybe s/he knit up Monkey socks in the same size … and will trade! 🙂 Or you know, you guys could have matching mismatched pair of socks.

  72. Can’t you just think of them as really really handmade sock yarn and live with it, and then of course, buy two new colors.. of course, that doesn’t solve the left over yarns….maybe relabel them really really handmade…..cedar

  73. Do I have to buy the other two skeins out of guilt?
    Absolutely!!!!! 😀 If not for that reason, then for the sheer joy of having two matching pairs. 🙂
    Sue
    PS Are you planning a trip to Philly anytime in the near future?

  74. I am trying to see the downside of having to go to a yarn store a buying (at least) two more skeins of sock yarn…. is there a downside?

  75. Oh!! Now you have an excuse to go back to the yarn shop and buy more yarn (sneaky thing you are, I wish I’d thought of that tactic!)

  76. Of course you need to buy the other two skeins, but not out of guilt. Buy them because they’re each too beautiful to be left in a state in solitude forever.

  77. Those are really pretty as they are. That said, I still think you must buy the other two skeins. It’s not like the next knitter who comes along won’t know why there are 2 mismatched skeins in the bowl of prettiness. Not after today’s post, anyway. I bet the Lettuce Knit folks are expecting you to show up any time now…

  78. Artistically: no
    My husband, and by extension I, had a friend who “purposely” wore socks that did not match: one green – one red. It was cool, different, unique,…what other adjective can I spell correctly?
    Come on I dare you…be different. And by extension force the next sock yarn customer to follow suit.
    We are too caught up in the “norm”. Set the pace.

  79. My idea is similar to Leanne’s. Take the sock you like less and see if Lettuce Knit will let you trade it for the skein that matches the sock you like more. Lettuce Knit can then sell the sock with the yarn to make the mate. Some lucky knitter will only have to make one sock to have a pair! By the way, are you SURE Lettuce Knit has the other two skeins? Maybe YOU are the innocent victim of someone else’s matching mistake. And shouldn’t Laura figure out a way to make buying her sock yarn foolproof? Matching Garanimals tags maybe?

  80. Who the heck says socks have to match?? Have you seen Lucy Neatby? Her shoes don’t even match. When I wear my not matching-but-looking-good-together hand knit socks I have noticed there are 3 kinds of people: 1 says, “your socks don’t match”, 2 says “cool: artist’s choice” and the third group doesn’t even notice. They are lovely, wear them proudly.

  81. I kept looking and looking at the pictures, thinking, “What, did she knit one upside down?” Then I realized that I was supposed to notice that the colorways were different. Which I did, sure, but I figured that was just a minor variation. This is a sign that I am classifiably Someone Who Does Not Care about Matching. I think they look great!

  82. Just because I adore you, I’ll happily throw myself on this grenade… send the socks to me, and then just forget about them… You have too much to think about already… (heh)

  83. I would say yes, you should buy the other yarn that is mismatched, simply because someone else will have something mismatched and may not realize the yarns are not similar and think it was something they did. You are not required too and someone at the shop will probably now let them know. Certainly your call.

  84. I’d say only buy the other 2 if you want them. To me, if it’s essential that 2 matching skeins be purchased together, they should be joined together in some way, KWIM?

  85. NO!
    where would the fun be in that?
    you now have the chance to find you knitting sock mates!
    provided that
    a) she/he who picked up the lost twin skeins knits socks
    b) she/he knits monkey socks
    c) she/he has the same size foot as you thus you can swap socks or at least have conjugal visits every now and then
    it’s a wonderful opportunity to at least be able to see how the lost twins turn out eh?
    i digress should anyone else before me have come to the same conclusion.
    (ahem….did i just hear a mad stampede of knitters to lettuce knits for the mates to those skeins?)

  86. Yes, you must buy the other two skeins. (You wouldn’t have to, if she hadn’t gone to the trouble to make sure two skeins matched reasonably well.)
    Just for kicks, you should probably knit those two skeins into very similar, but not identical, socks to the Monkey pattern. So, you can either have two socks of the same colorway, or two socks of the same pattern, but not both. 😉

  87. Guilt is such an unpleasant word. How about you buy the other two out of compassion for the poor anonymous knitter who would otherwise be doomed to buy a mismatched set of skeins. Just think of it; some unwitting knitter who has finally screwed up the courage to make her first pair of socks. She’s going to treat herself to some beautiful hand-dyed yarn to mark the occasion and if you don’t buy those two skeins then she will. Her socks will be just a wee bit off and she will blame her inexperience with sock knitting, she will berate herself for the dumbass move of buying two skeins that don’t match. (I’m not saying what you did was dumbass, but… okay, it was just a little, but I can see why you did it. They sure are close) But you could save her from all that by nobly and compassionately beating her to it. I think you owe it to her and her precarious status as a sock knitter. Not to mention that the dyer’s reputation is on the line too. It could look like she doesn’t know what she’s doing. Or that she makes mismatched sets. In fact you should go right this minute. You’re obliged to buy that yarn, Stephanie, not for yourself, of course but for the new sock knitters and the hand-dyers. It really is in the best interest of everyone if you do the right thing and buy that yarn.

  88. Yes!!Both socks are beautiful, and if you have the two pairs, you have the option of wearing either the fraternal twins or the identical twins. So you can get the gorgeous yarn now, have fun knitting the socks, and leave the tough questions for later.

  89. Hate to join the badwagon here but – uh, you have a moral obligation here. What if some neophyte sock knitter buys those two skeins and has the same thing happen to him/her? That poor knitter might give up on sock knitting altogther and whose fault would it be, hmm? :o)

  90. No, no. You are not an idiot! No, no, this is not a disaster. If you hadn’t said anything I would have called them a pair; a beautiful pair at that. I knit with hand-dyed yarns all the time and never expect to have identical pairs. The colors are basically the same and so yes, they ARE a pair!!! Now, smile and appreciate just how pretty these socks are! And, don’t you love that Monkey pattern!? In fact, those were what I was knitting when I saw you in Central Park. Mine are also beautiful & hand-dyed gorgeous yarn and the socks are most definitely fraternal…not identical!! Enjoy, Ruth in NJ

  91. No–whatever in the world would you do with two more skeins of sock yarn??
    (Oh–before I am bombarded with nasty comments, that was a joke!)

  92. You must acquire the other two skeins (assuming that you were the one who split them from their mates); then you can make a pair of socks for Joe’s birthday so you can be mismatched together.

  93. Yes, you do – but not out of guilt. You loved the yarn – now you’ll have twice as much to love! Go for it!

  94. Yes, you really should go buy the other two skeins if they are still there. And of course, if you knit up two more monkey socks with them, you will have two pairs of cool socks. And you get to enjoy the arn twice as long if you just forgive yourself. And just be glad it isn’t the same green as the yarn you used for the KNitty Gritty sock samples. 🙂 At least you didn’t get through a second sock and realize that the dyelot, even though it said it was the same, actually was not, creating fraternal twins for your first pair of socks. I still wear them, but it bugs me that one is darker than the other.

  95. I’m saying either buy the other skeins but if they aren’t there when you get there (that’s what would happen to me). Just keep walking the streets of Toronto looking for the other schmuck!

  96. No, you don’t have to…if you HAD to, they would come tied together in pairs, and you wouldn’t have missed the mismatchingness to begin wiht.
    But, don’t you WANT to? What kind of yarn harlot ARE you, to not take an excuse to go buy yarn you were supposed to buy the first time and failed to buy?
    I mean, really?

  97. Yes. You must buy the other two…but not out of guilt. I agree with beverly. It’s a public service kind of thing.

  98. Yes. For the betterment of knitting mankind (and the sanity of some poor knitter out there) you MUST purchase the other two skeins.

  99. OK, so here’s probably not such a novel idea and someone has probably already left this response – I simply don’t have the patience to read through all the comments. How about buying the other two skeins, knitting up another apir of Monkeys and giving one pari to one of your lovely daughters.

  100. Buy the other 2 skeins. You can either frog one of those and reknit something w/o the cables or knit the other 2 but unmatching socks.
    It’s unfair to some other knitter for you NOT to buy the yarn.
    (Is this enabling or what?)

  101. Think of it as Pedal diversity! (knitter on one shoulder)
    Awww, who are we kidding….do it! Buy the other skiens! You know you want to, heh-heh-heh…. (knitter on the other shoulder)

  102. The other two skeins may not be there any more. My guess is that someone went to find them so they could have the same pair of socks as you – the only other identical pair in the world. See – aren’t you glad you could inspire people to colour outside the lines?

  103. Of course you will buy them. You are a humanitarian and another knitter needs to be saved from a fate that you can easily prevent. You must do it!

  104. I’m torn. Always on the lookout for an excuse, I mean, reason to buy more yarn, but then again, there’s that whole “artistic impression” thing. I think it was Vickie Howell who said when she makes a “mistake”, she just calls it a design feature. So, I guess here’s my vote…if you need a reason to buy more yarn, that’s as good as any. But, no, you don’t have to. (I can’t believe I just wrote that, I need to seek counselling)

  105. Okay – so it looks like the yeses are getting the most votes. I say you don’t have too —
    but what do I know!
    lovely socks regardless
    Jeannie

  106. I actually think they are fine the way they are! Leave em be, I say. I’ve had fronts and backs of sweaters come out worse.

  107. Yes! Then you’ve got a pair for you and one for a gift. Your fast at this sock stuff, you can whip it out in no time. And after knitty gritty, you laugh in the face of second sock syndrom (remember that when you are on your fourth!)

  108. Yes to the other two skeins, yes to a different but compatible pair of socks, and no other knitter goes crazy, the artisan’s reputation is unimpeached, and you have, in effect, *six* pairs of socks: Monkey A + Other A, Monkey B + Other B, Monkey A + Monkey B, Other A + Other B, Monkey A + Other B, Monkey B + Other A.

  109. Heavens no, you don’t have to buy the other skeins! As I once read, “there are no knitting police.” Just put a note on the other skeins indicating that the socks won’t match to prevent a meltdown by some other knitter.
    On the other hand, if you WANT to buy the other skeins . . .

  110. You are my knitting goddess. I am always mesmerized by your new projects. I love the fact that you still share your accidents like this and you kept on knitting the 2nd sock not noticing the difference 🙂

  111. you buy the other two skeins because you know you have to. and then there will be two pairs of monkies… not a bad thing at all.

  112. Don’t buy the other skeins out of guilt, or because you feel obligated. Do it because you know you really want to.
    Nice socks!

  113. You are as sly as a fox getting all the commenters to ok your going to get more skeins of that lovely yarn. haha Excuses excuses we do come up with some dandies don’t we ? I have a very good imagination when it comes to reasons for adding to my stash. Some of them are weird but they still work. Go for it before there isn’t any left . Good luck

  114. how many times does it happen that Doing the Right Thing and Getting to Buy More Yarn do not conflict?
    buy Buy BUY!!!
    😀

  115. Maybe it would be a good idea for her to bundle them together if they’re going to look so similar anyway. Just an idea.

  116. Oh, you could so pull off these two socks as matching. The mixes are so close, just perhaps slightly different percentages of the same colours used.
    It will drive you mad if you don’t buy the other two skeins however, so you may as well just jump on your bike now. Well, wait until morning, perhaps.
    The first two socks look great, I’m sure that their mates will be perfect!

  117. I was going to point out that if you knit both of your socks simultaneously on two circs or magic loop you probably would have come to this realization much sooner but I know you are set in your ways knitting on dpns so I won’t. I say give them to your daughters, my dd even though she receives her socks in matching pairs, rarely is found wearing a matching pair. That being said, I’m with the others you should buy the other skeins, but I don’t think you need to make another pair of the same socks again, unless you want to.

  118. Oh, Just OH! Buy the other 2 and make Christmas socks. You know you are going to anyways.

  119. In my imagination, you return to the store and discover that someone else has bought the mismatched skeins. Eeek! And so you search, as in Cinderella, for the feet that match your pair. Admit it, you already look at socks that look even vaguely handknit (on the street car, walking down the street, at the movies). I’m guessing you find your match!

  120. I have a suspicion that if you did buy two more skeins and knit another pair, the four socks would be so similar that you’d always be grabbing the wrong two and still be wearing “mismatched” socks. You should knit another pair only if you’re going to give one pair away; otherwise you will forever be cursing yourself and this yarn every time you wear these socks, and who needs that? Besides, how mismatchy are they really if you have to look at the bottoms of your feet to see the mismatchiness? (What? It’s a word!) If you’re standing/walking/wearing shoes…they’re matchy enough. But you must do what brings you peace. (Yeah, this is why I sell 4 oz skeins.)

  121. Who says socks have to match? Those look like a pair to me! (In fact, who says socks have to come in twos just ’cause you gots two feet? Hmmm? I say socks in threes are at least a 33% better!) Keep on purlin’!

  122. Of course: but it was never a question of need, you wanted those other two skeins– that’s why you grabbed the first two.

  123. But of course! The options are then endless – two pairs of socks for you; a pair for someone for whom you require a gift; a pair for a MSF prize thingee; or even – a sock and the second skein to someone who needs inspiration to make even one sock; or a whole new kind of swap; or frog some (or all) of each and mix the yarns creatively or just get used to the idea of related but not identical socks. I hope the person who gets the other two skeins realizes what an exclusive knitting club she belongs to!

  124. Yes. The stash needs those skeins of yarn — and you can always keep the monkeys’ mates on the “to-do” list…

  125. I don’t think the question is ‘Do you have to go back and buy the other 2 skeins?’. The two socks are so similar that I don’t think the differences would be a problem and if they were then knitters can work both skeins at once alternating rounds, right?
    I think the REAL question should be ‘Do you WANT to go back and get those other 2 skeins?’ If you do, then go for it, otherwise don’t sweat it!
    If the mismatched socks truly bother you, you could always find another knitter who wants a pair of monkeys in that colorway and make a deal to swap one of your socks for one of theirs so that you both had a matching pair.Pretty socks regardless.

  126. I’d buy the other two skeins…just so I had an excuse to buy more yarn. And you can justify it by saying that you didn’t want some other customer to end up in the same predicament…and besides, you want matching socks not nearly matching socks. And if you were really ambitious, you could have a contest or something and have the 2nd pair of socks as a prize…

  127. Oh yes! You must buy the other two hanks!
    Then you must have a contest… I’m sure there are at least a few of us that would be willing to live with a pair of slightly unmatched socks. Or… you could have the winner knit a pair of Monkeys and then we, er I mean, you and the winner could swap. Then two people would have matching pairs!
    I’m pretty sure this is how it must work. 🙂

  128. Oh…and as a sidenote with regard to your webhost who cause such problems (I wondered why I couldn’t access your blog for a bit)…I really think they were in cahoots with the bank that turned down Blue Moon Fibres (I think that’s who it was…the one whose sock club that was somewhat interrupted briefly because the bank didn’t believe that there were that many knitters who would buy sock yarn)…it’s a conspiracy I tell you! They are afraid of us knitters – they think we are taking over the world, and we are, and that scares the poop out of them!!

  129. I am sure some adoring fan out there with access to that shop would happy to have a pair of “Yarn Harlot Mismatch” socks, right? I wouldn’t feel obligated to buy the other two skeins, but if you liked the yarn so much to begin with, it couldn’t hurt, right?
    Plus, then you’d have two of each color AND they pass for a match when you mix them up. That makes four possible combinations for wearing out of those four happy socks.
    It makes sense in my head. 🙂

  130. I love them! I think they look great! If you’re going to buy the rest of the yarn, then knit it into a scarf or a hat and those writsy thingies. Wear ’em! Just my opinion.

  131. Hogwash! Just tell the owner what happened and if she’s smart, she’ll put them together and tell anyone who wants to purchase them, that they’ll have a pair exactly like Stephanie McPhees, the famous Yarn Harlot and they’ll walk themselves out of the store!!! This suggestion courtesy of a former yarn store owner….

  132. Yes, yes you do and you know it. Don’t even try to think you can put another knitter through the torment of so obviously mismatched dye lots. It will haunt you. That or the poor woman will never sell those other two skeins and they will sit there unloved and unwanted until they are so dusty that Laura knits them up out of pity. Good enough guilt trip?

  133. Well, didn’t you just have 2 birthdays?? Maybe Joe would buy the other 2 skeins for the “2nd” birthday???
    If not, I’d buy the other 2 skeins-not out of guilt(after all someone in the shop sold them to you and didn’t say”Did you know you have 2 non-matching skeins here?”-but not to say they were aware-I probably would’ve just wrapped them up for Joe too) but because if you make 2 more socks you can either have 2 Christmas presents done or have 2 pairs of socks for yourself-bonus!!
    The Universe works in mysterious ways.

  134. I wouldn’t buy the two skiens out of guilt. I would look at this as a sign from the powers-that-be that you need to buy more yarn and knit more socks. Like cosmic permission. That is a much better way of looking at it. (We have enough guilt in our lives, why add to it?)

  135. Hey- what is wrong with socks that don’t match . . . I love me the WONKY sock!
    Can you find out who bought the other yarn . . . get them to knit some monkey socks . . . it is like your own sock exchange!

  136. I personally love the mismatched socks. But, if you go buy the other two skeins, that is more sock yarn for you, which is always a good thing! 🙂

  137. Recently in our LYS, I overheard the owner telling a woman buying two skeins of sock yarn that she was going to get only one sock from each skein and that the skeins she had chosen did not match. The buyer told her she knew she’d get only one sock from each skein and that she didn’t want her socks to match.
    Perhaps it’s the beginning of a new fashion trend. And, once again you are at the forefront.

  138. Yes. Knit another set of fraternal twins and see if they can be rearranged into identical pairs. Chances are (handpainted yarn and all) you will still have two sets of fraternal twins. But won’t it be fun to find out?
    Honey, you know full well it’s going to bug you.

  139. I am an evil, evil troll and an evil mother of trolls…that in mind, I think you should keep them mismatched. I like eclectically fraternal socks…

  140. I’m going to go against the grain and vote no. It’s noticeable, but not THAT noticeable. And if you didn’t notice, surely the knitter who went home with the other two didn’t. And if they are still there (and I lived in Toronto) I’d go and buy them and make a mismatched pair just to say that I had the other half of your socks 🙂

  141. Do none of these yay-sayers do laundry??? Do you have any idea how many circles of hell you will have traversed if, for the whole lifetime of these socks, you have to have the four of them practically DNA-typed to see which are twins??
    Run.
    Run and know that, if there’s a sucker born every minute, there are many, many minutes between now and next birthday (when you *have* to buy them if they are still there or risk a harsh smiting).
    I’m willing to bet there aren’t too many cases of identical monkeys in the world.

  142. ‘fraid so – and if you’re anything like me, that was probably the plan from the very beginning…

  143. No, leave as is. The universe will bite you otherwise, I have a feeling.
    I have a pair of socks I call my Yoga-Up-the-Wall socks. I knit, I thought a matching pair of socks with a laddered pattern. Didn’t realize till staring up at them with my legs propped against the wall in yoga class, that they were, in fact, knit with two completely different patterns….
    I mean, how often do you stand staring at socks absolutely side by side?? Or you could wear them under boots….
    Think of it as a creative opportunity for another knitter.

  144. Go ahead get the other 2 skeins, you know you want to. 😉
    They are very similar. I probably would have done the same thing. Heck I probably never would have realized that they were differen. Just would have figured that it was hand dyed yarn.

  145. well, i say no. you now have a pair of very house elf, harry potter style, socks. i think they are fabulous just the way they are.
    so there.

  146. Ummmm…actually it is apparently VERY “in” to wear two different color socks as a pair, at least for the 7th grade crowd here in my part of NYC. It personally drives me a little nuts to see my daughter and her friends walk around without a matching pair among them, but that’s just my OCD talkin’. As far as they are concerned it’s just GAW-GEOUS and the way it should be…so if you like, consider yourself on the cutting edge of fashion!

  147. It depends on how much it bothers you. If you will look at the socks with a sinking feeling every time you see them, then by all means, get the other skeins. But this is a chance to turn misfortune into triumph and do something really really nice with one of the pair, so you will be happy with yourself when you recall it all.

  148. If I was the one this happened to, and it was yarn I liked well enough to jump it to the head of the line, I wouldn’t even ask the question. I’d be right back there buying the other two. Loving the yarn and having better matched pairs would be more than enough reason for me.

  149. LOL! That’s too funny! I’m laughing WITH you. Really. I’m just pausing for breath and to tell that you’re All Kinds of Awesome!

  150. I think someone else should buy the other two skeins, knit up the monkey sock and you can swap one sock, so you each have a matching pair. Everyone wins!

  151. I say leave the other two skeins.. If “I” were perchance the lucky one to buy the other mis-matched skeins, I’d be honoured to know that I was a participant in your blunder. Laura should put a premium on those two skeins and give the surplus to MSF.
    lol

  152. No. We have established that my eyes are so bad that when I was in Toronto I couldn’t find Lettuce Knit when it has only moved next door. You should send the mis matched socks to me immediately, since my eyes couldn’t tell the difference anyway.
    Or maybe, yes, by the other 2 skeins if they are still there and make two more socks.

  153. OK, I’m sure I’ll be burned at the stake… but I just don’t see what the big deal is here. Being a much more amateur level knitter, I expect that if I buy two skeins of hand-dyed sock yarn in the same colorway, they will NOT knit up into exactly matching socks- that’s part of the charm/serendipity of hand dyed yarn and handcrafted socks (perhaps I knit sock #2 looser/tighter/whatever.) I don’t see the need to either warn other potential yarn buyers or knit yourself into a snit over spending more of your hard-earned $$ on the same yarn to knit the same socks over again. Plus there is no guarantee, as I see it, that even if you should do so, that out of four socks you will get even two that match! Be happy that you have two beautiful socks in which the same colors appear, however randomly, and wear them with pride.

  154. Yes you should buy two more skeins. I mean, that’s a reason as good as any other to buy more sock yarn, right?
    Loved your closet story and the analogy to concrete things like house, shirts…

  155. Stephanie, one time at the NYS sheep and wool fest in Rhinebeck, I bought some handpainted sock yarn. It was beautifully twisted together, and the yardage on the skein said: 450 yards.
    When I got home and took the skein apart, oh no, I actually bought 4 of these gorgeous things, it turned out they were all actually comprised of 2 individual hanks WHICH DID NOT MATCH. In a big way. I was a little mad…when I knit up the first pair, someone at our guild meeting said to look at them as fraternal twins, and not as identical twins.
    I never got over it. Those socks and the remaining yarn are still buried.
    If you have the chance to find the other mismatched set, go buy it.

  156. I don’t know that you need to buy the other two skeins out of guilt. I love those colors and would cheerfully buy mismatched skeins planning to make a pair of socks with one foot from each skein followed by swapping skeins to do the leg or something. I bet I’m not unique in that. Am I? Note I said “planning” since the actual execution of most of these ideas I get rarely achieves completion.

  157. Having been to the store and done the knit night at Lettuce Knit, I don’t think anyone would throw a fuss..especially since we all know the truth!
    (Heck, I like the colours and would buy it…memo to self: go to Lettuce Knit on Wednesday)

  158. Well… ignore my comment if you want to buy the 2 skeins after everyone else’s input…
    But perhaps you remember that I bought only one 50gm ball of Canadian sockyarn (thanks to you, my friendly yarn pusher) at Romni Wool? To make a pair of footies for my mom? I can’t be the only person who does that… and it is footie season, right?
    So do *I* get to buy one of the unmatched skeins, then??? For me this time???

  159. Guilt? P’Shu, sounds like an excellent excuse to buy more pretty yarn to enjoy knitting!
    And when you’re done with two socks, you’ll have the perhaps-never-to-be-matched magical happening of having TWO pairs of socks instead of merely one! ^_^
    And if nothing else, if you hadn’t said anything, who’d have noticed them socks didn’t match? *cricket cheeps* 😛

  160. Any possibility that some other idiot…uh, I mean creative knitter, created this situation in the first place by buying her or himself a pair of semi-matched skeins of yarn?

  161. No, you don’t have to buy the other two skeins out of guilt. Nor do you have to buy them so you can knit them and have two pairs of Monkey Socks. JOE has to buy the other two skeins out of guilt (after all, he was supposed to be your failsafe, your double-check, right? (work with me here)) and because it’ll give you the opportunity to knit two pairs of Monkey Socks (and he wants you to be happy, doesn’t he? (assuming knitting more Monkey Socks will make you happy)).

  162. thank you for being “back” – and here I thought it was my comupter….love the pix of Alaska – learned to knit there in 1967…a different world then. Jan in Florida

  163. No, you don’t buy the other 2 skeins out of guilt – you buy them so you can have 2 matching pairs of socks! Great excuse for more yarn (as if you needed an excuse!)

  164. Maybe once you buy the other 2 skeins, you can take one of your newly matching pairs of socks and make them a future Christmas present so the joy/pretty colors are spread.
    This might also reduce some guilt- think of it as getting ahead a bit. Better?

  165. Unfortunately these are so close in appearance that they would just look wrong together… like one was a laundry victim rather than an intentional design element by the creator. An obvious fashion statement, such as one made by Dobby the house elf, would dictate that the socks be completely different colors.
    1 “…But sir…” he said, his eyes widening, having pulled both socks up to their highest extent, so that they reached to the bottom of his shorts, “they has made a mistake in the shop, Harry Potter, they is giving you two the same!”
    Sounds pretty much unanimous that you should buy the socks and consider this a halfway point for two pairs. Of course this is a moot point if the other yarn has already been sold. If not then you’ll be saving some other unsuspecting customer from making the same mistake.
    1″Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”

  166. Hi Stephanie,
    I have an idea!! Buy the other 2 skeins, tell me how much they cost and I’ll send you a check and you can send me one of the pairs of socks!!! I LOVE monkeys (just made my first pair and they are so comfy) and I LOVE LOVE LOVE that yarn!!! I’m serious! E-mail me if you want to do this!
    Tammy
    tampnp@comcast.net

  167. I was going to say, yes yes – buy the other two skeins before someone has a breakdown, or who knows – perhaps they will have a great laugh. However, tee hee hee…Laura wrote that someone else bought the odd skeins left in the bowl. Well…this gets curioser and curioser. Maybe someday, somewhere your eyes will catch on a sort-of-but-not-quite-matching pair of hand-dyed socks!
    It is so wonderful to have you back. wheeooo.

  168. You should buy the other skeins. Not because you left them all alone without their mate, but because I suspect that you won’t be happy with a (slightly) mismatched pair of socks now that you’ve discovered the problem. After all, you were seriously contemplating ripping back a whole sweater piece because the shoulder seams wouldn’t match up, despite the fact that they were hidden under a collar. I think that anyone who is willing to do that would be driven crazy knowing that they made socks that didn’t match.

  169. Idiot, Schmidiot! No guilt here.
    I’d say clever girl!
    The yarn vapors clearly seduced you to buy twice as much, so that you can have two pairs of the most beautiful hand-dyed yarns in the wonderful Cookie A monkey pattern.
    But I think you have to give one pair away to someone you love. What do you think of that?

  170. Those other skeins – obviously they need to come home with you. To make up for the fact that someone (who will remain nameless) just set you up for this. Put them out without tying together so that you would have to buy four. Shall we worry now about whether or not the other two are still there?
    And is dying 50 gm skeins just to drive you around the bend.
    With luck, she can tell you who has already purchased the other two skeins. 2 people monkey swap?
    Seriously – perhaps you can get the wonderful dyer to tackle 100 gm skeins. Then this is less likely.
    (and why I have stopped buying 50 gm skeins at all).

  171. I think they look close enough to pass – but the question is, what will you think/feel each time you wear them (or even see them)?
    That should be the deciding factor.

  172. Socks are really wonderful, and you are not an idiot, think of your socks as the same but different. Love the new closet.

  173. My dear I think you just knit two socks for your next year’s birthday. Can you suggest to Joe to go back buy the two skeins and put them aside for next year’s birthday along with the socks?
    The yarn purchase won’t be made by you, you won’t have to feel guilty and Joe will have next year’s gift all taken care of. If you want, you can pretend that you planned it this way.
    And Happy belated Birthday (this year)and Happy Future birthday (next year)

  174. I’m not sure what you should do, since I am a very different kind of knitter. I only know what I would do:
    1) Go buy the yarn, and some other pretty yarn.
    2) Decide I’m sick of those stupid monkeys.
    3) Start something else with the NEW yarn.
    4) Put the socks and the yarn (not even wound) in the bottom of the WIP box, never to be seen again.
    5) Never tell anyone. Ever. “Socks? What socks? I knit a lot of socks. You can’t expect me to remember every single pair.”
    Upon further review, this seems like pretty standard harlot behavior. Abandon the socks for something new, but don’t put them at the bottom of the box. Wear them. (As soon as I learn how to do this, I’ll write a book.)

  175. You have two options:
    1) Buy the other two skeins. You can’t subject another knitter to mismatched socks because of your mistake…(This is what I would do)
    or
    2) You’re the Yarn Harlot. You’re a knitting celebrity. Tell Megan what you did and she’ll probably be able to sell those other two skeins at a much higher price. You’ve done her a favour. People will pay above the odds just to have mismatched Yarn Harlot socks. 🙂
    😉

  176. You are awesome!!! You have found me a new way to justify the purchase of “extra” yarn… You “accidentally” buy two mismatched skeins (which totally justifies you buying the other two)…
    It really is the only ethical thing to do!!!
    Kelly

  177. Steph, bite the bullet and buy the other 2 skeins. It’s the right thing to do!

  178. No time to read through the 238 comments before me.
    Just wanted to mention that perhaps kitting two left mittens was to prepare you for this. (Or maybe it was two right mittens?) Remember those Latavian mittens that you were going to use as a prize for something?
    OR … perhaps it is A SIGN.
    It is best for you to go back to the shop to get the matching two skeins of yarn – as fast as possible – so another knitter is not p.o.ed by mismatching socks as well.
    You have to go. Right?
    You MUST go … to buy yarn.
    Who knows what other skeins of yarn might just fall into your hands while there?
    (And now having skimmed through a few comments, I guess I am not as original as I thought.)

  179. It is said that the great organ makers of the world, upon installation of their organs in vast churches, tend to tune them just a wee bit off. They want the disparity of the tone. Perhaps you are just ahead of your time with these socks. You might start a new trend with them! However, until your fellow knitters catch up with this trend you might want to go and buy the other two skeins.

  180. This has a very “thumb on the wrong side” feel to me…and the answer is yes, of course you buy the other skeins. Duh.

  181. Your asking knitters if you should buy the yarn? Heck yes you should buy the yarn! Its your duty to ensure that no other knitter gets an un-matching pair of sock LOL. And what a great excuse to buy yarn.

  182. crap……….I sold the other skeins yesterday when I was in teaching.
    sorry
    ….but you love all you kids even though they look different, right?

  183. ha ha ha faked ya out, they’re still there.
    phone L.K. and ask Laura to put them aside.
    everyone else, can phone Laura and order yarn, she’s done shcool
    now and we need to keep her dying(if you have seen her knitting, you’ll know why)
    Our larua= amazing

  184. If the question is should you buy more yarn… there is only one answer- YES. It’s what you’d tell each of us.
    However- don’t be anal…. the world is a little too “matchy matchy” anyways. Wear the socks. Fraternal socks are still siblings.
    Honestly- unless they’re much worse in person… they totally look like handpaint variants to me.

  185. I ment “school”
    Laura is done school. Lettuce keep her busy.
    MY spelling= bad.

  186. Yeah, you do. Everytime you wore them you would feel funny, so do it. The socks are very pretty and look really cool, if that helps any.

  187. you just don’t know how very, very encouraging it is to me that someone of your vast knitting knowledge and experience can continue to err! whenever i think, darn! i’ll never be a really, really expert knitter like all those bloggers, i read a post like this one and it gives me strength, courage and determination to knit on!

  188. If it were me, I’d wear the socks. You’re not me, though, so I know you’re going to buy the other yarn, and knit another pair.
    I’m having hand surgery next week, which is going to knock me out of the game for the rest of the summer. Must knit, NOW!

  189. You could buy the other two skeins for pleasure, rip one sock, knit a pair of matching monkeys and then a different pair in similar, beautiful yarn. That wouldn’t be too tough, would it? xo

  190. Its Harry Potter season and you’ve knit yourself a beautiful pair of Dobby socks! I actually love socks that don’t match, it solves the second sock syndrome. Your still look like a pair to me.

  191. Or… someone else may have done the exact same thing — who is to say you did it first! Wear them and watch feet, you may make a new like minded friend.

  192. Matching socks are highly overrated! One creative solution would be to overdye them both. I know, I know, they’re very pretty as is and it would involve a leap of faith, but the results could be lovely (and what looks like obvious variations would all but disappear). I kind of like the thought of eliminating some of the light colored sections to bring your pattern out more, too. Think about it!

  193. Oh, yes, I think you must. It’s sort of like the Rocky and Bulwinkle socks. You can wear Rocky and Bulwinkle or Bulwinkle and Rocky or both Rockys or both Bulwinkles. Dude, you get 4 pairs of socks!

  194. I forgot to suggest what we do in our house when socks/mittens/whatever don’t match … declare “Crazy Sock/Mitten/Whatever Day”.
    Even my 5 year old, who is obsessed with matching, goes along.

  195. Yeah, I would definitely go back and get the other two skeins. First, you do want the socks to match a little better so you knit up 2 more and that gives you 2 pairs. Which is cool, the yarn and pattern are wicked cool, you won’t tire of them. And, secondly, you make sure those 2 other skeins are not left alone, forever, without a home, cuz nobody’s going to buy them.

  196. No. Tell them to put them in a kit with special instructions that they have to alternate rows with the two skeins and they will get a matching pair of socks. It precludes doing two socks on two needles but they will match.

  197. Yes. Though I hardly think anyone else will notice the difference. I’m sure if you keep both pairs, you’ll most likely end up matching the wrong ones together quite often.

  198. Steph, with hand-dyed yarns you are bound to have some differences; that’s just the way it goes. So, even if your socks may look fraternal, I think you know in your heart of hearts that they really do match and that you got the right skeins. It’s not so bad. It’s so good to have you back! You are a bright spot in my day!

  199. On the moral dilemma – I probably would have at least called the shop and warned them. Whether the shop chose to put them in the “mismatch” bin, or put a “Yarn Harlot’s Booboo Yarn!” tag on them and charged extra, would then be up to them. No obligation to buy the yarn yourself – although if you want more yarn, you want more yarn. 🙂
    Given that the other two skeins are already gone, on the other hand… for what it’s worth, it took me until the last picture before I was absolutely sure it wasn’t just normal “oops, guess the first skein got most of the pink” variation. They look fine together. Or if the mismatchedness will drive you buggy, I second the suggestion to overdye, or turn them into MSF prizes.

  200. Yep, I’ve done that. Personally, I think the socks are great and no one will ever notice that they don’t match. After all, you did have to demonstrate their “differentness” in three pictures.
    However, you can always rip out the leg of one and redo another so that the feet of the sock are one skein and the legs are another, making…the same socks!
    And someone else can do that with the other skeins at the shop.

  201. Yes, because then not only will you have TWO pairs, but you may also have found an interesting way of solving Second Sock Syndrome. Call the yarn shop, reserve those last two skiens immediately!

  202. Can we help take the edge off the new blog price through donations? It would still be cheap entertainment for us all.
    You should get the other two skeins. Then gift a pair.

  203. Maybe it wasn’t *you*. Maybe *someone else* already has a pair of socks just like yours (or at least, skeins of yarn just like yours), and you chose your yarn as a result of *their* lack of attention to detail.
    In any event, I think *your* socks are lovely, and would pass the galloping horse rule. If it was me, I’d see if the other 2 skeins were available, and knit another pair of socks, but in a similar yet different pattern, to give yourself essentially 4 pair of socks. (Cara has a link over at January One of someone (sorry 🙁 I don’t remember who) who has made a bunch of Monkeys, with slight variations to each pair, if you need ideas. Brilliant. I.Must.Make.More.Monkeys!)

  204. Well of course you do. And “guilt” is a perfect excuse (and not often used) to add to your stash!

  205. It would be the right thing to do…buy another two skeins, but if your luck runs as mine does in such matters, you may end up with another two mis-matched pairs. Does the dyer of these yarns somehow mark the “matching” skeins or bind them together? Maybe that wouldn’t work if someone bought and needed only one…hummmm. Maybe you should just live with the mis-matched pair and chalk it up to the uniqueness that they are.
    Glad to see the new “blog source” of energy and bandwidth is working so well.

  206. I agree, it’s just too hot to do much wool knitting, but I’m going to work on my socks since that’s not too hot to hold. I guess days like these, one tends to hide out more indoors.
    Can’t wait to see the new stove/oven. It’s annoying to have to buy new appliances, but hey, you’ll love cooking on it I’m sure.
    On a side note, they replayed restaurant makeover with Erin last night and to my surprise, who was there in blue on the ‘reveal’ but the harlot herself. My boyfriend was duly impressed that I recognized you right away. In the end, it was like, “no wonder hank look so familiar”. I’ve seen him, slightly older, on your blog just a couple of weeks ago 🙂
    Cheers!

  207. Looks like the blog is tending toward YES. And we’re right. Are you really going to be content with a mismatched pair knowing that you Could Have had a matched pair (or two)? Eliminate the knitting Coulda, Woulda, Shouldas. Knit with no regrets. Who knows, they just might make a great object (Finished Object) lesson when you’re knitting/teaching/spealing in public.

  208. I guess I am odd-man-out! I agree that it would be kind of you to buy the mis-matched yarn left behind, but buy it and use for something else besides socks. Who says a pair of socks had to match? I think they are “interesting” as they are.

  209. i think the socks are excellent as-is — my own bias, i’m not a matching sort.
    and the person at the cash didn’t stop you from buying the mismatch either — clearly it’s not entirely your fault.

  210. ppfffft. no, you don’t have to, but now you have an excuse to :P. i’m jealous. partially b/c i can’t knit garments that actually have to fit. blah.

  211. How come your fleece for Joe’s gansey looks like a collection of dead baby rats (before and after squirrel theft)?

  212. Fellow Stephanie,
    What you need to do is join the following sock club
    WOOL ‘N WORD SOCK CLUB
    The Wool ‘n Word Sock Club coming out the shop of the same
    name in W. Sand Lake, NY is debuting this fall with hand-dyed yarns by
    Sliver Moon and exclusive patterns by local designers as well as
    several internationally know designer/author/teachers.
    Every two months members will receive a kit with a new yarn
    and a new pattern. This will be followed by month Sock Club Knitting
    Nights where club members can gather for a shared sock knitting time.
    For members who cannot attend or do not want to attend there will be a
    Yahoo chat group for club members to discuss each project.
    Stephanie Olivo, owner of Wool ‘n Word explained that there
    are a few details that will establish the cost and exact launch date
    have not yet been finalized “I feel very fortunate to count such
    talented women as friends who are willing to help launch this
    project. As soon as all plans are finalized the designers’ names will
    be announced as will complete details of the club.”
    For additional information or to be placed on the notification
    list, contact Stephanie at sbolivo@nycap.rr.com.

  213. Yes, you have to buy the 2 other skeins. Geez. Better yet, get a friend to do it, knit the pair of monkey socks, then trade you one sock for one sock. I’ll volunteer.

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