I have had haircuts like this

So all the way too Halifax and all the way back I knit on the STR sock club socks from a while ago. (Both the yarn colour and the pattern are exclusive to the club for a little bit…they will eventually be available over at Blue Moon.) I made this shocking decision, to entertain the concept of project monogamy for 24 whole hours, because I actually finished the other sleeve of the Kauni. (And it does match. Obsessive compulsives of the world UNITE!)

This means that the next thing to do is to sew and cut the front steek and pick up button bands, and I just couldn’t see any of that as a good plane, taxi, hotel or beer-drinking-with-your-buddies project. (It is my firm belief that while a single drink can steady a body up for steeking, more than one effects accuracy and should be avoided.) Instead I worked on a single sock, which means a single sock was finished. (I admit, although it is not my preference, this “one at a time thing” really gets stuff done.) Now, I am not a toe-up sock person. In fact, for reasons that are too complex and stupid to go into here, I sort of hate them. That said, I really like knitting and want to have good skills and from time to time, that means taking on something that you don’t care for. (It also means accepting that the reason you don’t care for it is because you suck at it, and that with a little practice you might be more openminded….but I’m getting there.)

So I decide I’ll follow the directions and knit these socks toe up. I knit and knit, trying to figure out where to start the heel. I suppose I misjudged at some point, because while I was on the plane knitting away and watching Firefly on my laptop, I noticed the foot was freakishly long. I ripped back two repeats, thought it looked better and started the heel. I then entered some sort of fugue state where my inner knitter knew it was too darned long, but forced me to keep knitting anyway. It’s the downside of being a basically hopeful person. When the sock was finished I got Meg to put it on, because she has very long and skinny feet, and if they were going to fit anyone, it would be her. It was not her.

Finally faced with the truth, last night I unpicked the figure eight cast on I had started with at the toe, then remembered that you can’t unravel knitting in the wrong direction if there is anything going on other than stockinette (though I tried for a while) and decided to snip a thread back at a reasonable foot length.

Sockunravelledss0908

Then I unpicked along the row, picking up the freed stitches as I went….

Unravelledssdone0908

And knit me a new toe,

Newtoess0908

Now it is too short. Mission accomplished. Score, sock 1, Stephanie…..Nothing.

In other news:

I’m deciding what makes good knitting for a ball game, since the Stitch n’ Pitch program that’s run in other cities and looks like so much fun is finally coming to Toronto, and the game is Wednesday, August 15th, Megan’s 16th Birthday! The whole Harlot clan will be attending, eating (veggie) hot dogs and freaking out the non-knitting public in as big a way as possible. Get tickets here. It’s going to be big, big fun.