Last week something happened. That alone is the start of an interesting post because – well, not much has been happening around here for a year or two. The thing was that I got on my bike and rode across town to Ken’s house, and I had dinner on his porch. We had a lovely time and shared food and wine and then I rode my bike home and when I got there, I realized that I’d left the fun rainbow coloured socks I was knitting behind. Ken rescued them and then said that since I was going back to his house in a few days for a Bike Rally thing, that I could get them then. This made absolute sense. I’d be reunited with my socks in 48 hours and goodness knows that I have a million WIPs here that I can turn to in my time of need, but it still didn’t sit right, you know what I mean?
I looked around the living room to see what was nearby and sure enough another sock project was within my grasp. It was a pair of socks I’ve been working on for months, in fact I cast them on for Joe last year and had every intention of finishing in time for Christmas but I didn’t and now I have been slogging away on them for what feels like eons. (It is worth noting that while Joe has terrifically large feet and the socks are patterned, it is actually not possible for a knitter of my experience to be working on a pair of socks for months. It just isn’t. If socks are are still on my needles after this long, then you should know that I am using the word “working” to mean that I look at them often and feel bad but opt for something more fun.) They’re nice yarn, it’s a super cool pattern, there is nothing at all to account for my uncommitted nature except for (well see the name of the blog) and the fact that the big men’s socks in plain colours just… well, they do go on, don’t they?
In this moment though – with my “real” knitting stuck at Ken’s, I picked up those socks and beavered away on them, and do you know, they only took a few hours to finish?
Now, you would think that there is a lesson here, and you would be right. It would be a good idea to learn it too, because a little while ago I made a commitment to myself that I was going to tackle the bigger socks earlier this year so that I didn’t get stuck with them at the end when my commitment is low. Now – Now I tell you, now in the cheerful spring and soon in the bright colourful summer – these are the times to be knitting enormous socks in bland colours, not in November when the world’s nothing but bland itself.
So like I said, there is a lesson here, and I should learn it. You would think that maybe the lesson is that determination, commitment and perseverance are good traits to cultivate, and that if you do manage to summon up that trifecta of character gold – the rewards are immediate and many, and that the work is never as hard as you think it’s going to be.
You would think that, but instead I think I’ve learned that I’m only going to knit boring socks if they’re the only things on the needles and I shouldn’t have a temptation pair within reach. I will knit the boring socks if they are the only socks.
I’m plowing into another pair now, and they’re (almost) the only socks on the needles. (Ignore the colourful self striping in the background. I’m just having a look at it.)
PS. I know I said that originally those brown socks were for Joe for Christmas, and you would think that would mean that they would be in his possession now, what with being almost five months late, but you would be wrong. I’m considering myself ahead a pair for this year.
Now is the time to finish another pair, while the fumes of success are still in the air 🙂
I understand completely. I have about 8 pairs of socks that either just need darning (and I got those cool darning looms to do it!) or their cuffs, heels, and toes knitted and my sock drawer would be wonderfully stuffed – but I keep slogging away at this pair that I love so much that tonight I am unraveling back to the end of the heel flap on the second sock FOR THE SECOND TIME because I made ANOTHER mistake too big to ignore. And I’m reminding myself that really, it’s just more knitting – and I love knitting! (Guess whom I got that philosophy from.)
darning looms?!? Do tell about these.
Here is one example! https://www.katrinkles.com/shop/darning-loom-kit
I feel your pain! One of my sons wears a size 13 shoe, and will only wear very plain socks. A k2p1 rib is as fancy as he gets. Fortunately, the splendid spouse is only a size 11, and will wear the brightest handpaints. He also wears them without shoes, and we have 2 old houses with the occasional nail popping up from the floor…so I just cut off the toe and reknit it in some completely different hand paint, and he loves them even more.
That’s a man worth knitting for!
Yes, go finish another pair. Let that pretty stripey stuff be a reward for finishing the boring socks… or use a piece of it to spark up the boring socks.
Do you ever knit anything other than socks for Joe? I know Presbytera will chime in with a mention of the gansey in the basement, but apart from that…? It would be fun to see more men’s sweaters.
Well, obviously! It’s almost comforting to know that the gansey is always there…for all of us.
And I notice that Steph didn’t describe exactly what words she used upon discovering that she’d be without her primary knitting for 48 whole hours. Bet they were good ones.
I thought that they were going to be finished when she next saw Ken….that’s the crescendo to the story I was expecting!
Those socks are so beautiful! They are perfection, and yes, perfection takes time, and good taste, and love.
Spring is a lovely time to knit. We have an excuse to put off spring cleaning, and tomorrow feels so promising, as we know summer is on its way.
I wish you and yours a wonderful summer. May it renew our hearts and spirits and make us strong.
My husband also has very big feet – and is hard on socks. But he really likes his handknits and shows them off to random people, so it’s worthwhile. They must be gray or brown, of course. I borrowed an idea from you and put in a colorful stripe just above the toe.
I always have a pair of socks in my bag as carry around knitting. The pair I’ve just finished were cast on around a week before I went into lockdown (UK but very vulnerable) so not a lot happened to them for a very long time – trips to the dentist for emergency treatment and waiting before/after covid jabs was the highlight of their existence for a long time.
My standing-in-queues knitting – usually a hat – became waiting-on-the-kettle knitting. There was a significant drop in production (and a corresponding weight gain).
Perhaps the lesson to be learned here is that Joe should wear more colorful socks. His socks could reflect his favorite sports team’s colors, or his favorite Hogwarts house, or his favorite branch of Starfleet. The colors could be limited to the toe and heel, or maybe stripes around the cuff — or they could be in a traditional argyle pattern. Who knows? He might even get complimented on them!
I’m so glad that you wrote this post! I have been procrastinating on finishing up a pair of socks for my boyfriend. I only have half of the second sock to go and I just haven’t been able to make myself finish the darned thing. He too really appreciates and wears the socks I knit him so now you have inspired me to finish them for him. Then I can begin a fun shawl for myself as a reward. So thank you for the inspiration!
Isaac Asimov’s enormous productivity was due in part to his having multiple projects on the go all at once. So if one wasn’t flowing, he’d move to the next typewriter and start in on that one.
The obvious inference is that having lots of unfinished things around is not a sign of failure to complete, but of productivity. I myself have a mere three knitting projects under way at the moment, and as soon as one is complete, another shall be cast on.
Will there still be the same number of unfinished knittings lying about the place? You bet. Will I feel bad about it? Not in the slightest.
Mind you, I never promise anyone anything on a deadline. That’s just asking for trouble. (And of course, “Christmas” could be any one of hundreds of dates, depending on how soon we reach the end of the world.)
I so look forward to perhaps meeting you along the way at this year’s rally. I’m riding for the first time and I’m so excited about it!
Alas I know myself too well. Guess that’s why I find myself with 27 interesting sock (note the singular noun) of all patterns, colours, plies & sizes, vainly awaiting their matching partners. It’s taken over 60 years of knitting and procrastination, so I’ve come to the conclusion I’m beyond redemption.
Ooh, I’ve had my eye out for someone with a bad case of second sock syndrome! My best friend had a leg amputated when she was a kid (cancer), and I’ve always thought it would be lovely to start a collection of handknit single socks for her. She’s got a tiny foot– size 6 (she’s the best person ever to knit footwear for!). So if you have any small single socks lying around that don’t look like they’re going to get a mate, I can put you in touch with someone who would love and cherish them extensively!
It’s not just Joe’s toes that take spot of knitting (and time!) to cover… Nowhere near the quick gratification of little kid wear for Elliot, for example!
Wow, that was supposed to be a comment for something WAY up the chain: sorry, the software is not working for me this morning!!! THIS idea, the single size 6 sock lover, is a fantastic one!!!
I’m sorry to report that, due to the fact that my family was blessed /blighted with oversized feet my socks ( 11-13 adult sizing), my socks would be of little benefit to your friend. Good luck with your post however, perhaps there may be some other SSS knitters who could help .
Wow! Thanks for adding sunshine to the day with this story!
My husband’s ex-wife had a leg amputated. I knit her a few single socks. She loved to wear them and tell everyone her ex-husband’s second wife made them for her and wait for their various facial expressions .
I love this, both for what you do, and for thinking about the expressions!
My husband wears non-matching socks on purpose, as a fashion statement!
Who says socks have to match? Just wear those single socks with each other and call them “crazy socks”. Mismatched socks are “in”.
I am having an awful day which is part of an awful year (work issues) and during my lunch break I turned to your blog desperate for some distraction.
All I can say is what a ray of sunshine you are for me. Your tales of every day knitterly life to which I can so relate always make me smile but today I really needed it. Your last sentence actually made me laugh!
More power to your elbow (and needles) Miss Harlot!
I *love* this.
In my house, this would be accompanied by a loud announcement of “LAST YEAR’S CHRISTMAS SOCKS HAVE BEEN RECLASSIFIED AS THIS YEAR’S CHRISTMAS SOCKS, sorry feet”
And then probably followed up on Christmas Day with something like “wow, these are great, even if they’re clearly SO LAST YEAR”
Please know that in my mind, you & Joe are similarly (dorky) *ahem* hilarious
I see that many people are encouraging you to knit boring socks. I say … eff a boring sock.
I started a baby dress upon learning a friend’s daughter was 3 months pregnant. Cast on my favorite little dress pattern in some of my hand dyed alpaca silk yarn. Everything about this project had the stars aligned to be a lovely thing to work on: great pattern, yummy yarn, plenty of time before a due date. It was going to be glorious. Had the little lace bodice done in no time. And then it sat. And sat. Until she was born and I needed to rip out and start a larger size. Again, knocked out that bodice in no time. Size 1 year, this would be a given to be done in no time. Well, said baby turned a year old in March. Dress still has 4 inches to go on the stupid skirt. Every time I look at it I cringe. So it’s now in permanent time out until I frog the whole damn thing. I just cast on a new shawl and I think everything will be ok now.
I love the socks! They look so beautiful, but yeah, I can understand why they did take quite a while. (I love the blanket/duvet cover, btw. It’s beautiful!)
You idea of starting Christmas knitting now makes a lot of sense – I don’t have people with huge feet in my family or friend circle, but maybe I could jot down … ahh, then again, I didn’t plan on knitting that much this year for others. ahem.
Gray is one of my favorite colors, but I’ve made it a firm rule not to knit gray in the winter. I love wearing gray, but I should not knit it when it matches the outside world.
I have been slogging through a gray Polwarth (fine wool) sweater for one of my kids. It is gorgeous fiber, not an onerous sized sweater, and STILL. Gray has been hard since we’ve had a very long and hard winter. Your rule makes good sense…should have heard it in March when I started this.
I crochet baby blankets, mostly, and always ask what the mother’s favorite color is so I can include it. A friend’s daughter was pregnant, so I asked my friend what her favorite color was (the daughter lives in Denver and my friend and I in Montana), and she said it was – gray. I was shocked. A gray baby blanket? I don’t follow the pink is for girls and blue is for boys idea, but – gray? I decided to grit my teeth and go for it using different shades of gray. It turned out great, but I still wince thinking of it.
Oh, such a familiar song…there are at least 8 different projects next to my chair, around 10 in the knitting corner baskets and I’m not counting how many are in the three WIP tubs in the basement. When I go there, I’d have to admit to being pulled into the tubs of stash, so I’m not going to go there. (giggle) I spent much of yesterday working on a pair of socks that I really want to wear. I don’t suffer with single sock syndrome only because I prefer to knit them TAAT toe up on magic loop. In any case, you have inspired me to at least do a rib of some kind over the top of the sock and up the sides. And to start the Christmas sock knitting since both son and son-in-law are size 13s. Blessings on husband as he is a size 8-9. Son loves all kinds of patterns, SIL only black, grey, maybe brown but also prefers slipper socks in larger weight. DH definitely wants basic dark colors. Good thing I love them all! Thanks for sharing stories through darkness and light. Happy knitting whatever and wherever!
Glad to hear you’re back on your bike and were able to get together with Ken. Sounds like a lovely day of riding, eating outside with a friend, and knitting. We all have those unfinished projects that just seem to sit and languish. I recently found a sock that I didn’t even know that I’d started– first done, and second at 3″ of cuff. It was hiding until I went looking for something unrelated in the stash– “surprise” it said, “remember me?” Now am on the heel flap and it is again languishing. That’s OK. Daughter’s birthday past, so next Christmas will be plenty of time to finish them. My unfinished sweater of handspun awaits!
I have learned that hand-crafted Christmas gifts are for….*AHEM…. Christmas…. I just don’t specify for WHICH year – Just keeping my options open 🙂
Those are gorgeous! I wish I were knitting just now…
Size 12 feet here. I’ve been working on a pair of socks for myself for about 10 years. No, that is not a typo or an exaggeration. I started them and finished one. I then lost that one….for a number of years. I didn’t work on the other because the whole wearing two different socks at the same time thing went out of style about the same time I lost the sock. I found the sock this year. It was, oddly, in my sock drawer (I had looked there before…really.) So I am now working on the other sock with hopes that my tension is not all that different than it was 10 years ago.
This just made me laugh It IS true that projects intended for ourselves can tend to take waaay longer since there’s “no rush” (unless it’s to wear to a specific event?), and tend to get bumped out of the queue by gift item for others that DO have deadlines…
My eyesight has really changed and I’ve been thinking that it’s a really good idea to knit the dark stuff in the summer and the bright colours in the dark gloomy months, just so I can see what I’m doing. And yes, it would make those dark months so much cheerier. That’s my plan!
So glad you are tucking them away for next year. I kept hoping that’s what you would do.
Boy, can I relate. My husband has long feet and it feels like a slog even using colorful/interesting yarns. Sigh
His feet are just so big!! They make the leg section look short and I’m sure it’s a normal length! All credit to you for getting any done for him (and I know he has a drawer full of handknit socks by you!).
My trouble with slog knitting right now seems to be getting to the end and then not wanting to finish. You see I’ve enjoyed it after all, and what will I do when it’s over? For this reason I am putting off finishing a pretty but repetitive-patterned baby blanket. And also an Orenburg shawl which is of course mostly garter stitch. What will my hands do if I finish those pieces? I think I’m just still in pandemic-induced overwhelm and find it too complex to start something new. Which is really weird since most of my life I’ve had raging cases of startitis.
Joe’s socks are beautiful. And the color is all the ’60’s, like avocado green and sunflower yellow and orange and dark brown’s wild children’s grandchild.
Finally finished up dh size 11 socks after 3 months. Started some lovely wheat color tonal socks for myself (size 7). Only got as far as the toe increases (toe up pattern) when the dh reminded me I hadn’t made a crochet lion for the 2yr old granddaughter. So now my sock is in the wip bag. So is a Norwegian star hat & matching mittens (just learned fair isle knitting) for the adult kids & grandkids. Guess that’s going to keep me occupied for spring & most of the summer lol. So much knitting, so little time & so much yarn in the stash
SO good to read your words again. Somehow I missed your April post, and read that too — nodding my almost-70-year-old head in agreement the entire time. I’m glad you too have survived the latest rip tide.
I have a full box of socks in many stages of progress…have had to keep buying needles to start more…only to put them in time out in the “sock box”” I can only assume it is because or the strangeness of the last 2+years. Before our world turned upside down I didn’t have 1 sock syndrome. would start the second one right away. Now I only start the 1st one and it is progress if I get past the ribbing. Sigh…but the yarn is so lovely
Those are the most perfect of perfect socks I’ve ever seen.
That’s a really pretty sock pattern! Joe will love them! Later.
Wild applause!
Lol. Well, if you squint and feel the need to cross something off the holiday spreadsheet, it COULD be considered the halfway mark and half those items listed should be crossed off. So look at you just zipping along.
Every gift should have an element of surprise…and Surprise Joe! You’re not getting THESE socks until Christmas-year yet to be determined-gotta stay off the knitter’s naughty list.
Totally agree about dark color knitting in the spring and summer months-the quality of light is just better in the cooler latitudes.
Something about a meal shared with a friend on the porch outside-and it being warm enough to do so-is balm for a winter worn soul.
I’m betting Ken will have finished the Sox for you when you go to pick them up.
I have knit a lot of red scarves for a local hospital program, mostly by myself. So good to learn there is actually a group of charity knitters, plus, if I go to the meeting, I might acquire some donated yarn to make more scarves.
Those are some handsome socks, an excellent addition to the holiday gift box. Joe is a lucky guy, Any idea of what he’s knitting for you? JK!
I had Daughter pull my WIPs out of their storage, inspired to get them either finished or frogged.. Of the 3 pairs of socks in the tote, one has been frogged..
If you had given him those socks now I would have had to come up there and stage an intervention. Congratulations on being so far ahead for next Christmas. Also, if you get tired of the Trekking XXl, toss it this way. I love that yarn.
Just popping into say how impressed I am – the socks are amazing, and the stitches so tiny and perfect. I’m unable to knit stitches so tiny. (It might be unwilling, rather than unable.) But – I felt compelled to tell you – they’re just fabulous! The yarn / colors / etc. might not be exciting, which matters (I’m currently knitting a duplicate of an easy lacy top I made for myself, now am making for my mom – for her 95th birthday, and in the same dang color too – her request!) but the end result is so good!
The PS cracked me up!!!
I am now again in sock mode. LOL I had lost all mojo for a while after husband died and a year and a half later, still during covid dolcrums, I find myself wanting to knit again. So I started a baby blanket for my someday gift stash, and lost interest. One day not long ago I pulled out the unfinished socks. Two pair. One needing just the foot finished, heel already done, and the other finished sock needing a mate. So I began a third pair, ’cause that ‘s what I do. But I went back and finished that lonely sock foot, and have a new pair for next winter! It didn’t take much time at all.
🙂 And I began the mate to the Boxcar Willie sock that has been so patient. So now I knit Boxcar Willie when I’m not too tired to pay attention, and the new sock that’s vanilla, when I am. 🙂 I get into sock mode now and again and knit them exclusively for a while. I know, I’m weird. I’m a knitter!
“the work is never as hard as you think it’s going to be”, truer works had never been spoken before 🙂 Absolutely sound advice for success in every facet of life!
Those are the most perfect of perfect socks I’ve ever seen and gray is one of my favorite colors.
Thank you for sharing.
Good luck, Yana
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Thank you for the lessons. I am new to knitting and what you shared is really helpful to me
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thanks
papa’s scooperia
It’s funny how inspiration can strike unexpectedly! Sometimes, a change of scenery, like visiting Ken, can rekindle our creativity. Those socks you finished quickly show that sometimes we just need to focus on what’s in front of us. Speaking of focus, have you tried playing retro bowl for a fun distraction?
This amusing and relatable anecdote highlights the internal tug-of-war every crafter faces: balancing the desire to finish MapQuest Route Planner what’s necessary with the pull of more exciting projects, all while finding the humor in the journey.