Yarn stories

Knitters may laugh at this photo, but somehow I just have to talk about this so that I remember my lessons. I have actually cried over this yarn, actually thrown the ball and needles across the room, but then stubbornly picked it up again.


It all started with a hair cut. In Sonora, the yarn shop is just a few doors down from the salon I frequent, so of course, I have to stop in and oggle and feel all the soft yarns. Seems as though these very fine sock yarns, called "fingering wool" are pretty popular right now with the yarn crowd, and there are lots of pretty socks in baskets to tempt me. Now I have made one pair of socks, with worsted weight wool, successfully. On Number 5 needles if I remember right, or some such big kind of thing. Yeah, sure, I can do number 2's. why not. Hmmm. I learned why not. My fingers can do lots of things, I play the piano, texture soils and type fast. On a side note, I just learned that those of us who have textured soils with our right thumb and forefinger have lost most of our fingerprints there. But anyway, fine detailed dexterity isn't on that list of things that I do well. Tiny screws and such make me crazy. Think I should have known, right?

Well, instead, I bought some fancy #2 double pointed needles and a skein of very expensive, very beautiful fingering weight sock yarn. Gee, maybe I can make a dozen or so pairs for Christmas presents. NOT! I think I spent a week or so trying to actually cast on 64 stitches on the double pointed needles before I finally managed to begin a round. After another week, some dropped stitches, and actually crying when I ripped it all out for the 40th time, I put it on the shelf. Another week passed and I took the whole mess to my camping trip and tried again, once more to rip it all out. I cried again. geez. Nothing like some skinny yarn and #2 needles to mess up my life. Maybe I should just knit big shawls and washcloths. Somewhere in this process I knitted up a very nice washcloth to feel better about myself.

I finally decided that I could possibly try using circular needles. Bought 2 of them, at something like $13 each, and proceeded to find a video on the internet of just how to knit in the round for socks on 2 circular needles. Tried again. These socks are getting pretty expensive, and fairly precious. But I am beginning to see from all this that I am nothing else if not stubborn. So, once again, I attempt to actually cast on 64 stitches, hook them up, and start knitting in the round for a rib knit. Knit 2 purl 2 knit 2 purl 2. Uhoh. I have 63 stitches instead of 64. crap. rip it out. Only this time I didn't cry, I actually started laughing and started casting on again. I am not sure just how many times I did this, but I notice I am getting just a bit better at handling that finger weight yarn, and finally, finally, on a Saturday afternoon when I should be doing lots of other things, here is the proof that if I keep on keepin on, eventually I will get somewhere.

It's ribbing. It's tiny. It is the beginning of a real sock. Do you suppose I will have one pair by Christmas? Maybe if I give them to Mo I can wear them myself sometimes. No one else will get fingering weight fancy wool socks, at least not before I am retired.