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August 16, 2011

Socks and Breaking The Rules!

Since I started knitting socks, I've had a rule of only one pair on the needles at a time.  It's worked and I've finished my socks, totally avoiding second sock syndrome.. when you only ever knit the first sock of a pair and then start on another.  

This holiday trip, I broke my rule.   I took yarn and an extra set of needles and started a new pair.  It seemed like the right thing to do at the time.  Camping, in a group, with friends.  Busy running around to classes, visiting, shopping and camp chores, I figured a mindless knitted sock - in this case a 3/1 ribbed sock, would be perfect.   Now the colourwork socks were on the needles and I'd finished the finickity counting the chart part, so the rest of plain knitting.  Why didn't I bring it along?
My gauge was off.  I knit the second sock in a totally different gauge.   There was a noticeable difference between the patterns on the first and second sock.  The bottom stripey bit on the second sock, started where the first one ended!  I was discontented to say the least.   At that point, I was ready to rip the thing out and start again, working to tighten up my knitting.   I'd be able to do what I had first intended as well, which was to knit the second sock as the reverse of the first.. so black pattern on a red sock.  I had totally forgotten to do so and was halfway through the pattern before I noticed it.  sigh..

When I got back home, the patterns had relaxed somewhat and are closer in size now.  The big question is, do I try to live with the difference or do I rip it out and start again?    (Not only that, but I just realized that I've knitted both socks with the pattern bottom to top, so it's upside down!  How in the world did I manage that one?)


Anyway, I left the sock at home, so I wouldn't rip it out rashly.  It was a lot of work!  I grabbed two balls of sock yarn in jewel tones to use as a camping project.   The sock worked up quickly, although I need to rip it back a couple of rows and insert a few extra rows before I restart the toe.   I will have to say that while I love the colours, I'm not fond of the mismatched stripes of the colourway.   That huge purple blotch in between the thinner stripes just feels so totally wrong.   It would have been quite perfect if the purple stripe was the same size as the other colours.. just sayin...  I don't think I've another pair of socks that I consider quite so ugly, and this one isn't even a whole pair yet!


4 comments:

  1. argh, ripping out two colours is such a mess:(( I'd leave it, upside down doesn't matter, because you did it on both socks - and you won't see the difference later, because the legs are covered with pants? welcome home btw, I am a bit behind:)) your flowers look lovely - I adore sunflowers and it's sad that we had such a wreck of a summer here...

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  2. just thinkin about the purple blotch: how about going back again to the first blotch, and using two balls alternately - starting with green on one ball and purple on the other - which would give you a more stripey look?

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  3. Honestly, do you really think anyone is going to run a tape measure up your leg!

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  4. Bettina - I think you're right about the two ball technique, making it look more stripey. I'll have to think about that. I'm about to start the toe, so that's a lot of ripping back though.

    Sharon - hehehe, nope, not worried about tape measures, but the difference before I left on holiday, was very, very noticeable.. over an inch between the two. It doesn't look nearly so awful now that it's had time to relax. Still, I could do the other one red, with the black pattern and it's horribly tempting to do so.

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