Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Things I have learned from knitting socks

In no particular order:

Handknit socks are one of the little luxuries you should not have to do without.
Kids socks look really cute while you are knitting them.
It is amazing how many people know that you are knitting socks.
It is amazing how many total strangers will ask you to knit them a pair.
They all seem to take it quite well when you tell them no.
They never seem to take up the offer of knitting lessons.
I like square (or almost square) heel flaps.
I like my heel flaps to be about 6cm long.
I have huge galoomphing feet.
I like knitting socks toe up and toe down.
I think I go faster when using double pointed needles.
Much as I like the way the top looks when I pretend to Kitchener the knit stitches to the purl stitches it takes too long.
When you start with a provisional cast on, knit a few rows, and pull out the crochet chain you get a picot-y edge and the stitches don’t seem inclined to run wildly (yet)
I should never have tried to make a perfectly matched pair of socks (photo was going to be below but I wore them to gym and they are not particularly photogenic).
Due to the above I have discovered that I am, in fact, secretly obsessive compulsive and anal retentive, as I am now DETERMINED to make the next pair match as closely as possible.
One of the best reasons for splitting your 100g ball into two balls is to find any KNOTS.
Once you find knots make sure that the bits either side of the knots have the same pattern repeat.
I didn’t do this and the bit on one side of the sock had slightly longer stretches of colour than the other one.
This is why my socks did not match and I am now obsessing about getting the next pair to match.
I really need to get a life.

In other news, Jackie is on a mission to bankrupt the tooth fairy. She has lost 3 teeth in the last 2 weeks (2 on successive days) and seems to spend every spare moment wiggling the loose ones to encourage them to fall out.

I have been invited to a bridge club from next year. Haven't played in over a decade. Must find out what system they use so I can brush up.

New Years resolutions – must post more to the blog, must work on breaking the 70kg barrier.