Thursday, December 14, 2006

Socked

Look! It's my two-circulars lime green sock of liberation!

See! See how I've moved past the leg! I've turned the heel! I've finished the gusset! And I've moved right along into the foot!

Sock

And guess what! It's too big! Way too big! Look!

Sock to Scale

But I exaggerate.

It is not way too big. I wish it were. Had it been way too big, I'd have caught on early and started over. It's only a little, tiny, eensy-weensy bit too big. Close enough to the proper size that I kept trying it on, wondering for a moment, and then continuing. But still big enough that if I try to wear it, it will slide around on my foot (especially at the heel) and remind me with every step that I was a Very Bad Knitter Indeed.

I feel sentimental about the circumstances in which it was cast on, but sentimentality ever has been and ever shall be the root of too much bad art and craft. There's no point in finishing something unwearable. Into the pond it goes, to be resumed after Christmas.

As far as two-circulars technique goes, I am pleased to say it has been no trouble. I owe thanks yet again to the lucid instructions in Charlene Schurch's Sensational Knitted Socks. (No, I don't own stock in Charlene. I just have a crush on her. Yes, I know I'm gay and stuff. The heart has its reasons that reason knows not. Especially when there's knitting involved.)

It Figures

I think this item from Big Red Buddha may explain the current state of my love life. I just knew I should have picked Moses over Shakyamuni.

41 comments:

Anonymous said...

Poor sock, have to go to the frog pond. What about a tiny, itty, bitty bit of felting? Would that shrink it just enough?

This is why I only do toe up socks, I can pretty much fit it as I go.

Anna M

dpaste said...

Only problem is, in temple the couples never shut up. Sometimes there's more shushing then praying.

Anonymous said...

My condolences. My very first sock for my brother (and my first sock), is all the way down to decreasing for the toe... And will be joining the frogs. Woe, woe. It's superwash, just a wee too big, so we know what that means down the road. (In my defense, I didn't have a live victim for fitting until it got that far. Somehow the casual, "Oh, I wear a 9-10 shoe, 10-12 sock" just doesn't cut it, even with Charlene's excellent size charts.) I really feel your pain. It also doesn't quite have ladders but the stitches are a bit wonky here and there at those points; and really, they should've been knit on #0's instead of #1's. (I didn't have #0's. Now I do.)

On the other hand, the first sock of his second pair is going along swimmingly. ::crosses everything possible:: And I have a crush on Charlene too. Which is due to you, 'cause otherwise I may have gotten some different sock book first. Ack! So thanks for your review back when.

Btw, the Big Red Buddha site? The other funniest thing - all the ads for Buddha ringtones! My sense of irony is more than tickled. ;)

Anonymous said...

Yes, David is right. If you're looking for spiritual enlightenment, go with Buddha. If you're looking for gossip and general snarkiness (especially so around the High Holidays), Moses is your guy.

Ethan said...

As a Heeb, I gota say, we're into good food and talking so yeah... probably true.

And I am coming to Chicago in a week... let's go for coffee and knit!

Eth

Angie said...

I love that pattern from Charlene Schurch. The never ending K2P2 is nicely broken up by a round of plain knit, it is my fave...You know, though, now that I think about it, it does seem to be a litte more relaxed than regular ribbing...

Anonymous said...

It' still avery pretty sock!

My first too-big pair still lives nestled in the sock drawer (do non-knitters have a "sock drawer," I wonder. . .

Anyway, I trot that pair out regularly and try them on. But feet don't get fat the way butts do. So I wear them anyway.

Julie said...

You can try shrinking that sock in the dryer. If you're brave. A shot of Jack can help.

Anonymous said...

Franklin,

If it is only a little too big - only rip back to the heel and change to a smaller needle for the heel and foot - you at least get to save a good portion of the work.

From a very flattered Charlene

Carol said...

Holy crap! Charlene Schurch reads your blog!!

Your sock book rocks! Can't wait for the sequel....

Anonymous said...

"Jacob wrestling with the bodhisattva" ha ha ha. I see what he means, though. I had thought that meeting some new people might be a pleasant side-effect of my yoga class. Not so much, unless heavy breathing counts as social intercourse. Since there is nothing noticeably wrong with your personality or your person, I suspect you are not really looking for love. When you are ready it will come to you.

AuntieAnn said...

Oh, good, you haven't converted. I mean to the Beta Blogger, which won't accept any of my comments until I open a Google account, which I'm not sure yet what that entails.

Love the Charlene Schurch book (and I'm way impressed that she commented on your blog!), but I have to say that her chart and most sock charts seem a tad big to me -- this is based on measurements of the feet in my family. Also, I'm a believer in negative ease for socks (about 1" around for an adult sock), and none of the several sock books I own mention this. I, too, have ripped back socks for the sake of making them a wee bit smaller -- it can make all the difference.

Anonymous said...

some sock!

Anonymous said...

I'm so proud. Even if it's going to the pond.

Anonymous said...

I, too, am a new sock knitter thanks to Charlene's book (and a persistent friend.) I, too, am agog that Charlene left a comment for you. Does 6 Degrees of Separation apply via blog comments?

Jackie

mathaphobic said...

The sock looks great! To heck with fit.

Anonymous said...

Hey, I just had that exact same problem but with a different pattern! It called for a 72-stitch cast on, and I figured out after I got just past the gussets that this causes unbearable sagginess in the ankle. So I frogged it last night and decided to go back to it after I finish a different pair.

Perhaps we both just have slender ankles?

Anonymous said...

Don't worry about that whole crush outside of your sexual preference thing- I'm straight but I'm planning on proposing marriage to Eunny Jang. Her designs are so gorgeous that I've simply fallen in love.

Anonymous said...

You know, I have a couple of pairs that seemed a bit big before I washed them, and they're fine now. I throw my Regia/Opal/Trekking/etc. socks into the washer with the rest of the clothes, but hang them to dry, and they always seem to shrink just a wee bit over time. In fact, the ones that fit perfectly right off the needles are the ones waiting in the toe-replacement pile right now.

Anonymous said...

Crushes on those of a persuasion you don't normally prefer are absolutely, righteously fine.

Ah, Franklin, you know that the Victorians understood that and accepted in ways our current culture just can't.

Back then, most schoolgirl crushes were on other schoolgirls. And, you know what they say about all those boys' schools...

Anonymous said...

Will the socks fit John?

; )

Anonymous said...

I have big calves but dainty ankles that seem to bend rather sharply. When I first started knitting socks, they all had baggy ankles until I figured out a new way. My usual decrease at the gusset now, instead of decreasing every other row, is to decrease for 3 rows in a row, then work a row plain, then decrease every row for 2 rows for a couple of times, THEN go to ecreasing on every other row. You can't really tell any difference except that the bend is more acute.

MsAmpuTeeHee said...

Mr.Costello has a big fat worry line in the middle of his forehead ;-)

Kate said...

What is it about socks? They seem to be a bit like relationships. When they're good they're very good and when they're bad they're horrid.

I think frogging is very zen.

Anonymous said...

Haha! Now that you have mastered a sock on two circs, look for instructions on two socks on two circs!

It is the way of the future, and although it seems fiddly, it is actually very satisfying.

Anonymous said...

two words: Bed Socks.

and I so agree with you that Charlene's book ROCKS -- I'm three-quarters of the way through my second ever sock, based on her book.

Totally cool that she reads your blog. :)

FiberQat said...

Do what she said. Rip back and reknit on smaller needles. The denser fabric will wear better as well as fit more snugly.

So you may not meet the man of your dreams at temple. You could meet him at the yarn shop.

Anonymous said...

My god, what an enormous sock! Once I took a picture of a sock by the Empire State Building without realizing it was the Empire State Building. It was embarrassing when I was all, "What? Why would I take a picture of the top?"

I'm still loving the color, though.

Anonymous said...

One of the reasons I love doing socks on two circs is so i can do both at once....no second sock syndrome.
Not that Your Knitting Holiness :P would have that problem I guess. Maybe no one mentioned this handy fact? The yarn lives comfortably inside the partially knitted sock ( once it's big enough) which helps prevent tangle-ups.

Holly M. Wendt said...

I'm knitting socks for my mother and they keep turning out to be just a teensy bit too big, too. My yarn's been frogged so many times I could make an Annie wig from it. Be brave. Do what you need to do with those lovely lime-green socks.

Anonymous said...

Well. The good news about the sock is that you can fix that baby with gauge. (The tighter you knit, the longer socks last) The good thing about the dating thing is that the socks will help you speak volumes without a word.

Anonymous said...

I laughed out loud over the Buddha article. I even shared it with my very nice Jewish boss, who also enjoyed it and agreed with the whole premise.

The sock is loverly. It should be worn in comfort and with love. Charlene is so wise in her solution . . . no wonder you have a crush!

Anonymous said...

Hi Franklin, I didn't find an email address for you, so I have to ask you here. Do you suppose you could put Delores on large mugs at Cafe Press? I love her, particularly Uppity Delores, and I need a LARGE mug for my coffee habit. Other people probably do too, need large Delores mugs I mean.

Oh, and the green socks are awesome, though I don't do circs for socks, I appreciate the skill of those that do. You might also like this gorgeous sock pattern by Danny, another guy who knits: http://doknitting.com/ccs_home.htm

junior_goddess said...

And I would fix you up with my brother in a minute...but you two aren't even in the same country....so I guess you are still at square one.

Poor sock.

Anonymous said...

If it's the foot portion that's too big, frog back to the gusets and do some extra gusseting, which will reduce the number of foot stitches to part fit. If it's the leg portion, there's always cut and knit north on smaller needles. If it's the whole sock, it's total lime green frog time. Sorry for your woes.

pd said...

The green is gorgeous. I'm glad you picked it.

Anonymous said...

Hey, I knit that same pattern from the same book and my socks turned out too big too!

MarlyKnits
www.knitthing.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Is there anyone on your Christmas list with bigger calves who would appreciate lime green socks? I think they are beautiful!

boobookittyfug said...

You could drop stitches in the sole of the foot and latch them back up as ribs. Like "afterthought ribbing." You may need to snip a stitch and re-graft a round when you are done. Or frog. But I hate re-knitting whole finished things.

Charlene's suggestion is a good one. what did you decide?

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