The Great Sock Massacre
(with apologies to Robert Darnton!)
This is not a good time for knitting here chez Desiknitter. Sweaters are on life support, with no prospects of immediate recovery. In addition, here’s what I have to show for hours of sock knitting in the last week:
The Jaywalker sock, above, coughed and spluttered its way past the heel, but the prognosis, after several early froggings and expensive treatments, aka efforts to learn a new heel flap method, was never good. Somewhere up the cuff I realised that I couldn’t stand the pattern. Actually it was when I knit my Chevron eyeshade that the boredom of the zig zag pattern hit me. Yes I know, it’s supposed to enliven the yarn and do wonders for stripes, but whatever. I frogged it down to the toe. The blue one next to it is Claudia, leftover from my Spiral scarf which I tried to start into a striped sock after Eunny’s but everything I striped it with was either thicker or thinner, resulting in an unhealthy, mottled look. That is now languishing at the toe as well. The other maroon Claudia looks like it might survive, although this was after several attempts to start these which went nowhere. So now all I have is a bunch of sock heads that look like they got decapitated rather messily.
I think the magic medicine is simple: stockinette. With this simple diet, my socks might yet survive the summer. But when I am ready to tackle a pattern again, it’s going to be Pamela’s Marigold Socks. I missed seeing her today as she’s on a busy tour of the Bay area, but will hopefully see her sometime soon.
A second opinion, however, suggests alternative treatment: lace. And seeing no harm in combining these, one of the two is currently under consideration from the book I recently bought: Stahman’s Shawls and Scarves.
This book has some fairly straightforward patterns in the Faroese construction, and each motif is also adapted to a rectangular scarf, which I really like. I will likely use the book quite a lot, even though some bits are odd: no yarn estimates or finished dimensions are given. You are in a Zimmermanesque universe, figuring it all out yourself! Aside: do buy this book from Schoolhouse Press if you want to; there are some absurdly high prices on Amazon for used copies, but I got it for a standard price new within a week from them. I was afraid it was dreadfully back-ordered because I saw the Amazon prices after ordering it, but seeing it in my mail was a pleasant surprise yesterday.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who isn’t madly in love with the Jaywalker, although my primary objection stems from all of the mistakes I made because I wasn’t paying attention. I guess I can’t blame that on a pattern that has been successfully knit by hundreds of people!
Great shawls! I’m sorry to see the socks go, and flattered that you’re considering Marigold when you go back to fancy patterns — such pressure!
sometimes it’s just best to go back to the basics of stockinette….that’s too bad about all the socks!
I love those Marigold socks! Thanks for the link. I’m sorry to hear your sock mojo is out of whack. Let’s hear it for stockinette stitch! I think those faroese shawls are just gorgeous. I can’t wait to see what yarns you use for them and how they knit up.
Poor socks. Sometimes the knitting mojo just ain’t there. I do love the shawl patterns…I’m feeling like I want to do a lace shawl this summer but somehow I don’t think I’m gonna get around to it.
Aw, poor socks. Ooh, pretty shawls.
I’ve really been going back and forth a lot on this trip about shawl shape. I used my big shawl both as a triangle and as a rectangle, and… I just can’t decide what I really like. But yay for a book that lets you make the choice a bit more often. That’s actually quite awesome.
I have half-finished socks that have been languishing for, oh, EVER. I suspect they will never be finished.
Sorry that you seem to have a bit of knitting rebellion going on amongst the projects, with them sort of scattering and committing sepuku on you or just falling into a dead faint. That’s happening here and I tell myself that things will get better as winter approaches again.