Never Say Never

I never wanted to knit socks. Those tiny needles. All those tiny needles. And that skinny, skinny yarn. Why would anyone want to torture themselves knitting socks? Considering that they'll be hidden inside a pair of shoes or boots, or worse yet, worn around the house in your PJs.

I was totally Anti Sock.

But then, my sister who is a flight attendent, often picks up discarded books from passengers. To kill time at 30,000 feet, she reads. (She should really knit -- imagine how many things she could finish on those long flights??)

Anyway, when I last saw my sister, she had just finished reading "A Good Yarn" by Debbie Macomber. In a nutshell the book is about a few divorced woman and a depressed, overweight teenager who bond over a sock class at their local knitting store. (Need I say more about not wanting to ever knit socks?)

Sister: "I just read this book about knitted socks. Do you ever knit socks?"

Me: "No. Never. I hate the thought of knitting socks."

Sister: "But why? They sound like they'd be so soft and comfortable. This book I just read made them sound great. And they knit them on something called 2 sets of circulars."

Me: "Never. It's torture. Knitting on 2 sets of circulars is horrible. Sock knitting would put me in the looney bin in no time."

Fast forward a few weeks to me in my LYS.

Me: "My sister read this crazy book and now wants me to knit her a pair of socks."

Helen (owner of LYS): "You want to knit something for someone else? Are you feeling well?"

Me: "Yeah. Well. You know I'm not from the knitters-of-stuff-for-other-people crowd, but she is my sister."

Helen: "Well...yeah. And knitting socks is really fun. You'll become addicted (not like you need another yarn addiction.) And I have a class starting this Thursday night for 3 weeks."

So I signed up and learned how to knit myself a pair of socks. We used DPNs vs. 2 sets of circulars. Which is fine for me because I've used the 2 circulars to knit sleeves once and really didn't enjoy it. (Translation: I cursed a LOT.)


Progress


Completed


Heels together now


Yes, I stand like a duck

Here's what I learned from knitting socks:

• Those little needles are annoying. I sort of got used to them, but let's face it -- straight needle knitting is far easier.
• Knitting on a plane with double points is rather dangerous. The guy behind me was sick of looking for my lost needle. I think that's why dpn comes in sets of 5.
  
• I hated the fact that I did my first pair in stockenette. But it was quickest and we had to finish a large portion of the sock before each class and I was afraid anything else would have taken too long. It doesn't make for the most attractive sock, but I'm not about to rip these out and start over.
• Size 5 needles for socks make them just too damn fat.
• My husband keeps calling my socks "boots" because of how wide they are.
  
• He can not understand why anyone in their right mind would knit socks when they are available at Nordstrom for $4.
• I prefer the look of short row heel to the heel flap.
  
• The toe shaping on this particular pattern was a little too "pointy" but I assume there are other options out there.
• I know I took this class to make a pair of socks for my sister, but I couldn't give her the first pair I made. There are just too many things I want to change for her pair.
• I've finally learned that K2Tog slants to the right and SSK slants to the left.
  

Clearly, Helen was right. Knitting socks is somewhat addicting. Mostly because they are a challenge and I like a challenge. I even bought this book to learn other sock variations:



I've now got the yarn and needles for my sister's socks. Let's hope I finish them before the local looney bin comes a knockin'.