The Journey of the Sock (Part Deux, A Long Sock’s Journey Into Night)

Thursday. It was the day the sock completed its journey. After double and triple-checking my calculations, I decided it was time to decrease for the toe. I was nervous. Despite the meticulous calculations, despite my faith in Kate’s tried and tested sock recipe, I still felt like maybe I had made it too short, or too long, or that it would be too wide.

I took the plunge and cut the yarn. Unlike sewing, knitting is a forgiving art. You can unravel a piece many times before the yarn starts splitting. When you sew, you cut once and any mistakes are costly. Material cannot be cut and then uncut. Even though yarn is forgiving, once the piece is cast off and the yarn is cut, it’s not exactly easy to fix the mistake. It’s the point of no return.

My fears were ill-founded. The sock has taught me that I need to trust my instincts, I need to trust the math, and I need to trust that I don’t have misshapen feet.

The sock fit perfectly. I put it on, squealed, and showed it to Mr. BF. He laughed at my girlish giggling, gave a thumbs-up, and went back to what he was doing.

Sock number two is on the needles. The top ribbing is done and I’m working on the body of the sock. Despite my earlier claims of hating the metal DPNs, I’ve gotten used to them.

I was considering posting photos of the first sock, but I think I’ll wait until both are done. Then I’ll prance around in my sock-clad feet and do a happy jig.

And after that? I might be convinced to knit another sock or two.

Happy rainy weekend, everyone.

~ by tripknit on July 12, 2008.