Sunday, January 13, 2008

SSSS-SOS


Second Sidewinder Sock Syndrome.

I can feel myself going down.

It's not the pattern (free from the brilliant Nona)

(you must trust the pattern, if your gauge is correct trust the pattern...even if it looks too small) I took this advice from Sarah on "socks on the needles in general" and am very glad I did, the sidewinder fits perfectly.

It's not the pattern, it's the yarn - Noro Sock, don't get me wrong I LOVE this yarn, I received a couple of skeins to play with (and yes it is interesting and effective used as baby yarn - more another day) and am definitely going to buy lots of this stuff, but it is the qualities of the yarn, combined with the technique of the sock which became my potential downfall - I don't want to knit the second sock because I know that when I finish it (very soon, because they are so wonderfully quick to knit) I will have to graft the entire back seam...which would not be so bad with a plied yarn, however the Noro sock is a single...a very twisty, turns and goes back on itself single...which doesn't work well when you have 75 inches of it to deal with...75 inches that I had to loop over my big toe to keep the yarn under tension EVERY SINGLE TIME I grafted a stitch;
- put needle through stitch
- loop yarn over toe
- commit bastardised yoga move under toe is inches from knitting, hook over hand to combat extreme looping
repeat over and over and over again.
The knitting took a little over a day, the grafting took 2 days and my will to live.
Today, I will write a pattern up, get another out of my head and into yarn before my head actually explodes - and then try again with the second sidewinder - wish me luck.
(I am semi-prepared, I have made a batch of extra spicy chai syrup, and there is Green and Blacks butterscotch chocolate in the "emergency" section of the pantry)



(adjusted the pattern slightly so I have more garter st rows at the back for better fit - and no, I'm not liking the cerise section...but I'm trying to "go with the Noro")