Socks Of Betrayal

I had really hoped that I would be knitting a new pair of socks in October also known as Socktober. I had grand visions of using orange yarn. Perhaps my skein of Miss Babs Yummy 2-ply in the Biker Chick color or maybe my skein of Baah! La Jolla in the California Poppy color. I was making such great progress on the Sock Lover's Socks that there was no reason not to believe that I could be casting on fresh socks by the first week of October. We are just about done with the 2nd week of October and I am still knitting these wretched socks. Let it be known that the pattern is fine. It's the yarn that is the problem, specifically the dark grey yarn I paired with the self striping. It is a black hole of disappointment. A vortex of woe. It has betrayed me.

I had knit the entire sock all the way to the toe. I counted my stitches as I usually do before I cut the yarn. 16-17-18, good. 18 stitches on the top. 16-17.... 17?!? I was prepared to let go of my usual need for sock perfection, but I just had to know where that missing stitch went. I could have sworn that completed the gusset without any trouble with the right number of stitches. (There was loads of trouble with some mysterious section that kept being lumpy and tight which switched locations three times in between fixings... but that is besides the point.) And then I saw it... the dropped stitch. I know it is possible to mend a dropped stitch, but this one was on a wear point on the bottom of the foot and it was so very far down.

The marker on the bottom of the foot is holding the dropped stitch

So I ripped and reknit.... only to have the yarn betray me a second time! Another dropped stitch. I have no idea how this keeps happening, but I have just about had it. If both sets of my sock needles weren't taken up, I would have revenge cast on a sock already! As it stands, I'm trying to be disciplined and finish, but it sure is stressful knitting.

Can you see the stitches? Neither can I.

Meanwhile I am busy designing. Of course the project has been ripped even more than the socks. Each rip leads me to a better version of the pattern, but I would be lying if I didn't say that I am looking forward to knitting something entirely different.

Monkey See, Monkey Knit

My Monkey socks are coming along nicely. I'm now at the heel flap of the second sock. And since this is the only thing I have on the needles at the moment, I'm starting to look at my stash and my ravelry queue a little more frequently.

And by look at my stash, what I actually mean is buy new yarn. Connor and I went to Michaels to get  a sketchbook. I made the grand mistake of looking at the yarn. I figured that my yarn snobbery would keep me safe. I was wrong. A few months ago when I was contemplating what color work socks to knit next, I thought about knitting Sock Lover's Socks. Nothing in my stash is quite right for the pattern and I really wanted a skein of Paton's Kroy in Blue Striped Ragg. I didn't know they had the yarn, but there is was, just waiting for me to buy it. As for the two other skeins, I have plenty of plain colored yarn, but after the debacle of the Sheep May Safely Graze socks I thought it better just to buy yarn that I knew would match.

Speaking of which, ravelry has put my Sheep May Safely Graze on their Sept 1st, 2015 eye candy post. Very exciting! Thanks to those of you who noticed and wished me well. I actually didn't notice initially because it was below the fold. But once I scrolled down....

I've also been quite busy behind the scenes. Other than keeping a household going and doing responsible adult things... like budgeting... I've been working on designs again. This is Dragonfly Fibers' Damsel yarn in the Spanish Moss color way. I know what I want it to be, but getting the numbers to come out right has been a fight. I'm getting closer to knitting it every day.

And finally, I have a pattern coming out within the next few days. My goal is Friday, but we shall see.