A few years ago, we got a new dog from the shelter. Everyone loves Mystic! She's oh-so-soft, and only barks if there's a large bovine in the backyard. Her tail wags constantly, and she's pretty much the perfect dog.
BUT, and there's always something, when she first arrived, she exhibited some anxiety issues which manifested itself as chewing up soft things on the floor. From that point, I learned I had to pick up my socks... In the picture there's a green patch on the top sock which I recently knitted in to make them wearable again.
Turkish Socks repaired
She's over most of her anxiety, however, it now only comes out when we have guests, and are preoccupied with having a good time. Then she disappears into another room and enjoys herself with a good chew, sometimes on our guest's clothing... Beware!
I love my neighbor. He does so much for us, and I really "owe" him... so when he brings a "great yard sale buy" like a wool pullover, with numerous moth holes, and asks me if I can fix it... ?? What do I say? I'll give it a try. I did request that he have it dry cleaned (how happy would I be to infest my stash...?) and find appropriate wool to do said repair. I figured if it really was going to be meaningful to him, he needed to invest a little time and $$ too. And he did!
So here's what I have to work with:
The "matching" yarn isn't a match at all, but considering we have no LYSes less than 60 miles away, I'm working with an off color, and acrylic yarn. There are probably a dozen places to repair, mostly on the back, and I warned him about my sock darning skills. He had a look at my first attempt and I have the nod to continue with the rest of it. The caveat is that when he wears it, expect other places to pull apart, and I'll see what I can do.
Here's the first attempt.
I know: If it was my purchase, I would throw it in the washer on hot, and make beautiful mittens.
#2 for 2011 that is. In fact, I haven't darned socks in ...a year or so.
My lovely Spring Twist socks going to wash (a month ago)
and there they were: Not one sock, but BOTH. One on the heel
and one on the ball of the foot! Devastation!!
They have been hidden away in a drawer, waiting for this moment. No matching yarn to be found, which is a sign that I wouldn't be able to handle matching yarn. It's difficult enough without "disguising" my stitches, however, I may rethink that as I see the finished product. I looked in my stash for this yarn (Sockby Shibui KnitsFingering / 4 ply 100% Merino, which doesn't seem to wear well as socks) and even though I have tons of scraps I had to make due with TOFUtsies
#1 - Today, no deadlines, I should have a look at those socks. Hmm. Here they are. What was the problem? Oh, the heel with the funny every onther stitch worn through.
#2 - Pick up those dangling stitches, be done in no time! Only 4 are loose.
#3 - Start stitching below the culprits, but wait! What's with this fancy slip stitch reinforcement technique that I use on almost every top down heel? Duplicate stitching just took a nasty turn. Where are those missing stitches? And with much teeth-gnashing I ended up with quite a mess.
#4 - Say good-by to lovely even rows... Oh well, it's the heel, I'll never tell. Then I had the brilliant idea of trying to disguise my messiness by false duplicate stitching over the duplicate stitches! Brilliant I say, until I compare the finished result, which doesn't look much better. Repeat #4 to "never tell."
#5 - OK, finished! Put them on to model... but what's this? The second sock: How did I miss the gaping hole? Darn, again... This time with a closer look at both socks, in both problem areas. Yep, they both need re-constructive AND preventative care.
Beautiful heel but doomed
Added reinforcement
Hole is isolated
Weak spot on the other sock
Repaired pair
#6 - I learned, and everyone should learn from this lesson: Keep track of your leftover sock yarns! It will look prettier! (My excuse: I used it for embroidery on another project...silly me.)
I have a little pile of socks... pairs of socks, a growing pile. And I'm afraid to wear them. What a shame!
The problem...it's cold, outside and in:
And these are my warmest, favorite socks. They are made from real, shrinkable, slightly scratchy, Norwegian Rauma fin ull (wool). Aren't they a hoot? They are my Miss Marple Mystery socks. They are made up of so many patterns and techniques, I have become quite attached. But see the little hole? I was so surprised, because I don't usually see holes. This doesn't mean that I don't wear my socks, but I just thought they were infallible. It turns out that once I started looking, I found several pair with holes and almost holes (thread-bare). So I made a pile.
Yesterday, I finally decided that I would take a moment and darn. I was surprised how quickly it went, and suddenly I have my old socks back, like new. Ahemmm.. No, not new in the sense that they are pristine, but very much my favorite.
Really, folks, who sees the bottom of your socks, besides someone who does your laundry (that would be me) and your fellow knit club members? And they certainly understand.
So I'm a darn'er with a free spirit. I have yet to darn with the same yarn from the sock, and here you have it: The darning egg, er, my glasses case. It's firm, easy to handle, fits into a sock, and has enough grip to stay put.
See how nicely it fits? Well, it was a bit slippery, but it worked!
Since most of the threads were still there, I was able to duplicate-stitch with yarn I had left over from another pair of socks. I used TOFUtsies. I think it will have some extra strength. (It's interesting that if your socks are going to wear somewhere, it will be the same for all of your socks. Of course, everyone will wear through at their own particular place. I bet NCIS knows all about that.)
Yes, I'm left-handed.
All done!
Yes, and the toes are different...
I'm toasty again! A quick fix! (I watched darning videos while I was darning. It sort of was a stamp of approval on my method.)
