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.)
One of those things: I frogged, I dropped stitches, I measured, and now this:
Look how beautiful the top half is. It's NOT the lighting, it truly is smooth and beautiful. Look how uneven the bottom half is!! I'm truly hoping for a blocking miracle...this time I realize the difference is that the bottom part is using previously knitted yarn. (cotton) So it has a kink in it, I guess. Will it still be noticeable after blocking? What say ye? Anyone with experience in this, let me know if I should throw in the towel, frog my beautiful stitches, and re-use the yarn! (Seems a shame, doesn't it?)
This is felting by hand. I poured boiling water over these strips, twirled them around, and found they felted best by rolling them vigorously in my hands. They are pulls for slippers.
At least I see them when I drop them. Really, the thought crossed my mind about a week ago that I never drop stitches anymore. What do I get? A jolt of reality...
I'm at Knit nite and suddenly, in mid show-off, I notice that the pattern wasn't quite right, and there was a lonely stitch staring at me (WAAAAY down at the bottom). There was discussion amongst us.... to pick up or to sew it in? Ach, I said. I'll pick it up--it will even out. Now I'm not so sure. Using 100% cotton, what do you think? Here's what it looks like today. Eventually it will be blocked and I'll report back.
It's on the right, and of course, accentuated by picking up an extra green at the bottom. The lack of green is what tipped me off in the first place. Do I go back and fix the green? A part of me says: Don't be so OC(D). And a bigger part says: I can fix it...and I'll feel better.
Time will tell.
The crazy part: I dropped another stitch yesterday... in another garment... and when I finished picking it up it looks the same. It's in a wool and I wonder if it will take care of itself...
It's the bunched up stitches in the center. Meanwhile, the rest of the stitches look particularly nasty... Can I try to explain the hole, and the jumbled mess? What you are looking at is a sleeve, the underarm decreases knitted from the body to the cuff. Already, I think the wool is going to be more forgiving than the cotton. I'm praying to the gods of blocking!
Just goes to show what I'll do to avoid frogging.
