Essentially Socks

Last Friday, I had three projects on the needles. All of them were boring me to death. I didn't want to knit them. I wanted to do anything but knit, which is sad and completely unlike me. Each project seemed to take forever and I wanted nothing more than the instant gratification of finishing something. But nothing I was knitting was going to be finished soon, and I knew better than to cast on something new to add to my ennui. I was stuck, uninspired. Then, my Knitpicks order arrived. Still, I tried to be virtuous. There was no point casting on something new, even in new yarn, when I still had three projects draining the life out of me.

I made it to Saturday. Then, I realized I had one UFO that was put on hold until the Knitpicks yarn arrived. I pulled that out and finished.

Pattern: Falling Leaves from Knitty

Yarn: Knitpicks Essential in Navy

Needles: Size 1 Susan Bates (I think)

I started these socks because, having just finished a pair of socks in the same yarn, I had over half of a ball left. Since the first pair, with a decent leg length, had only seemed to take very beyond one ball, I was curious about whether I could get a small pair of anklets out of what was left.

I totally can't. I got one anklet and half a foot (my foot, not the twelve inches foot) on the second. Not a problem. I strung the unfinished sock on spare yarn, reclaimed my needles and made a mental note to order more Essential when I placed another Knitpicks order.

When the Essential arrived, it looked ... different. The ball itself was more compact and cuter, and the yarn seemed softer. Since I have an aversion to ripping back anything, and especially socks, I employed the "galloping horse" rule and went ahead. The new yarn is slightly lighter in color and slightly softer in feel, but, on socks, no one's going to be able to notice. Trust me, no one will ever know.

The good news is these socks did what I needed them to. I pulled out the World's Most Boring Scarf and am happily knitting away.