More finished objects
Lauren once commented to me that I must knit fast. At the time, I think I responded along the lines that it wasn't so much a matter of how fast I could knit as it was a question of how long I could knit.
I'm making two-at-a-time socks now, as I posted a couple of days ago, in a self-striping yarn. When I sat down this evening and picked up my knitting, I had finished the gussets and finished about an inch on the instep. Around 9:00, I had about an inch to go before it was time to begin the toe decreases.
Well, they're done. Because I knit on the back needle whenever I work on circulars, I worked the socks this way, too. So, when I got to the directions for the Kitchener stitch, I screwed it up on the first sock, by working the graft on the wrong side. Taking a page from the Navajos, I left the error in place. Um ... ok, I left it in place because I'd done a great job of weaving in the end and it wasn't worth picking apart the yarn to undo it. They're mine. I don't care about the error. I love these socks. Even though I hate how my left foot and ankle swell by the end of the day (a result of an accident four years ago when the steps to my deck collapsed beneath me as I was coming down them, and I speared straight into the ground, catching all of my weight on my left foot) I love these socks enough to show you a picture of them even with my ugly, swollen left foot and ankle (gotta look into acupuncture for that!)
I think it's the way socks look so perfect when they're done that makes me like making them. Like baking bread, or making a slip cover, there's something incredibly gratifying about making something that looks so perfect when it's done. For me, that's always been one of the beauties of knitting - the results can be so surprisingly perfect. And, it's not really how fast I knit that gets me to the finish line. It's how curious I am to see the final product that keeps me going, stitch after stitch, round after round, hour after hour, so that the instep that was under my fingers at 9:00 p.m. becomes the sock that is on my foot at midnight. (And like an artist, I'm going to recommend you click on the photo so you can see the brush strokes stitches.)
I'm making two-at-a-time socks now, as I posted a couple of days ago, in a self-striping yarn. When I sat down this evening and picked up my knitting, I had finished the gussets and finished about an inch on the instep. Around 9:00, I had about an inch to go before it was time to begin the toe decreases.
Well, they're done. Because I knit on the back needle whenever I work on circulars, I worked the socks this way, too. So, when I got to the directions for the Kitchener stitch, I screwed it up on the first sock, by working the graft on the wrong side. Taking a page from the Navajos, I left the error in place. Um ... ok, I left it in place because I'd done a great job of weaving in the end and it wasn't worth picking apart the yarn to undo it. They're mine. I don't care about the error. I love these socks. Even though I hate how my left foot and ankle swell by the end of the day (a result of an accident four years ago when the steps to my deck collapsed beneath me as I was coming down them, and I speared straight into the ground, catching all of my weight on my left foot) I love these socks enough to show you a picture of them even with my ugly, swollen left foot and ankle (gotta look into acupuncture for that!)
I think it's the way socks look so perfect when they're done that makes me like making them. Like baking bread, or making a slip cover, there's something incredibly gratifying about making something that looks so perfect when it's done. For me, that's always been one of the beauties of knitting - the results can be so surprisingly perfect. And, it's not really how fast I knit that gets me to the finish line. It's how curious I am to see the final product that keeps me going, stitch after stitch, round after round, hour after hour, so that the instep that was under my fingers at 9:00 p.m. becomes the sock that is on my foot at midnight. (And like an artist, I'm going to recommend you click on the photo so you can see the posted by Crowzma | 12:31 AM
2 Comments:
They look great Ginny!
You're a freak - taking pictures of your toes sticking out of those socks!!! I can't even imagine putting socks on my feet anymore! Can't you make a pair of sandals for me?
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