In which Atropos learns the benefits of forward planning

After 2 posts squeeing about yarn I thought I should post about some actual knitting, just to make a change.

So here is a pic of one of my current works in progress - one pair of adult socks and one pair of matching kiddy socks, both in Regia jacquard 4-ply.




In general I'm quite pleased with these so far. The adult sock is done using the heelflap method and is a repeat of the same pattern I used for my first ever socks earlier this year. This time however I have little to no laddering, which is no mean feat with double pins. The secret seems to be to spread the stitches between four needles rather than three wherever possible, and to use slightly tighter tension for the first three or four stitches of each new needle rather than just the first stitch. And my kitchener stitch actually looks like it does in the diagrams rather than some strange approximation of my own devising, which has to be progress.

The child's sock is from a free pattern that I was sent by the lovely people at Yarn Shop UK when I bought some Opal sock wool from them. It uses K3 P2 rib around the entire cuff and the top of the foot and has rather a nifty garterstitch roll top, which sure beats trying to start K2 P2 rib on the first row after casting on, that dangerous point where double pins still have a life of their own. Trust me on that one. I will probably give this pair to my nephew when they are done - they will be a bit too big for him now, but should fit him perfectly by Christmas.

So far so good, I hear you say, but where are the other two? Well therein hangs a tale. I knitted the adult sock first, which went quite smoothly and quickly because I had used the pattern before. Two long car journeys and voila - one sock. Except I couldn't quite face on casting on for exactly the same pattern all over again for sock no 2 and I had quite a lot of my first ball of yarn left over. So I thought I'd try the child's socks, thus adding a bit of variety and frugally using up my leftover yarn in the process. This all went swimmingly until I was halfway down the foot of my second sock. You guessed it - I didn't have enough yarn in my first ball to finish the pattern. I wasn't short by much, probably only 5m or so, but it's enough to be absolutely sure that you can't quite get a pair of adult socks and a small pair of childrens' socks out of 2 balls of Regia. Hence the mercy dash to Liberty at the weekend for a third ball of yarn.

Of course now I will have enough left over from that third ball to make another pair of tiny socks :eyeroll: So much for my good intentions. Perhaps I'll keep myself entertained on that pair by learning how to do a short row heel :)