Socks: A Good Thing

My sole despair (no pun intended) at the beginning of this year was my inability to knit successfully a wearable pair of socks. I accepted the challenge of the Friends Group Sock Knitting KAL/CAL and committed to completing one pair of socks.  

Almost twelve months later, it actually took putting all my hand knit socks to soak in the same afternoon for me to realize that I’ve completed 5 pairs of socks and have another three pairs on the needles.

I’m going to use the Anatole France quote from our recent staff retreat to describe how I reached and exceeded my goal.

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.

I’d been dreaming since I purchased the first skein of sock yarn in 2008.

I believed. I mean how hard can it be? After all, all knitting consists of two stitches: knit and purl, and I had those down. 

My plan: I scouted and saved to queue many different sock patterns on Ravelry. Pulled out Ann Budd’s Getting Started Knitting Socks. As well as The Sock Knitter’s Workshop  by Stephanie van der Linden. I studied both. 

I acted by starting with Ann Budd’s First Time Tube Socks. Simple knitting in the round. Found You Tube and printed tutorials on Kitchener Stitch. Voila! I had a pair of socks. I also enrolled in the Craftsy class, Knit Original Cuff Down Socks. Donna Druchunas became my video friend/mentor. I used the 30-second repeat, the bookmark, and the written instructions together and separately in my first two attempts at the Dutch heel. Voila! I had a two pairs of socks.  

Rearranging my stash, I came across the skein of 3AM Enchantments The One that had first inspired the dream of knitting socks. By this time, I had taken Shirley Paden’s Cast On class and had mastered the Old Norwegian or German Cast on. It made my ribbing perky.

I also knew that 60 rounds before the heel flap and 65-70 rounds after the heel flap made a perfect crew length sock for me. I was still struggling with Kitchener, but no longer needed to read the instructions for each stitch bound off. 

By Thanksgiving, I completed a sock, including Kitchener, without looking at any instructions at all. Upon another rereading, a lot of the instructions and examples in The Sock Knitter’s Workshop book by Stephanie van der Linden were not English as a foreign language but actually made sense. 

Sock knitting may not be a great thing, but by dreaming, believing, planning and acting, I can now add Sock Knitter to my list of life accomplishments. As Martha would say: And that’s a good thing.