When I first read Michelle’s Crib Notes for Socks, I thought, why? What in the world is wrong with a ruler/tape measurer? Or if those aren’t handy, what’s wrong with trying it on?
Well, you know, there are just times when you just don’t want to carry that one extra thing, and you really aren’t in a position to take your shoes off and pull off your socks to try on a sock.
Okay, that sounds intriguing. So I embarked on a pair of socks using Koigu. I eyeballed the sock as I went along. Took mental notes on the stitch and row count. So, for the socks, I used the following: 60-6-50-10-60-10. Hmm. The ankle bit could be a bit longer. It’s a bit scootch long in the foot. And I have plenty of yarn leftover (I set aside one skein of Koigu per sock). All the while, I kept thinking, you know, it would be nice if I can just use the same number for all the major numbers, wouldn’t it? There’s a certain symmetry in that.
And you know what? It’s liberating to do it by the numbers. You don’t have to keep pulling out the measuring tape measuring every few rows, all the while saying, “are we there yet?” in your head. Counting up to 60 rows isn’t that bad. Takes less than a minute, unless your husband is taking a country road too fast, and you stab yourself with the 2mm needle because you are trying to jab the point into the stitch to hold your count before everything goes flying across the car.
On the second pair, I played with the numbers a bit, and decided on 60-5-60-10-55-10. 60 cast on stitches, and 60 rows for the ankle. Unfortunately, 60 rows in the foot would have made it too big. So, I went down to 55. Divisible by 5 and 11 with no remainders. Nice number.
Unfortunately, I finished this sock while I was at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, waiting in an overcrowded terminal, waiting for a plane that was 2 hours late. I couldn’t rip of a shoe and sock to try it on. There just wasn’t the room. So, I blindly went with my nice number.
I got home last night, unpacked the socks that I finished on my trip. Yup. the blue/green Koigu was a tad large. But the second pair was too short. My toes felt confined. So, I will have to rip the toe out after I finish the second sock.
But, the question is, what should I do? The obvious answer is to work 57 or 58 rows for the foot. But that anal retentive/obsessive compulsive voice in my head is screaming “No, no, NO! You can’t use that number. It’s not even. It doesn’t mean anything. There’s NO symmetry in that number!”
Well, there’s a few days before I am faced with my conundrum. Even though I was able to finish a sock a day while I was on my trip, I’m back on real life schedules (and other projects). It should be at least the weekend before I have to make a decision.
