Do you notice anything not quite right in the photo above? Other than the mushrooms that are sprouting all over our yard and pastures thanks to SO MUCH RAIN? Hmmmm....look closely. Do you see the small little remaining ball of STR Fire On The Mountain yarn, sitting grimly on the toad stool? Do you also see that the foot of my Jaywalker sock is not even halfway complete? Have I mentioned that Jaywalker is now one of my favorite sock patterns? Do you think that I am going to have enough yarn to reach the end of that foot?
I don't think so either.
I carefully measured out my skein of yarn, dividing it in half by yards (not by weight). I have gauge and I am even knitting the Jaywalker pattern with four less stitches per round. I probably made the leg a bit longer than the pattern suggested. And I am not going to have enough yarn.
Had I been knitting TOE UP, I could have corrected this problem by knitting a shorter leg in the sock. I cannot knit a shorter foot and have the sock fit. Sigh.
But there is still hope. See the complimentary ball of Regia yarn in this next photo?
It is going to save the day (it really does compliment the STR, though the picture may not show it) I am going to chance knitting to the start of the toe, then knit the toe with the lime (frog) green. If I run short on the second sock, I will rip out (frog) back to the start of the heel and knit the heel and toe of the socks with the lime (frog) green. Watch for progress reports in coming days...
And that is ONE reason I really prefer to work my socks Toes First.
By the way, as an off shoot of Socktoberfest, Rebecca and Ozknitter have started My First Toe Ups, a blog/kal for those learning or upgrading their toe up sock knitting skills. Go check it out!
Update: Since writing this post two days ago, we have actually had TWO full days of glorious fall weather, complete with sunshine and full, silver moon at night. I think this is due to the prayers of my knitting and gardening friend Pamela in the UK. Thank you for the prayers Pamela ;D
ANOTHER UPDATE: Well, DUH! Maybe I should change the title of this entry to Why Read The Pattern? The Jaywalker pattern calls for one 465 yard skein of Opal (doesn't say whether or not you have any yarn left over) and I believe this skein of STR is something like 360 or 380 yards? Well, no wonder I am running short on yarn!?! Let this be a lesson to me and (maybe) a help to you in the future.. Thanks also to all of you who have offered your support for the frog green Regia...I have grown quite attached to it myself! My daughter thinks I am going to have enough STR to finish the socks, but I don't want to chance it so will use the Regia toes anyway. Sheesh...I sure feel stupid! But love my socks ;D And still could have avoided the problem by working toe up!
7 comments:
The socks will be beautiful....no matter where or how much lime green Regia gets put into action. : )
I hope you're having a wonderful day!
I love the yarn - both of them!
Ooooh, how frustrating! I didn't know Jaywalkers were such yarn eaters. *runs to check on own Jays*
Me either, Bulldog (grin...had to say that!) I have knit one other pair of Jaywalkers with Opal yarn. I think I could knit the next pair toe up without much problem and avoid this trouble in the future. If I remember right, too, this STR has a little less yardage? Hmmm, where is that label???
My daughter thinks I will have just enough yarn to finish the socks, but I think it is going to be to close for comfort, so think I will go ahead and do the lime toe. I will post pictures as I go!
I made some jaywalkers with STR and had literally inches left! Check these out at the bottom of the page to see a nail biting finish: http://greyhoundknitter.blogspot.com/2006_01_01_greyhoundknitter_archive.html
Yours are really pretty with or with out the regia.
I've yet to knit Jaywalkers (I know, I must be about the last lol) so when I eventually get around to them I'll be sure to check the yarn yardage first!
Good luck! I hope you have enough to finish them.
So sorry 'bout that! I'm knitting my first Toe Ups with STR and I will definitely know I have enough yarn. How frustrating for you! The lime green will look great!
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