Woolgathering

Not washed and blocked yet. I’ll get some modelled shots on the host feet one day.

I think we may safely make a claim that my glove-knitting skills are… shall we say “up for development”?

On day, some time soon, I shall have to weave in all those ends…

*sigh* I am not looking forward to making the pair to this glove.

I have two things to say. The first is that knitting gloves is like wrestling an octopus. The second is that I am not anticipating glove #2 with any measure of joy.

The first glove has reached the ring finger stage. Almost done. What a pity that is not the end of the story.

My freezer lamb just arrived. I’ve taken the last of the last year’s lamb out of the freezer to cook for tomorrow. We are having a braised lamb shank. Nice hearty winter grub.

So. I completed the marathon socks. And guess what? I avoided temptation… and I now have the cuff of one fingerless glove completed. I stopped at the point where the thumb gusset needs setting up. I’ll tackle that tomorrow. Right now I think I have earned my bed. Hopefully by this time tomorrow I shall have completed a whole glove, albeit sans digits.

I think that I picked a good colour combination. They look good when knitted together.

Spinning Day tomorrow. Er, today. It’s late! Or early. *Yawn*

Pass the tambourine.

And now I shall get grafting.

…we reach the toe!

One repeat to go

and the excitement is tangible

the air is electric

especially since I remembered that this is NOT the Colourmart ex-mill, oiled yarn. So maybe it won’t shrink.

Two repeats to go…

Three repeats to go, three repeats to go, ee aye add-ee-o, three repeats to go.

You’d think I would be pleased and excited, wouldn’t you? Certainly the sock makes much faster progress once the stitches are separated for the foot with a straight run at the patterned half.

So. There I was. Knitting along and admiring my handiwork  and thinking what gorgeous socks they are. “They’ll be even nicer when they are washed” I thought to myself “they’ll fluff up and fill out and soften once the oil is washed out of the yarn.”

Indeed they will.

Only…

…that was the point at which I remembered that the yarn will also shrink.

I have been knitting these socks since December 1997. You’d no doubt think that, in all that time, I might have adapted the sizing of the sock at some point in order to allow for shrinkage, wouldn’t you?

Well, you’d be wrong.

However, not so very far WRONG as I have been.

Am I crying? Well, no, because all may not be lost. If the socks don’t fit ‘im at the end of this marathon, well, they may just fit me.

We may as well look on the bright side, as not.

Remind me never to embark on an all-over stitch pattern in a mansock again. Talk about tedious! It’s only the fact that they are so beautiful that keeps me going. All the same, I am considering renaming this project as “Marathon Socks”

I have my head down on them now and am sprinting for the finish line. I have 4 * 10 round repeats to do in the foot before the toe arrives. I doubt that they will be done today but I am certain that they can be finished tomorrow, especially if I leave my wheel at home and cycle to Spinning with my socks in my front basket. And won’t I be glad to see the back of them? Oh, yes, indeedy. Only then I shall have to start some very boring fingerless gloves…

M u s  t    r  e  s  i  s  t    t  h  e      l    a     c      e …….

(Buck up woman! Only four repeats left. Just the four. Count them. See? Think positive. Chip away at them one at a time. You’ll get there. No gain without pain, you know… put the blog away. Just knit.)