Monday, May 22, 2023

When Knitting Attacks

 

This has not been a good week knit wise. First Musselburgh turned out to be a disappointment then this. I am an obsessive matchy matchy knitter when it comes to socks and my latest pair of Arne and Carlo's Regia were a big flop. The one on the right has some kind of dye issue with it making big blotches where there should be a neat little blue stripes. No matching with that. Even The Mister said ewww when I showed it to him. It was a good thing I was knitting them both at the same time. If I had gotten that first sock done and then discovered the issue....it would have been so much worse. 



No big deal you might say since I was only an inch or so in but that inch or so took a lot of work to achieve. Let me explain using my next attempt with some different yarn. 



To get that matchy matchy thing to happen with one 100 gram ball first you have to split it in half. Wind, wind, wind...it's mind numbingly boring. 



Then you have to wind it all up so it's all heading in the same direction and then two more windings to get them both into cakes so they won't roll away. Also boring. 



Then you have to make more balls as you search for a color pattern you can recognize and match up which is not always easy. By now your morning is shot and you've accomplished very little. 



After all that you still have to get it on both needles so you are starting from the same spot. I anxiously knit both cuffs in tandem while watching to make sure the color changes are happening at around the same time. No sock is perfect but it's good to be close. Hopefully this loosey goosey design from Arne and Carlos will be more user friendly than that last one. I'm not in the mood for anymore surprises. 



And.....if all that wasn't bad enough, my just off the needles Felici are not going in the gift box after all. After blocking I noticed that they have a pretty bad case of the ladders going up each side. That's what I get for using the Magic Loop when I am under stress. I either pull too right and make ridges or transition too loose and get ladders. I could say it is a design element but we know better. They'll go in my sock drawer and after a winter of washings they'll probably look just fine. That's three big fails this week and bad things usually come in threes. Hopefully the knitting gremlins are done with me for a while. I sure hope so. 


















6 comments:

  1. Yep. You've had enough knit gremlins. Time for a knit angel.

    I had a problem with Arne and Carlos yarn too. It had a break in the middle and a big chunk of color missing when the ends were attached. There was no way THEY were going to be matchy-matchy.

    I think I have one more ball of the stuff in my stash, but I won't be buying anymore.

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  2. I'm so glad matchy-matchy is not important to me! That would drive me crazy.

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  3. Now that is a bother! I just knit the first sock and then find the same spot to begin the second one--it would've been annoying to see such a difference in the striping! Throw the Felici in the washer/dryer and block again--the ladder will be gone!

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  4. The socks will be pretty whether they match or not. I broke myself of the obsession by knitting a LOT of socks with Zauberball yarn - no matches are possible. I grew to embrace the random and the crazy.

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  5. I'm sorry you've had such a problem with socks lately. I'm with Nancy, I gave up trying to make matchy-matchy socks for the most part. Once in awhile I try to get a pair to match but they are rarely perfect. In fact, never perfect.
    Blessings and hugs,
    Betsy

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  6. And that is why I don't worry if my socks match. I do not have the patience for all that! I would probably end up murdering someone.
    I don't think the ladders are so bad in your felici socks. In time, they won't be noticeable at all!

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