My First Sock!

Yippee! I finished a sock! I've knitted for a while, even tackling knitting on double-pointed needles very early on. I'm usually a fearless knitter but had never tackled socks. For Christmas, I received Getting Started Knitting Socks by Ann Budd, per my request. I read the book before leaving and chose a basic pattern. There are basic patterns for all gauges and sizes of feet. I bought and swatched Patons Kroy Socks yarn a long time ago. I wanted a small project to take on my trip to London, so I photocopied the pattern, cast on to get myself started and packed it in a specially made drawstring bag.

Once on the plane, I pulled out the project and set to work. While the plane was still in ascent and I neared the end of a row of stitches, the left hand needle slipped out and fell! I was sitting next to the window and the needle fell to the ground and started sliding behind me down the plane. The woman behind me heard the sound of the needles falling and just missed stopping it. The needle came to rest underneath the shoeless (although sock covered) foot of the young man two rows back. He was fast asleep! The woman behind me couldn't quite reach so we waited for the man to wake up. I set aside my sock project and started knitting my pinwheel cape.

A few hours later, the man was still asleep but the very, very kind woman behind me managed to rescue my knitting needle. The man stirred but I don't think he realized what had occurred. I thanked her profusely and surrounded myself with blankets and pillows, trying to prevent another dpn escape.

Once in England, I continued my sock knitting and completed the ankle, heel and heel flap before losing my photocopy of the pattern. I remembered that I was to the point where I needed to knit straight for a while, which I continued to do. Tonight I finished the toe shaping and bound off. I'm pretty pleased with the sock. The only error really is the "ladders" at the intersections of the needles. This is a problem I often have when knitting ribs. The yarn is soft and warm and my other foot will be so happy to have one of its own. Feet are notoriously bad at sharing.