A while back, a friend gave me 2 skeins of sock yarn. One was to make a pair of socks for myself--I ended up making two pair from that skein, one knitted and one crocheted with the help of some scraps for contrasting toes and heels. Bill said he didn't really need socks at that time, since he had a dozen or more pairs already, all of which I'd made. Of course, I didn't need any socks either, but I do love making them, so I won't run out any time soon--or so I hope. Sadly, Bill unexpectedly ended up in a situation where he now needs socks as soon as possible. My needles are full.
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| heel is turned and gusset stitches picked up |
The variegated yarn in the photo is one of the skeins our friend gave me. When Bill said he didn't need socks, I ended up starting a pair of fingerless gloves for him using that yarn. I was almost done with the second one when we moved, so I put the project in a little pouch that I kept with me and it didn't get packed. But when Bill went to pack the socks in the drawer where he kept them, he discovered that critters had been quite enjoying the dark, damp wooden drawer and the delightfully delicious wool socks that lived in there. They had munched holes in some socks. Others weren't damaged, but who knows if there were tiny critters or future critters just waiting for their turn. I considered trying to treat whatever socks remained but I decided that the risk to all the other wool things was too great. The damage did appear to be limited to that drawer, which was in a room about as far away from all my yarn and the wool garments that I have as they could be in that cottage. Even Bill's hat collection didn't seem to be affected. I told Bill we'd better throw all the socks away. He said, 'All that work you did!' 'I can make more,' I replied. I didn't want to scoop up all those socks and discard them, but it was the safest thing to do.
Then there was the issue of actually making more socks. Having used some of the sock yarn for the fingerless gloves, I knew I wouldn't have enough for an entire pair of socks, given the yardage in the skein. I had some bits of yarn that I could use for the cuffs, which don't require the nylon content that sock yarn contains for longer wear, but that was buried somewhere under the bed. I finished the gloves and pondered. One day, I was fiddling with the edge of a sheet that was hanging down off the bed when my hand brushed a plastic bag. I pulled the bag out from under the bed and it was exactly the bag I wanted! It contained the royal blue superwash wool fingering weight yarn I was looking for, so I cast on that very day. Yesterday I sent Bill a link to the page with the sock yarn I usually buy from a yarn shop in Dublin. It's not something I can get around here or in charity shops, so I buy from there. It's Zig Zag sock yarn, it's great yardage, and it wears quite well. I told him that I can get three pairs of socks from two skeins, so he just ordered two of the same colorway. They should arrive on Monday.
The socks will keep me in yarn projects, which is good, since I have no idea when I'll be pulling my stuff out from under the bed. Last evening, I got a forwarded message from F. It was from the plumber who was supposed to come and install our shower today. Yes, that's 'who was supposed to...' He said he wouldn't be here today but would come on Monday after his day job and would arrive around 5. Bill and I will believe this when we see him and not before, of course. This is the second time he hasn't shown up when he said he would. As far as I know, the regular plumber, who won't install the shower here because it involves PVC, is still coming to fix the shower at our friend's house. If he is successful, we'll take showers there until this other guy and his PVC man sidekick actually shows up. The way things are going, we might be showering at our friend's house forever. In the meantime, I'll be over here knitting socks. Don't know what I'd do without my yarn!
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