Recently, I learned how to read knitting patterns. That day, I went and bought a book with various sock patterns (using a 50% off coupon so it wasn't too expensive). I had some yarn from a friend and my mother, so that didn't cost me anything. As for the knitting needles, they were given to me when a friend's grandmother passed away. So, that was free too.Now all I needed was some "free time" to start my project. It took me several hours to make the first pair. I succeeded and gifted them to my hubby. My next pair was made using a different pattern and larger size. I succeeded and gifted those to my hubby too. He really liked how they fit and felt.
Now I decided to tackle the fancier stitches. These looked girly, so I intended to give them to my daughter. I got bored after making the first pattern and decided to try the next one. This resulted in a pair of socks which look the same from afar but had different patterns by the ankle and different toe endings (one pointed and one blunt). So, I had to make another one (but I chose yet another pattern). She was still not happy. So, I made yet another sock using a fourth pattern. Mind you, these four socks are all made from the same exact giant skein of yarn and look similar (when you have shoes on and are standing a few feet away).
All along, my youngest is telling me to stop making socks for his sister if she's going to be so ungrateful. Yet, I continued. Making a different pattern with each new sock. Eventually, I ran out of that yarn. That skein of off-white yarn yielded a total of five socks. Yup! Two and a half pairs.
I tried to convince her that people are selling mismatched socks and others are intentionally mismatching their socks and even sneakers. It helped when I pointed out that the only people who would know the designs were different were those in our household and nosy people (and I guess anyone who read this blog). She reluctantly took two with similar toes and wore them for a few minutes, in the house. I kept the other three mismatched socks for myself.
Luckily, I have another big skein yarn just like the first one, BUT....it's pink! This time, I am using smaller needles to see if the socks will have a different feel. I also vow to make two of the same pattern so that there will be matching pairs for picky recipients.
So....was this all a waste of time when I could've bought a pair of socks for only a few dollars? No....I'm having fun and learning to follow instructions. I used to just be creative and make what I felt like and could never reproduce anything identical. It would've annoyed me to make a good sock and not be able to make a second. Another good thing, I can now knit much faster than when I first started. It doesn't take nearly as long to knit a pair of socks compared to a few weeks ago.
Think about it, I would've wasted my time doing something else, like being on Facebook or writing a blog. Gosh, I could've been knitting a sock with the time I spent typing this up.
