The siren song of garter stitch.
April 30th, 2008 by Donna
Without my really paying attention, I managed to complete two sleeves and almost the entire back for Lizzy, the Noro Silk Garden cardigan that I was noodling around with when we last saw each other. I had fantasies that I would be able to finish knitting the pieces for Lizzy in the month of April, and it looked likely except for one thing: the siren song of garter stitch.
Here is what I’ve learned about myself (the “knitting as a growth experience” part of the entry): the easiest project on the needles will invariably rise to the top of the working rotation. I can talk a big game about cables as easy to knit as stockinette or a lacy sock I am dying to make, but apparently there were days this month when purling was too hard, and Lizzy was cast ruthlessly aside in favor of the Better Mousetrap Socks by Debbie New from Interweave Knits Fall 2001; I would show you an FO picture, but the Internet seems to think that I’m the only person who wants to make them. It doesn’t look like much more than a strip of knitting, but simple decreases give you half a heel and toe on each side, then you graft the whole thing together, and voila - a garter stitch sock magically appears, thanks in large part to the inspiring gift of Trekking sock yarn from Theresa as a blog contest prize. 
Except not. In late-breaking news of the “knitting as a growth experience” variety, I started the second set of heel decreases and got the sneaking suspicion that while the adjustments I made to ensure the foot was the right shortness (it seems wrong to say “length” here, since that’s not my problem) appear to have worked, the sock itself will turn out to be too wide side to side, with potential bagginess looming all over the place. Damn.
Part of me wants to treat this as a learning experience and figure out how to customize the second sock to fit me so I can reknit the first one in all its garter-y goodness before the Michigan/Ohio State football game in November (yes, these are my secret “M - Go Blue!” socks to be worn in Buckeye country). Another part wants to finish the sock and give the sock and yarn to someone with size 6 or 7 EEE feet - let them knit the second one! And a third part of me wants to admit that the only way God meant for us to knit socks is top down or toe up, and rededicate the yarn to that purpose. What should I do?
I’m going to have to weigh in with socks are meant to be vertical in construction and say sorry about the width problem.
Oversize socks make good around-the-house slippers. They also work to keep your feet warm in bed. So maybe it’s worth finishing for that that purpose.
Hey, maybe you should revive the 80s big, bunchy sox around your ankles! I always thought that was the best thing that ever came out of the 80s.
Seriously, maybe if the socks yarn sits for a little while, it will tell you what it would prefer? But that’s beautiful yarn and perfect for supporting michigan!
Besides, the noro sweater looks gorgeous and this is giving you time to finish Lizzy for spring.
damn you. Another way to knit socks. Damnitall.
Re fit: Trekking is not shrinkable, is it? Since it is garter stitch and not top down/toe up; the shrinking should occur in the width of this sock. I think. Maybe I should test this but if you shrunk a regular sock, the length changes dramatically while the width, not so much. Ask me how I know these things
So I imagine that a sideways sock would shrink more in width than length. All of which is mute.
I going to go sort through my old mags for the pattern. I have some Trekking in stash. /sigh
[...] not a quitter, but those sideways socks annoyed me. I wanted to finish them, yet I knew it would only end in heartbreak. So I did what I [...]