I have finished the foot of the bright
colorful socks, and it's very clear that:
A: there isn't enough yarn to complete
the toe
B: The skeins are uneven—so I will
have a small amount of yarn left over (even as I have to add yarn!)
I have some mini skeins of sock yarn in
various solids—hot pink, orange, and a dark turquoise blue.. I am
not sure which color I will end up using. Maybe some stripes of
solids (all 3 colors) and some stripes of the polychrome yarn.
I know I can come up with solutions—and
I know I have yarn (left over mini skeins of sock yarns) that will
work, but its still annoying.
I hate short skeins. I know its partly
do to the yarn weight—sock yarn comes in various weight/sizes, and
some yarns, like Patons Kroy yarn does come in very short (as
measured by the yard) skeins. It is also a bit heavier (thicker) than
average sock yarn. But Kroy is a bargain yarn—It might list for
$7 a skein, but with coupons and sales, I rarely pay more than half
that per skein (a 50g skein). Even a third skein brings the cost of
a pair of sock to about $10. Even the huge socks I knit for my S-I-L--(men'
s size 10 wide) last fall didn't take a FULL 3 skeins. I have enough left over of
the third skein to make a water bottle cover--(Which is exactly what
I plan to do with it!)
Hand painted sock yarns are often $10
per 50g skein. $20 worth of sock yarn really should be enough—for
a tall or wide pair of socks. I concede, this yarn isn't a likely
choice for a pair of men's socks, but then not all women have dainty
feet (size 6 or 7, B width). This just reminds me why I don't often
splurge on fancy expensive socks yarn—I know I didn't buy this, but
likely got it in a swap, but it is disappointing all the same. I have to come up with a fix.
As for the cowl, I ran out of the first
2 skeins at round 23—and 6 inches of knitting. I will have plenty
with skeins 3 and 4 to make a nice tall cowl. 9 or 10 or even 11 inches! This kind of pattern
isn't knit in straight lines. It starts midpoint in the left leaning
diamonds, and row 1 of the right leaning, and ends mid point in a
left leaning set. So a single repeat of the pattern creates 1 full
set of diamonds, and 2 half sets.
A bit more than dozen rounds from now,
I will have a complete set of left leaning diamonds, (and another
half set of right leaning.) That will be close to 7/7.5 inches of
knitting—I might stop there... But likely not. I'll likely could continue and
have another full set of right leaning.. and end with half a set of
left leaning. Where ever I end, I will always have to end with one set of diamonds
half (or partially done.
I'll have to see how it goes. I tried
the cowl on last night, and wow, is it warm. I think I could wear
this alone on a cold day and still be warm.
