The first time

You remember the first time. You were nervous...not sure what to do. You didn't even want to begin for fear that it would turn into a disaster. But you remembered the sage advice of your mother.


"Everyone's scared the first time. But, don't be afraid. If it isn't working for you, just rip it out and start over again."

Yes...your first pair of socks. I made my first pair recently and I was pretty delighted when I actually made something that looked like a sock. Okay, there's one little mistake on the heel of my first sock, but it's not noticeable and it doesn't affect wear.


I used a reject from the Yarnmarket Impressionist Collection (a sample skein that wasn't quite the right color), plus a simple pattern from the book, "Basic Knitting." I changed the pattern slightly so it would be ribbed the entire length of the cuff, and then I used a modified version of the Kitchener stitch. Well, I hadn't intended for it to be modified, but I had a little trouble figuring out what to do.

My Aunt Wilma advises knitters to knit both socks at the same time, moving from one to the other as you go. That way, you are not only assured of doing the same thing on each sock, you don't get Sock Fatigue and end up with a collection of single socks. I figured I'd follow Aunt Wilma's advice right from the beginning because I know how bad I am about finishing things. I'm so bad that I now overcompensate and will finish things that really ought not to be completed. This is the dark side of knowing your own faults. (I'm a recovering procrastinator, too, which means my Christmas shopping is finished in August.)

Anyway, I read, knit, re-read, ripped and knit again. But not so much that I became discouraged. In the end, I created a really nice looking pair of socks -- even if I say so myself! Just don't look too closely at the bottom of the heel on one of the socks. It's got some goofy looking stitches where I should have decreased at the end of Row 1 and the beginning of Row 2 rather than at the beginning of Row 1 and the end of Row 2.

Now on to my second pair of socks!