Last night it dawned on me that I might not have enough yarn to complete the second sock of the Summer Skies. When I asked Kai for her advice, at the weekly Aloha Knitters meeting, she tried to prepare me for the eventuality that I might end up with a toe of a different colour as a design element. Eek.
I knit feverishly into the night because we all know that the faster you knit, the less likely you are to run out of yarn. (You didn’t know that? It’s a scientific fact!) Unfortunately, I had to stop at around 1AM for sleep, but the race was back on in the morning.
I knit as fast as I could and I knit as furiously as I could, with expletives flying from my mouth with wild abandon. Pressie hid out in her tent for the duration. Quincy escaped to his own quiet corner of the world as well. And with the support of my friend Shelly, I was able to finish the sock with a few yards to spare.
Haha! Victory is so sweet.
I had a completed sock without the surprise “design element”!
Pattern: Baby Cable Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks
Yarn: Opal yarn (one of a kind colourway)
Needles: 2.25mm
Started: 6/22/07
Finished: 6/29/07
When I said I only had a few yards to spare, I meant it. I’m pretty sure I have less then an ounce remaining. Here’s a shot of the tiny ball and a quarter to give you some perspective. (Please excuse the crappy photo.)
I really escaped disaster by the skin of my teeth. I think the reason this ball of yarn had less then the other balls of Opal yarn was because I had started a sock with it years ago. I don’t think I ripped out the entire unfinished sock. I think I ended up throwing out a good 2 inches worth of unfinished sock. Let that be a lesson to me. Waste not, want not!
June 29th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
I knew you would make it! Way to go! They look really great.
June 29th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
Do you find yourself knitting furiously like you were racing. If you could just get it don’t quickly you will beat the yarn running out!!!
June 29th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
I’m glad you got to finish your sock. They are beautiful!
That really was cutting it close!
June 29th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
you mean i’m not the only one that threw out an unfinished work? i remember i was so frustrated i felt ashamed actually fighting with the yarn and throwing away the darn thing in disgust! (it was when i was just learning to knit) i’m so glad you finished the pair and that they look so nice!
June 29th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
Hey Opal! I’ve been trying to reply to your email but keep getting a failure notice, so I thought I’d try this means..
cat loads peashooter with dry catfood pellets and bloooooooooowwwwwwwwssssssssssss them at Opal! Chart A complete indeed!
huggggggggggggggssssssssss
mm
June 29th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
Whew! Now, if we’d followed Jill’s advice and weighed the finished sock and the partial sock + remaining yarn, you might have known it without having to knit like the wind…but maybe knitting faster is more exciting? Besides, I don’t have a scale that weighs grams accurately.
June 29th, 2007 at 5:41 pm
You had me scared there for a minute! Whew. Beautiful socks! don’t get rid of that little bit of yarn. You never know when you might get a hole!
June 29th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
Oh, lucky you!
June 29th, 2007 at 7:26 pm
They are great! I love that pattern, must buy sock book…
June 30th, 2007 at 12:45 am
Whew! Beautiful socks – glad it all worked out!
June 30th, 2007 at 5:59 am
That tiny ball of leftovers looks to be the perfect size for a Quincy toy (gotta placate the felines every so often, so they stay off the hard stuff: cashmere.)
Blessings!
June 30th, 2007 at 8:20 am
Whew! That was a close race–cheers to the victor :) I love it when things work out like that–just the way it should. Everyone loves a happy ending!
June 30th, 2007 at 8:36 am
Congrats on the lovely socks. Thank goodness you had enough yarn! That is something that always concerns me with making socks with just one ball of yarn, especially with my big feet. It is one of the reasons I want to try knitting from the toe up.
June 30th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
Ugh! Dontcha hate that cat and mouse game of “will there be enough?” Who says knitting isn’t exciting? :o)
July 1st, 2007 at 3:27 am
Phew! You have demonstrated once and for all that the faster you knit the less likely you are to run out of yarn is, indeed, scientific.
July 1st, 2007 at 7:21 am
Those are gorgeous socks! How exciting that you had just enough. It always annoys me when I wind up with tons of yarn leftover. Since I refuse to throw anything away, they just accumulate in my stash.
I’ve been eying that same pattern now for a few days. Since your socks look so gorgeous, I just might give it a whirl.
July 1st, 2007 at 7:31 am
OMG…do you know my heart was racing while I read this post? I can imagine what your’s was doing as you raced to the finish-line – er – TOE on this one!
Congrats for winning this one!
(((Hugs)))
July 1st, 2007 at 12:28 pm
Hoo boy, Opal! Makes me sweat to see how little you had left. Way to go – they look wonderful!
July 1st, 2007 at 12:52 pm
Phew! Congrats on making it, close as it was. They look great!
July 2nd, 2007 at 1:52 am
I love the way the color works with the pattern. Such great texture! Congrats on winning the race against the yarn.
July 2nd, 2007 at 5:10 am
What great looking socks! I know I will be using that baby cable sometime soon. I love all of your unique Opal yarns, what treasures they are. You are one fast sock knitter!
July 2nd, 2007 at 6:16 am
I had a pair not too long ago that I ended up with maybe three yards to spare. I’m glad you had enough to get a pair because they are nice socks.
July 2nd, 2007 at 8:59 am
Phew! That was a close one! The socks are beautiful…if they were mine I would be upset at an “unexpected design element” as well.
July 2nd, 2007 at 9:43 am
Eeep! I hate when that almost happens!
July 3rd, 2007 at 7:59 pm
They look great! And you knit them really fast. I am glad you had enough yarn. Unintended design features, not so fun. Oh, and thanks to you Aloha Knitters I made many frequent trip to Beard Papa’s during the rest of my stay in HI! One word, yummy.