October 52PPIV Progress Update

This is the progress update after the fifth month of the 52 Pair Plunge IV. I’m going to evaluate myself according to the 4 goals I’d set for myself at the start.

1. Finish the 3 WIPs and 8 pairs of hibernating socks I currently have on the needles. One of those pairs is from April 2009. Really it’s time to finish it.

This month I blasted through the Teacher’s Pet Monkey socks. I’m not sure if it was the pattern (I just love it and always want to knit just one more row) or the yarn. The Santa Fe sock yarn blew my mind. It’s a perfect substitute for Claudia’s Hand paint. I love that highly twisted texture of the yarn but have a hard time justifying 100% merino socks. I wore through my a pair of them in less than 10 wears, which is totally not worth the effort of knitting them. But now, who should walk through the door but this Santa Fe sock yarn with 10% nylon? See The Samurai smile. That’s not say that I love Claudia’s any less, I just won’t use it for another pair of socks (or if I must, not without reinforcing thread).

Next off the needles was a pair of simple two by two rib socks intended as mindless car knitting. And that’s just what they were. I knit these on the way to cat shows all over New York and Pennsylvania. I haven’t used the Trekking XL much, but it seems like a good workhorse yarn. Not too soft but I’d be willing to bet a skein of yarn that five years from now these babies will be well worn and ready for more.

And most recently I finished off the Red Queen socks. It’s the Anastasia pattern paired with this self stripping Ditto sock yarn. This is the second time I knit this pattern and I still enjoy its subtle change in the direction of the stripes. The yarn has been discontinued which doesn’t break my heart. I found it somewhat splitty which is not a complaint I often have being a loose knitter. I did enjoy the almost tonal stripes. It was difficult to tell when the next color would start which kept my interest.

And to replace those three FOs there are three new WIPs on the needles;

1) The Isitt-Dilemma or Isitt an Emma Dilemma: A stitch pattern from my page a day calendar and some Lorna’s laces Sheppard’s sock in Irving park. Named for the girls, Isitt & Emma.

2) The Need More Purple socks: exactly the same colors as the Isitt-Dilemma socks. This is the Hermione’s Everyday paired with some Aussie Sock in the color Hot Pepper, I just love that name.

3) Say Yes To The Dress: can you tell what I’ve been watching? Another simple 4x4 rib to knit while traveling to cat shows, in the show hall, or when I’m brain dead at the hotel after a day of showing. Who know showing cats could be so exhausting!?!? Sometimes I’m just too tired to even knit. Gasp!

I’d like to say that I have the same 4 pairs of hibernating socks that I did last month but I have to be honest, the Waves in PacaPeds and the new Isitt-Dilemma Socks have both moved into hibernation. I’ll definitely go back to the Isitt-Dilemma socks but for now they need more mental capacity then I have. Plus the yarn is VERY thin, a super light fingering which isn’t my favorite to knit with. And the Pacapeds are pooling something awful, hahaha the Wave socks are pooling! I’m not in love with the Nanners pattern with this yarn so I might just frog them and make fingerless mitts with the yarn instead. I’ll get back to you on that one.

2. I currently have give-or- take 90 skeins worth of sock yarn. Enough to make 90 pairs of socks with lots of remnants. I will not stop buying new sock yarn but what if I can only knit the new after I’ve completed a pair with the stash sock yarn. Imagine if I cut the stash down by 26 skeins? That’d be a good part of a yarn bin free.

Alright, well you have to give me some leeway on this one. I mean Rhinebeck was this month. How could I not buy sock yarn. But I did buy two sweaters worth of sock yarn. That’s a feebile attempt at explaining how it is that I acquired 21 skeins of sock yarn in a month. That more than undoes all of the work I’ve done to this point. Having completed 18 Pairs this plunge to date. And while I added 21 skeins I did finish off 3 so net is 18 new skeins.

3. Knit more with DK weight yarn. I’ve never knit a DK weight sock but it couldn’t hurt to make a pair of house socks for The DH, Mum, Dad, & Myself. Those will be quicker than regular socks.

I did cast on a pair of sport weight socks! That’s closer to DK then I’ve ever been before. They knit super fast! They are the Say Yes To The Dress Socks.

4. For every full size pair I knit, knit a pair of kids socks. Not baby socks. Those are so small they’re useless. Kids socks that I can give to Sophie or Simon or put away for some future child.

No baby socks this month.

In October I knit 3 pairs of socks, added to the 15 from the last four months and I’ve fallen a little further behind as I should be at 22 on October 26^th. And now we’re approaching Christmas knitting time, mittens, hats, shawls, and cowls are in my future. But I’ll keep at the simple socks for Show Hall and in public knitting.