March 17, 2008

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!!!

Remember I mentioned I bought a couple of sock darners off ebay some time back? I forgot I was going to take pictures and post them! The box was staring at me this morning, so I figured I should make good on my word and get those pictures posted! It all started with trying to figure out where I could get a sock darner because some of the socks I've knit some time back are starting to show some wear. None of the yarn shops around here carry them or knew where I could get one. I knew of a couple of on-line shops I could order from, but I didn't know quite what I wanted. R saw a very unique darner in 'MaryJane's Ideabook-Cookbook-Lifebook' and started looking on ebay for one just like it. This is what she found:
I was just a little over $5.00 for all of it. The lighter one looks like it's seen more wear and tear.Apparently you put the wooden part in the sock and then put the metal band on the outside to keep it from slipping around. I haven't tried it yet, but I have some socks in desperate need of repair, so I hope I get a chance to work with it soon.
Here's closer look of the black one. I don't know if you can see the engraving on the side of the medal band or not, but it says PAT'D DEC 18-1900. I wonder how old these babies are? I'll let you know how well they work for me.
I would use them right now, but I am working on a sock that has become the bane of my existence. ARGH! When we went to Borders a week ago we picked up the latest Pieceworks magazine by Interweave. It had a beautiful sock pattern in it and I was anxious to try it. Is it a hard pattern? No. Is the yarn a pain? No, I'm using some Cherry Tree Hill from my stash and I love it! It's the first time I've used it and I definitely want to knit with it again. Have I enjoyed working this pattern? NO! Why? The pattern is easy, the yarn is great - what's the problem? Me. It's a simple answer and one I've come to terms with.....me. Years ago I would start to knit something and if I messed up, I would just rip it all out and start over again. This was my knitting experience and it's no wonder I was never really fond of it. Then R decided to take up knitting and wouldn't let me rip anything out. She had this little trick up her sleeve - she truly understood knitting! She knew about gauge, how to rip back a row, how to read patterns. She could do things I had never even considered! Where did she come from and why was I blessed with such a talented daughter? Must skip a generation. In the beginning of this sock she would gladly rip back past my mistake and explain what I had done. Apparently my main problem is not paying attention to the pattern. I'm not one to memorize patterns and knit, knit, knit. I follow each repeat like it's the first time I've ever seen it. Last night I ripped back, yes, I'm trying to do it by myself now that I've seen it can be done. I just messed it up. She wasn't so eager to fix my mistake last night (apparently it cuts into her knitting time, go figure!), but after an hour or two of coaxing, she fixed it and let me know that I was making common mistakes and not to worry about it. Whew! I just wish I wasn't so darn common in my knitting! I'll keep you posted on the sock. Hopefully it will be part of a pair, but I'm not so sure right this second.....
Have a great St. Patrick's Day!

1 comment:

kelly said...

maybe the black one goes in the sock and the light one bashes the head of anyone who even thinks about darning. Or, maybe not.