Loneliness

“Loneliness...
It's a place that I know well.
It's the distance between us
and the space inside ourselves.” *



Ok, here you see the completed Ugly Socks. The pattern is “Little Shell” from Knitting Pattern Central and was worked toe-up with a figure 8 cast-on.

(image removed to free up space for other pics)

The pattern is fine, its just the Trekking 105 color was a bit more than my skills could cope with. I have read around the net about the dreaded “Second Sock Syndrome” that a fair number of knitters deal with. SSS is described as the inability to begin the second sock after binding off the first one. Maybe it is because I’m new to socks, but classic SSS has not been a problem for me yet. I suffer from a variation, wherein I follow the notes I took making the first sock, and duplicate for the second. But invariably my second sock turns out WAY too loose the first time on the needles. I make my increases up to the complete number of stitches required and then go cruising on towards the heel.

About halfway to the heel, I look at my work and damned if you couldn’t fit BOTH my feet in the sock!! I don’t understand what is happening. Maybe it is because my hands have loosened up from completing one sock and my knitting becomes too loose. I don’t know. But that is the only kind of SSS that I suffer from, so I guess I should just be glad that there are no sock orphans at my house.

On a disappointing note, I made my secret order of yarn from The Knitter on the 14th thinking that I would have nice new sock yarn to take on the cruise. Imagine my dismay upon getting an email last night indicating that the order was shipped only YESTERDAY, the 25th!!!! And some of the yarn is on backorder!! Ah well, TJ and The Evil Twin (TET) stand a good chance of me working on socks for them while on the cruise.

I have it all planned out. I will sit with TJ long enough to knit to the heel and then I will transfer her sock to another set of needles. Then I will sit with TET, and work hers to the heel as well. TET will get sock one finished, then I will go back and finish TJ’s sock one. Girls, I suggest prayers to the Knitting Goddess that I don’t suffer from a crippling case of classic SSS while trying this trick of switching back and forth. We might just be begging for a whammy.


“And I've got a longing
that's hard to find-
won't give me no peace of mind.
Something that I've lived with all along.
Days and weeks and months and years,
fillin' in the time, my dear-
tryin' to find the place where I belong.” * Loneliness, 2003, Annie Lennox