Not one….
Not two…
But three….
pairs of socks have all decided to wear out at the same time. Pair #3 has huge holes in both heels and will probably get thrown out. They haven’t worn well and the colors are fading. Wish I could remember the yarn so I’d know not to buy it again.
But pairs #1 and #2 are still in good shape except for wearing reaaallly thin just by the heels. Not ON the heels you understand, but on the foot, right by the heels.
I’m debating what to do with them. Both pairs are knit from the top down so I can’t unravel from the toe up and just reknit the foot. I may have to do surgery: cut the leg off and knit a new foot. That will require harvesting yarn from the sock blanket, assuming there’s any of these colors left.
But how to prevent this from happening again? I already knit these on size zero needles so I can’t go much tighter. There must be a way to use reinforcing thread on the sole of the sock without carrying it onto the instep, but I’ve never done it. Or maybe I’ll switch to a heavier yarn for the foot, one with nylon in it for strength. Hmmmmm.
Any ideas before I take the scissors to these things?
This puts a serious crimp into my sock supply so I’ve cast on for two more pairs this week. More on those later….
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Those of you who caught my little raccoon adventures of a few weeks ago might be interested to know the little buggers are still around. Even though I take the feeders in at night they are still visiting the upper deck to warsh up in the bird bath several nights a week. In the mornings, I find their frozen paw prints on the deck in a little waltz around the bath.
I wonder if they think I’m a bad host for not putting out the guest towels. Hmmmmmmmm.
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We’ve been getting visits from a beautiful black cat which does not please the resident felines. And doesn’t please me either because he’s spraying. Unfortunately since one of us {coughJackcough} left the screen door open the other day this little black beast got into our entry and sprayed the wall and carpet. I’ve managed to get the smell out but he’s still hanging around. He looks sleek and healthy enough so I’m guessing he’s not a stray, but since he doesn’t have a collar I can’t be sure. Would someone keep a male cat and not fix him? Why would they do that? Would he spray in his own home? I’ve never had a cat that wasn’t spayed or neutered.
I’ve started a campaign to win him over with food so I can get close enough to check him out. He’s wary but he did eat the food I put out, and responded to my coaxing so I think maybe he’s not completely feral.
I wonder if he’s the one Gus had a fight with a few months ago. Hmmm.
Lots of pondering going on today.
Hmmmm…
I think I would go in with sock yarn on a darning needle and try to reenforce those super thin stitches. You also might want to think about doubling your yarn when knitting that part of future of socks. Using a wears like iron sock yarn is another thing that might help with future socks.
Not all pet owners are responsible people. Some are just jerks. I’m with you. If an animal isn’t fixed, there is no way. Too many animal in shelters now.
Re: socks wearing out. How dare they do that? After all the love and time you put into them. Hmmm. I wonder how that Habu wool & stainless steel wire would work for socks…
I would darn the heel to fix it, or you should be able to unravel it enough back to healthly stitches and then reknit or darn and weave in new yarn. Also, at one of the classes we took at some event suggested doubling the yarn when you get to the heel to prevent this sort of thing.