Unfinished Skew

Remember Skew? The pattern quite took over my spring.

Then, with 3 unfinished Skews on the needle, my attention wandered elsewhere. Recently, I have been working to finish up languishing projects. I started work on the mismatched pair, progressing through the increases. Then I remembered I had a single sock I could work on, and perhaps I could finish it up in time for it to count for Sock-A-Month's October. So I switched to the grey sock pictured above and got knitting.

So let me recap the story of the grey sock. I started knitting the skew for my dad. I wasn't sure if it would fit him or not, so I didn't finish until he was visiting and could try it on in progress.  We determined that it would fit, and I quickly finished off the first sock, and knit like mad to finish the 2nd sock. I didn't make it before he left.  My attention might have wandered, but I returned to the grey sock, intent on finishing for Father's Day. When I got to the heel, I discovered my numbers didn't line up. I ripped back to the start of the increases, ready to redo it more carefully. I ran the numbers in my head and couldn't get them to line up, and that's when I put the sock in time out.

I ran the numbers again recently, and pretty much figured out that I wasn't going to get the heel numbers to match up without fudging one stitch. I don't recall doing it for the first sock, but I just will go ahead and do it to on the 2nd sock so I can finish it up. I knit like the wind on that 2nd sock, got the heel done and kitchenered, and started on the leg. That's when I held the 2 socks together to see that they matched perfectly. They did NOT. The sock I was knitting on was smaller than the first sock. I counted stitches, but the rows numbered the same. I compared the two socks. That's when I got a sick, sinking feeling. I've been there before.

I got out the calipers and measured, but it only told me what I already knew. Sock #1 was knit on a 2.50mm needle (size 1.5), and Sock #2 was knit on a 2.25mm needle (size 1).

Ironically, when my dad was visiting, I had pulled out the calipers, the size 1/1.5 needles, and the St. Peter Port socks, and told him the disastrous story of what happens when you knit a sock on a needle .25mm different. He's no knitter, but he's worked all his life with electronics and wood, and has a good appreciation of precision and of utilising the right tools. He fully appreciated the story, and commented that he wouldn't even have kept the 1.5 size needle, he would have thrown it out to prevent this from ever happening again. I countered that the 1.5 size needle was useful, and look, I was knitting those new socks for him on it.

I don't recall what happened that I allowed myself to start the 2nd sock on the wrong needle. I can't imagine why I let my attention lapse so carelessly. But now I won't be able to finish sock #2, and that pair of socks is going back into TIME OUT.