I have learned something this weekend. I have learned why an individual should never make something two-at-a-time when said individual doesn’t know what she is doing: making things two-at-a-time means that there is twice as much to rip out.
I measured M’s foot, accurately determined my gauge, calculated how many stitches I needed to increase and dilligently increased until I achieved the prescribed number of stitches. After that, I proceded to knit for three inches, all the while thinking “Hey, these look really big.” I checked my gauge and my math several times, told myself that it was some kind of Optical Illusion and knit for a couple more inches. It wasn’t until we were in Montgomery on the way home that I finally admitted to myself that there was No Way this was right and re-measured his foot. Turns out I can’t work a tape measure. So I yanked both socks off the needles and frogged back to the toe increases. Then I attempted to sort things out. The first sock was fine: I stuffed all the stitches back on, tinked back a round to catch up all the ones that were droopy in the back and then knit an increase round so that I had the appropriate number of stitches. The second sock was a problem. I got all the stitches back on and by slipping the first sock around, managed to get all the droopy second sock stitches corrected. Yes, I know it would have been easier to use dpns to correct each sock individually, but I was in the car and had to make do with Available Resources. As I began to work forward again this happened:
The socks did this on their own. I was paying close attention the entire time.
That, my friends, is three sock pieces on one circular needle and one sock piece on the other circular needle. Now, if you’ve never made socks on two circs, I just want you to know that this is NOT how your socks should be arranged. At this point, I told the socks exactly Where They Could Go and hurled them onto the back seat. I fumed the rest of the way home.
ROFL!! Oh, oh, oh my sides hurt!! (You know I love you right)!?!
When you are done stewing, try again. For future reference, I always carry the appropriate size dpn with me, cause when I have to riiiiiiiip, it’s just too confusing to get everything back on the needles the way they belong. Once everything is sorted out, you can switch back to the circs.
Don’t give up, it really is a great method! Love the color, btw!!
So, how are they supposed to look? I’ve been intrigued by this idea of 2 socks on one circ for a while.
Oh no, your story is so frustrating that inspires secondhand knitterly rage in me! I hope the socks are allowed to come out of the back seat once they’ve thought about what they’ve done for a good long time.
Good point, though, about not knitting two of something at once when you don’t know what you’re doing. Double the frustration — fun!
Oh Em. That happened to me too. The good thing is you’ll NEVER do it again. I’m really vigilant to make sure I have the RIGHT needle now when I knit socks two at a time.
Did you say those are for Michael? YOU have a man in your house secure enough to wear pinkish red socks? Or is my monitor deceiving me? My husband stubbornly refuses anything but blue, black or white color scheme.
Girl I had that same thing happen to me one of the first times I tried that method and I used dpns – slid everything back to dpns, figured out the mindcramp then slid them back. Becky is right the one good thing about it is that you will be forever vigilant about which needle your using in the future – LOL!!!
Poor emily. No fear, everything will be alright next time. I am still impressed that you can knit in the car at all, I would have been a ill, so Very Ill. On the up side, it is beautiful yarn. Wanna meet in Town tonight?
So sorry about that Emily! Maybe until you get into the groove with the 2 circs you can find someone with nail polish and paint the tips of one set of needles (for example red) so that you know you’ll knit metal to metal and red to red.
Sounds like knitting them one-inside another would be less confusing! :o) I’d keep that pic for laughs later on – your “hall of fame”. Things that really ticked me off at the time usually end up making me laugh later (like dredging chicken in baking powder rather than corn starch – can one blow a bigger brain fart than that?! LoL)
I’ve only read about knitting 2 socks on circs. Since I’m a left-hander knitting right-handed and I have 2 cats who like to “help” whenever possible, maybe I better just stick to one sock at a time…
Glad to see even the champion knitters of Team DPN can make mistakes, too. LOL
Those stupid socks! I am knitting a pair of their cousins as we speak! I hope they learned their lesson in the back seat! 😉
I know it’s not polite to laugh at someone’s pain, but your story is one all knitters can relate to. So what has happened to them since you got home?
Oh my – banished to the back seat! De nerv of dem silly socks! first dey be too big, den dey split deyselves in two ?!!
I’d be shaking my fist in the air at whatever knitting goddess decided that four ends of two loose and floppy circulars was a good idea for anything!
You get 10 courage points from this viewer for even attempting it!
Ouch! Don’t despair, you and that giant brain of yours will get to the bottom of this. The part that cracks me up is that I just a few days before I read this I told my hubby he needed raspberry socks! Ha! Apparently we have fantastic taste in bold sock wearing husbands!
Well, that seems fixable, right?
I’m quite amused by this post…
I’m laughing WITH you. When I first tackled 2s2c, I had all sorts of issues. Which is why it was a good thing my circs weren’t longer…I’d have fashioned them into a noose!
Oh my heavens. Hurling the socks into the back seat set me giggling but these comments. hehe You poor thing. Surely you’ve kissed and made up with the unruley socks by now and nearly have them finished, right? There’s a 2s2c class being hosted by my local SnB-type group. At first I thought, “What? I can knit socks – why would I take this class?” But then a friend of mine said “wanna?” and I said, Oh, sure. Won’t hurt. I’m already loving magic loop for my socks but maybe I wanna at least SAY I know how to do 2s2c – but not if they’re gonna make me wannna hurl them in the back seat! heheheheh too funny