Patchwork Times by Judy Laquidara logo

Socks are Hard!

It’s been since about 2006 since I started knitting socks and I’ve forgotten how confusing it is when you first start.  Today Linda and I met at Eileen’s home to have lunch and for me to teach them to knit socks. Eileen is in the middle and Linda is on the right, in the red.   I’m holding Daisy and trying to get her to be still for the photo.  Please don’t tell Speck you saw me with another dog.

It’s so nice to spend a day with good, sweet friends!

Daisy was there to help too but all she did was stretch out, on her back, in the chair next to Eileen and snore!  (Daisy was snoring .. Eileen was not snoring!)  We didn’t make a lot of progress on the socks but we sure had fun talking and eating.

Next time I see Eileen and Linda, I’ll expect to see many pairs of completed socks!  🙂

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  5. Amusing story and aptly demonstrates that kids just forge ahead and DO things, not “realizing” that it is supposed to be difficult! …..

    Around 2000 or so, my husband, myself and our middle teenaged daughter (in high school) were on a 3 day road trip from California to northeastern Washington state to visit my cousin.

    Our daughter had been taught the rudiments of knitting by her older sister and then continued her knitting education on her own. To pass the time during the road trip, she decided to knit a pair of socks.

    I am a non-knitter but even *I* know that socks are difficult. So, I said nothing to middle daughter and simply let her knit onwards.

    Sometime during the second day, I hear her voice from the back seat, “Oh look, Mom, I’ve turned the heel.”. Now, as a non-knitter, even I am aware that turning the heel is a MAJOR accomplishment, worthy of several self-congratulatory pats on the back. I turned back to her and profusely praised her.

    She looked at me rather blankly and said, “Mom, I just followed the directions.” Oh. My. Goodness!!! I felt like slapping her upside the head and telling her, ‘Oh look, I just made a nuclear bomb. It was simple; I just followed directions!”

    Out of the mouths of babes, huh? Not having any knitting acquaintances, she had no experience with knitting other than what she taught herself … and if there were directions, there shouldn’t be any problems, right? 🙂 🙂

    I love it that she has such self-confidence! She has since gone on to knitting lace … the kind that Irish call ‘wedding ring lace’, allegedly because it is so fine you could pull a shawl through a wedding ring. She’s made me fingerless gloves (with a thumb sleeve, not just a slit for the thumb) so my hands won’t get so cold whilst at the computer on winter nights … and she made up the pattern on that one!

    I know that I am simply in utter awe of anyone who knits anything. To me, it is magic.

  6. Thank you for passing your knitting-smarts on to willing subjects!

    Oh yeah…Speck will SO KNOW!

    I’ve just finished my pair of socks, and am 3-4 rows into the next…woo-hoo!

  7. I don’t knit, but the thought has crossed my mind when I look at all the lovely knitted socks you have made. I used to knit ages ago when my daughter was small and tolerant of wearing a hand knitted sweaters with one sleeve knitted longer than the other or some other odd thing I would knit! Grin! Thank you for posting a picture of you and your dear friends have a good time. Speck will know—and Judy, you look so pretty! Lovely picture of all three of you.

  8. Judy, you look wonderful!! What a great picture of you girls and Daisy!
    I just know y’all had a lot of fun, and I’m sure their sock-knitting will go well. Sure, they’ll probably call when they hit a confusing spot (like those heels/gussets), but they’ll do fine.

    I’m making myself 2 pairs of heavier “Christmas” socks this year, having adapted patterns from 2 knitted stockings that I fell in love with. One is done in a Fair Isle-type pattern and the other is a Nordic design. I’m working on the 4th sock now. But I finished one pair Sunday night, just in time to wear to my quilt guild Christmas party Monday night. Now I have an appointment to teach a group of the ladies how to knit socks in January!
    Oh, and Don fell in love with the 1st Fair Isle-type one when I finished it. So I had to stop everything last week and make him one of the long, Santa-style hats in that design. Only need to make the pompom for the tip now. LOL!! Eve

  9. After 2 tries I put down the “two-at-a-time” method of knitting socks and just knitted up a single sock usings Paton’s sock yarn and their basic sock pattern from their website. I love this sock and cannot wait to get the mate knitted up. It took me a while to figure out the heel, and there is certainly room for improvement on sock #2 but it looks okay for my first finished sock. I cannot believe how good that sock feels on my foot. I’ll probably try the two-at-a-time method again but not right now. Thanks for encouraging your blog followers to give sock knitting a try.

  10. What a lovely picture and I am sure your time with friends must have been wonderful. I am still trying to get the heel turn going, but not having a lot of success. I do not understand why and how they are just using part of the stitches. Afraid to go very far, as I might have dropped stitches if ripping out. Maybe I will knit up a “mock” pair and test the pattern before I ruin my $50.00 pair that is half done. Lol

    • JudyC, trust me, that heel will work out. I was confused by it the first sock or two, but now that’s one of the most fun parts of the sock for me. Just follow the instructions and you’ll be fine. It’s just the way to reduce the stitches on that heel to get the curved part of the heel.

      I’ll root you on!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!! Eve in Ga

  11. I don’t think I could knit with people. I mutter to myself too much when I knit!

    BTW, you look thinner especially your face.