The Leyburn Conundrum was resolved. In a fit of insanity resulting from pique and over thought, Leyburn II’s reign ended last week. I kind of mourned its passing, but decided that after all Leyburn II put me through I would get over it.
So after calculations worthy of deploying a space shuttle mission, the co-regnum of Leyburn III and Leyburn IV began. Because knitting one sock on 5 double pointed needles did not prove challenging enough, I decided that I should knit two at one time on two circular needles.
Knitting two socks at a time has the following advantages: 1. both socks match; 2. you don’t fall into the pit of second sock syndrome; and 3. it provides a great excuse for drinking mass quantities of alcohol.
I have not used this method of sock knitting previously. Because I knit wicked fast on double pointed needles and have knit so may socks I can knit them in the dark, I have not seen a reason to change - not that I have dabbled in the sock knitting dark arts. I have knit a pair or two magic loop style (using one, mile long circular needle twisted into a loop. If you were wondering a circular needle is one long needle with a needle bit at both ends and a long flexible bit in the middle.), but other than that I keep to what I know. (This is why serial murdered eventually get caught.) I generally keep good notes and have an overdeveloped knitting pattern memory. Still, when Leyburn II was rendered to a limp pile of unraveled knitting a bit of doubt niggled my mind. It was the thought that I am not that good and the pattern knows it.
So I cast-on with two circular needles. The beginning has foreshadowed this project. After reading several techniques, I ignored them all. I cast-on one sock and then knit the first round. Then I cast-on sock two and knit the first round. It was at this point I realized I made a tactical error and was so lost in the maze of needles and thread, that unlike Theseus, I would never find my way out of the maze.
Memo to self – there is a reason why they tell you to cast-on both socks before you knit anything.
Humbled, I ripped out and started over, this time casting-on both socks before moving on. I started knitting, but more slowly. While, for me, knitting with double points is akin to driving down the Pacific Coast Highway in a Maserati, knitting with two circulars is more akin to driving a Citroën 2CV with a bad clutch.
Added to this is the fact one must always be vigilant lest one inadvertently forget to change yarn between socks, only to realize that one has been knitting both socks with the same ball of yarn for the past twenty rows. Yeah!
Of course, it isn’t enough that I had to jazz up the sock knitting by using two circular needles. Because I didn’t like how open the stitches were on the size 2 needles, I had also decided to use a slightly smaller (0.25 mm smaller to be exact) knitting needle. What I had not counted on was the smaller needle with a different technique might possibly render a dramatically smaller sock.
Since the U2 concerts of ’87 and ’89 and Don Henley ’89 I have sacrificed a portion of brain cells that do math. I am not admitting anything other than to say the concert venues were quite smoky. So, an hour or so later after enough calculations to launch a hamster through end zone uprights with a rubber band, a broomstick and a coat hanger from the 50 yard line, I started knitting again.
Hopefully, I will make it to the heel and the halfway mark this weekend, because right now it looks as if the circular needles have sprouted boobs and much comment from the one man peanut gallery. If not, I will go quietly when the little, white van appears.
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