This sock wasn’t through teaching me lessons. I was knitting along, turning the heel and proceeding to move up the back of the heel, when the directions in Cat Bordhi’s excellent book, New Pathways for Sock Knitters told me to move what she calls “wing stitches” back to the heel needle. Uh oh. Mine were already on the heel needle, and I had done my short rows for the heel with them there. No wonder the sock was strangely large in the ankle area. Strangely large is not something that is restful to contemplate in a sock that is 8.5 stitches to the inch width-wise and 11.5 rows per inch lengthwise. This, for those who care, makes for 97.75 stitches per square inch.

There was nothing to do but rip it back to where I went wrong, namely in not moving the wing stitches to the instep needle.  Remember when I said I have no luck picking up all the live stitches in yarn this fine? The sock took it as a sign of weakness on my part, an opportunity for a Life Lesson .

 

Here are the sole stitches carefully picked up –  me hoping it was every single one.

Everything above the needle?  Doomed to be ripped out. Several square inches.  Oh well.

 

Turns out I inserted the needle one row too far down

but every stitch is accounted for.

After that angst-filled afternoon, wine was called for.

Fortunately, it the day of the Nota Bene  2005 vintage release open house. We had pre-ordered a case, so got to taste the new wines and put together a selection to take home, as well as listen to some great jazz by Phlonomenon.

The sock didn’t get any wine.