It seems I always have a sock going. Baby socks work up fast. If I ignore the fact I have a family, laundry to fold, and meals to prepare, I can breeze through a pair in a day. Adult socks seem to be on my needles two months; even more. This past summer I promised my little dancer that I'd knit her a pair. Being not a baby and not quite an adult, I figured a month and I'd be done.
Inspiration hit after reading a book on doing just that, Knitting Socks. It is an unusual book as it is not written as a pattern book, but a book of what you can do when. For example, you can have this ribbing or that, then move into this heel flap or that, followed by an assortment of techniques for turning heels, and finishing off the toes. (I have an obsession with knitting books, but that is a topic for another time.)
So I started her pair with a new type of ribbing.... barely considering stitch count. Knit a basic sock, with a Strong Heel and then finished with a basic foot and toe. It came out lovely... but then the problem hit. I didn't follow a pattern. So I looked at the ribbing, but not closely and figured it was a Knit 2 Purl 2 ribbing for about an inch and a half. I counted the ribs... thought I had 72 stitches. But deep down inside I felt there were only 54 stitches on the needles. And of course the sock was too big... I counted, and counted and looked at the ribbing and couldn't figure out exactly what I had done.
Then yesterday while knitting with friends I turned the finished sock inside out and realized that the ribbing was not Knit 2 Purl 2 but only Knit 2 Purl 1, coming out to 54 stitches. It was then it hit me. Pattern recognition, the studying of ABABAB and AABAABAAB patterns in kindergarten is really important. And not just for knitting socks but for figuring more important things in life; like knitting sweaters.
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