One Freaking Sock

There you have it. I posted my June goals earlier on in the month. I must say, they were rather ambitious, given that I finished exactly seven projects in the past year and a bit. Why don’t you people tell me when I write something as stupid as “I’m going to finish a sweater, a pair of socks, and part of another sweater. Oh, and a million rows of a complicated lace shawl that requires my total concentration and cannot be worked on if anyone is speaking within a hundred miles of my location.”

Ahem. On top of my lofty goals, work was a bit busy. And I tried to cut my left index finger off right after I said I was going to knit a row a day on that shawl. It was a relatively tiny cut, but it was right on the tip of my finger where the knitting needle hits it with every single stitch. So I couldn’t knit anything for about a week or it would start bleeding again, and since then it is healing OK, but hurts every time I poke it, which is with every single stitch.

No, there was no alcohol involved. I was trying to slice bread. Serrated bread knife meets finger, part eleventy billion. My family appears to be known for this talent, so much so that my husband’s first instinct was not to grab a towel or a bandaid, or even to see if he needed to call 911. No, he grabbed his camera so he could post a photo of the carnage on Facebook for my loved ones to laugh at. I’m not linking to that. Imagine my hand, some bread, and quite a lot of blood.

But I did finish a sock. Here you go.

Of course I still have one sock to go, but at least I’ve started it.

I was a bit worried as I finished the first sock that I will run out of yarn, since the yardage is a bit short on this stuff*. After I finished, I hauled out the trusty drug-dealer scale to check.

Finished sock weighs 45.9 grams (including a bit of heel and toe reinforcing yarn).

I have 54.2 grams left, so I should be good.

I’m also baking bread again. Last week’s bread was a white-wheat-rye blend. Here’s what’s in the bread machine today.

Here are the approximate proportions of what’s in it.

2 cups regular bread flour

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup water

1/2 cup mixed “harvest grains“, softened in about 1/2 cup hot water

2 TBL canola oil

2 TBL molasses

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 TBL wheat gluten

1 TBL yeast

I get my bread making ingredients at the King Arthur store online. I linked to the harvest grain blend, but the rest of what you need can be found there as well.

I’ll bake that in the oven on a stone instead of in the machine, I like the texture better that way. I’ll try to remember to show you a photo later when it’s out!

*The yarn is Unique Sheep Tinsel Toes sock yarn. It’s 367 yards, which for someone with a foot that is close to size 11, can be a little light. Can I tell you how much I love them though? When I went to find a link to this, I discovered that they now make their sock yarns in “Big Foot” sizes. You can buy a skein and a half if you have Sasquatch size feet!

Author: Lorette

My name is Lorette. I learned to knit in 1999, and took up spinning in 2009. I'm a physician specializing in internal medicine, and live in the Pacific Northwest. Enjoy my blog!

13 thoughts on “One Freaking Sock”

  1. Been there with the finger slice and dice aka photo session thing. I’ve got no sympathy from here either. Nice sock.

  2. Well, really, one million rows was a bit ambitious. Three quarters of a million should have been doable though 😉

    Great sock and I love the colors!

  3. At least you have some progress to report. I shoved a splinter up under my thimble finger on my left hand, so some of my quilting goals have gone by the wayside, but at least knitting cam continue. Are you doing anything for the Ravelym (oops) I mean Ravellenics?

  4. In the words of Paul Simon, “[You be] thanking the Lord for your fingers.” Take care of them, it is difficult to knit without them. Pretty sock, though:-)

  5. For what it’s worth:

    1. I’m the same with lace.
    2.I’m also frequently having slicing injuries.
    3. I haven’t even finished one sock yet.

    Sigh.

  6. That is so cool that Unique Sheep is making skeins for those of us with… ahem… delicately large feet. My feet were long enough as it was (size 10.5) but after 2 pregnancies in 2 years my feet are now officially “freakishly large”.

    Love the colors on the sock.

    Sorry about the finger. But at least this incident wasn’t to the same level as the wine glass + fence incident. 🙂

  7. Thank you for sparing us the “crime scene” photo. What’s the saying? “Physician, heal thyself?” 😉

    And, despite your cheerleading and telling me I could do it, I’m staying away from lace this summer. Low on gumption, I guess.

  8. Love the sock. Don’t beat yourself up…I have a want to knit list that is a mile long…and with Ravelry, i add to it daily! I am determined to live long enough to make it all!!!

  9. Hey there. I’ve been reading your blog for a while now. I’m about to start medical school (two kids and a disabled husband was just BORING, dahling), and I was wondering if you had any wisdom to pass along. Like, did you knit while you were in medical school? Could you knit in classes? I haven’t met a doctor who’s a knitter yet. And, you know, anything about studying would be welcome as well. I know curriculums are different now but it’s still a rite of passage that I’m a bit terrified about.

    Anyway, love reading the blog, you’re fantastic. I wish you’d write more, but since I don’t even have a blog I’m hardly one to judge. Thanks for sharing these bits of your life with us.

  10. What’s that saying… a person’s reach should exceed their grasp, ere what’s a heaven for?

    You and sharp objects should be separated.

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