On Saturday I pulled out one of my favorite pairs of hand knit socks to wear, and discovered this:
I don’t usually get holes in the toes of my socks, but I think my aging pedicure was to blame this time. After rummaging around in my office, I found the ball of leftover yarn that goes with this sock. Here’s a link to the finished socks, if you want to see what they looked like brand new.
Fixing the toe was relatively easy. I just cut off the end of the sock with the hole, got it back on needles, and reknit it. It took less time than getting a new pedicure.
After I finished the toe, I inspected the rest of both socks, and found some perilously thin heels (the photo above), so I got out the darning needle and duplicate stitched over both of them. My duplicate stitching probably wouldn’t win any ribbons at the state fair, but it will hopefully give this pair a little longer lifespan.
And this is all the yarn I have left, so the next time this pair gets a hole, it’s history.
This past week was a bit busy, which might explain the lack of knitting and posting around here. My weekend was spent at a Catholic women’s retreat here. There were approximately thirty women at the retreat, and we stayed from Friday evening until Sunday afternoon. It was a wonderful experience, and I would highly recommend it to any of you looking for something similar.
Here’s a photo of the view from the main conference room at the center:
I’m amazed that any of us could concentrate on anything but that view. I didn’t get much knitting done while I was there, but I did find a couple of other knitters to hang out with Saturday evening. I just might possibly even have some progress photos the next time I post. Though I suppose fixing socks is progress of sorts.
Last but not least, I was interviewed recently for WhoKnits online magazine. Go here to read the interview! New link via the Wayback Machine!
Good work on the socks!
The retreat sounds nice, and with a view like the picture, it would be good no matter what else …
I enjoyed the interview – does this mean you’ll be too famous to bother with us hoi-polloi now???? 😉
I clicked through to read the interview, you famous person, you, and was astounded to see my blog mentioned!
Thanks for the compliment!
And I return the compliment, right back atcha, though you don’t blab as much as I do (I blame your schedule). Me, I’m clinic-based, though with kid stuff in the evenings, there are days on days I can’t write a post. But I enjoy it!
Lunch is over, back to work for me!
Oh, and yes, good work with rehabbing and with double-checking the socks especially, it would have been so irritating if they’d blown out somewhere else in a month. Should hold them for quite a while, I’d think….
Further evidence that being a physician can come in mighty handy when knitting. Excellent mending job!
Great work fixing your socks! I always forget about duplicate stitch. :0)
The retreat sounds wonderful, I could use something like that right around now!
Since you blogged about it, I’ll ask. What kind of Catholic womens retreat? As I get older and have been married longer, I wonder what might be of benefit for me at a Catholic womens retreat.
Sounds like a great weekend away. Dang, you wanna fix my socks that have holes? 😉
Thanks for the Who Knits link! Significant increase in blog traffic. We must figure out a meet-up one of these days. I know Dorothy and Blogless Marsha would be in.
Li
What a perfect use for the leftover sock yarn. And here I’ve always been at a total loss as to what to do with the leftovers. DOH!!!!
Wow – you’re famous! And I’m honored to somewhat share in that. Thanks for the compliment. I’m with Li – it would be fun to get us all together. I always have a great time with you and also Li. I’ve yet to wear a hole in any of my handknit socks. I always seem to get holes in the heels of my store bought socks first. If I do – I’ll bring them to you for “surgery”.
Nice interview, and great work on that sock!
I have only knit 2 complete pairs of socks. I have knit other socks and either just have one or part of one done. I only wore them to take pics and then put them aside.
Maybe some day if I start knitting more, I might wear them. I have enough sock patterns to cover hundreds of feet.
Way to rock the darning.
🙂
That’s the beauty of hand knit socks! Now they’re brand new again 🙂 A retreat sounds like a great idea right about now.
Leave it to the Knitting Doctor to perform surgery on her handknit socks! I’m so impressed. Thanks for the pic-tutorial. I’ll keep it in mind when my socks wear thin. Truly inspirational.
Ah yes, sock surgery. I always feel so virtuous when I take care of my socks. They are like little beings, needing love and attention. Your retreat sounded great. A Catholic convent here has developed into the “Wisdom Monastery” which offers retreats for all faiths. Just talked to a knitter here who finished a women’s retreat last week and I was inspired to attend one. You reinforced the inspiration! Thanks.
Ah yes, sock surgery. I always feel so virtuous when I take care of my socks. They are like little beings, needing love and attention. Your retreat sounded great. A Catholic convent here has developed into the “Wisdom Monastery” which offers retreats for all faiths. Just talked to a knitter here who finished a women’s retreat last week and I was inspired to attend one. You reinforced the inspiration! Thanks.
Ah yes, sock surgery. I always feel so virtuous when I take care of my socks. They are like little beings, needing love and attention. Your retreat sounded great. A Catholic convent here has developed into the “Wisdom Monastery” which offers retreats for all faiths. Just talked to a knitter here who finished a women’s retreat last week and I was inspired to attend one. You reinforced the inspiration! Thanks.
Not really, you can always knit the toes in another color 🙂 The sock police says its ok.
I’ve only had a toe blow out from one pair of my socks…they were knit with STR. I think my lack of a pedi was maybe to blame for that one.
I’m headin’ over to WhoKnits to read your interview. This should be fun. 🙂
what a nice interview with you 😀
And lots of applause coming from down here for your sock repair. very neat!
The retreat sounds fine, but, think SPA! e
Good save! I enjoyed the interview a great deal.