Craptastic

I've loved that word since I've started reading knit blogs, but never really had a reason to use it myself. Now, don't think I haven't knit truly awful stuff. Rather, it has been awful--just not Craptastic (with a capital C).

What I really wanted here was a pic of the absolutely gorgeous hand dyed yarn my Dye O Rama swap partner sent me. You know what? I'm going to cheat like hell and post a pic from her blog:



Isn't it awesome?

Because it is so perfectly what I wanted and she asked to see a swatch, I rushed right in and started a sock. Now, remembering something from Knitting Rules, something about wanting to use every last wooly bit of yarn, I decided to try toe up. I had tried it once before waaaaaay back when I first was learning to knit. I don't know what instructions, what pattern or anything that I was trying to use, only that I couldn't get the increases right. Do I have to admit that I didn't know how to increase then? Yah, go ahead and laugh, it is embarrassing. To top it all off, I was using size 2 metal needles. This sock was just not in my destiny to happen. (Still haven't used the yarn, either. Just can't look at it.)

Since then, I've been coming up with perfectly legitimate reasons to not do toe-up again. Oh, I don't have the time to learn a new technique. I prefer top-down. I only have 4 dpns in that size, not 5. (Yes, the last one is a bit lame. I never said I was clever at justification, only good at it.)

So, being now conversant with increases I figured I am much smarter now than I was then, and perfectly capable of toe-up. Ummm, not so much. They (and all their holes) are kicking my sorry butt. Hard. These toe up socks: Yarn = Fantastic. Sock = Craptastic.

You may have won this round, sockies. But I'll get you yet.