Scala sock/mitten saga

It all started off calmly and orderly. I decided to knit a sock from the November pattern on the Socken-Kreativ-Liste designed by the gifted Stephanie van der Linden. The Scala sock pattern is beautiful and well written. I wanted to finish a sock to post to the group so that I was a participant and not just an observer.

First there was this....




I really liked the detail at the top of the cuff. The thought kept coming to me that these needed to be mittens where I could enjoy looking at them instead of on the bottom of my legs where I could not see them. Before I was finished knitting the decorative part of the cuff I knew these were going to be mittens instead of socks. I played with the color dominance to make it look like hot embers at the beginning then changed dominance to the gray that looks like coals in my woodstove.

And there was this...



The way the cables trickled down the glove in little rivulets. I learned to cable without a cable needle using the information that Grumperina has on her blog. I loved running my finger down the texture of the mitten and knew these were going to be great lightweight mittens for driving. I was anxious to finish them so that I could wear them.

Then there was this....



All I can say is that I got distracted.... I had picked it up for no other reason than to carress it yet again, but I set it down near something hot and the nylon in the sock yarn scorched. I was dumbfounded. But... I decided to knit the left mitten, and then go back and cut the burned end off the right mitten and knit it again. So on to the left mitten - lip stiff, attitude corrected, face to the wind.

And this...



Do you see a left mitten? I see a right mitten and a soon to be right mitten. I tried to turn away defeat and then I gave up. I had made some mistakes in the pattern, and correcting those mistakes only made the yarn split and frizz so that it did not look much better. It also hurt my hands to knit this pattern on Addi's size 1. My right hand went numb and my left hand hurt and then ached in a way that reminded me of the carpal tunnel syndrome I had surgery for in my right hand. I was willing to tough it out just long enough to knit the mittens...but now....

So then there was this...


I was going to toss them. I knew the yarn would not make it through frogging. Then the voice of reason drifted in and told me to put them away until next fall. So they are wrapped in the pattern and will hibernate until I have the heart to deal with them again.

on my "nostepinne"


KnitPicks Memories in the Redwood Forest colorway

Soon to be Jaywalker socks designed by Grumperina. Hee hee. I can't wait.