[Northern_Lad]

You've got small feet?

[judith]

Thanks Penny. I am ridiculously proud of it. I was a good girl and started the friend straightaway, rather than spending the rest of the evening admiring this one.

[judith]

The only thing that works for me is pen and paper and drawing 5-bar gates. That's where the dangly bit of wool left over from casting on comes into its own - every time it comes back to the front that's another row.

[judith]

I hate to say this, Lozzie, but you aren't far from the truth
My beloved is away all week at the moment, so Valentine's night was indeed spent in loving communion between myself, the dog ... and a sock. And the fire was on!

[Penny Outskirts]

I use a pile of 2p's and move one accross everytime I finish a row - which works beautifully, until dog/husband/children decide to have a golly good time in the sitting room, and scatter them to the four corners

[Northern_Lad]

Used the right way, you could do almost 100 billion rows that way. That's a big sock.

[Mrs Fiddlesticks]

partly cos we all know that washing machines eat them.. (only one of the pair of course)

[Northern_Lad]

I can honestly say that I've never lost a sock in the wash. At the cricket club, sports center, etc, yeah, but never a washing mashine. Have you tried looking half way up the stairs?

[Bugs]

Ah, no you see, this is flawed logic, a result of old wives' tales and internet rumour, and I feel obliged to step on it.

The fact is that they don't get eaten, they actually breed.

I know we have a sock bag in which there are at least 7 socks which I have never seen with a partner and have no recollection of buying. I'm wondering if you can hand-knit sterilility in to socks?

[Penny Outskirts]

Oh yes - except when you really need one, then they all seem to scuttle off to the deepest reaches of the galaxy, to join with other coathangers and live in well hung happiness together....

[Bugs]

Yes, they do it as well. Like rabbits they are, only harder to catch and not nearly so tasty. They seem to have a lot of inbreeding and throwbacks as well, producing sizes that match nothing you own or have ever worn and not nearly enough broad-shouldered ones that you can hang your washing on.

[judith]

Have a look at this thread.
There are links to several patterns and useful sites, plus an extended winge from me as I got to grips with the needles. My recommendation is just to start a pair of socks as the more you read about it, the more you become convinced that it is well-nigh impossible. Once you get started, it all becomes clear (eventually!).

[Bugs]

That's exactly right. I've gone awfully slowly through this one, highly convinced that the writer of my pattern had been smoking the wool rather than knitting with it; but I'm quite looking forward to getting on with the next one now I know where I'm going (only got the grafting to get to grips with now!). And you know you'll have many sympathetic helpers here if you do run in to any confusion!

[bernie-woman]

Haven't started it yet The downsizer bag full of wool keeps staring me out in the spare room