So, after the great sock debacle of 2011 caused by yours truly having a pretty nonsensical idea of how big my dad’s feet are, I decided to try again. Cause I do not accept defeat. I have quit things I did not like for perfectly valid reasons, but I do not quit. TH (the husband) has encouraged my thinking I can do anything I put my mind to by inspiring me to watch movies like Road Trip.
Rubin:”I can teach you ancient philosophy in 46 hours.”
Josh: “Really?”
Rubin: “Yeah, I can teach Japanese to a monkey in 46 hours. The key is just finding a way to relate to the material.”

…and so, ladies and gentlemen, I found something to relate my dad’s foot size to….TH’s foot size. TH and my dad have VERY similarly sized feet, so, if I make a sock big enough to fit TH, I should be in the money. Now, it turns out that these men have much bigger feet than I do. I was SHOCKED at how big I had to make the sock to get it to fit him. I mean, he’s not a small guy, think Viking, and my dad has a sturdy frame too, but my gosh! I never realized how flipping large their feet are…or how much knitting would be required. I was mollified that TH was shocked by the size too.





The good news is that a. I have pretty bluebonnet pics of a sock in progress and b. if the socks don’t fit my dad or he just doesn’t like the yarn colorway, TH is going to have a nice new pair of handknit socks. And there are few things I love more than a solid plan B.

I knitted up some socks for my dad for Christmas, but alas they were a tad too small. Turns out his feet are more 12W than just 12’s…my bad. The reason for this post delay is that I was a bit sad after the fail, so I had to let the wound heal before I ripped the scab off for the world to see. Ok, that metaphor took a gross turn, but hopefully you get what I’m sayin.

I’ll end up giving these socks to someone else….once I find them a good home. The fault was definitely on the part of the knitter. I even had someone try them on and tell me they were a bit small, but I told myself I could just block them…a lot. Turns out I couldn’t block them quite that much….trust me, I tried. Turns out boys have really big feet.

The pattern is Whippersnapper by Hunter Hammersen and I liked it and the Madeline Tosh yarn. At some point, I think I’m going to make some Whippersnappers for myself….some smaller girly whippersnappers for feet that I’ve had much better luck fitting…sure do love the pattern though. Elegant and easy to memorize. right up my alley!

I’m not a huge fan of ripping out perfectly good knitting. TH (the husband) is even less of a fan than I, if that’s possible. So, when I knit myself what was supposed to be a headband/ribbon type thing, he said I should keep it. And I did… for about 10 months. The thing is, it wasn’t perfectly good knitting. It was too wide and not as long as I’d have liked. Sometimes you have an idea and it seems like a good idea, but in truth, it is not that great of an idea and then the execution is poor and it turns out to be an all around bad idea. At that point, you should cut your losses and admit that at least in this case, the designer was right to say this lace pattern belongs in a cowl.

And so it was that this…

became this…

In other news, I do not care for Louisa Harding Merletto yarn. It splits VERY easily and does not stand up for ripping very well at all. If I use it again, I’ll be making fingerless mitts…and people, I’ll be following the pattern.

*The knitting term frogging, which means to rip out knitting comes from the sounds frogs make, ribbit – rippit…or at least that’s the word on the street….you know, streets where knitters hang out anyway.