Socks with Bicycles

Thanks to the design skill of Lucy Neatby , DH is getting a pair of socks with Bikes. He's a cycling fanatic. It's been a long time since I knit anything for him. The very first piece I ever knitted was a fisherman knit wool sweater. (No one told me it was too hard.) It took 2 years. He was pleased. Said, "This will be great to wear when I take out the trash." (@#$#%$#^) What he meant was that it would keep him very warm no matter how cold the temp. Took me 20 years to figure that out.

As I started this sock, he reminded me of his "dainty" ankles. They match his dainty knees. The pattern calls for 80 stitches and I wasn't interested in tinkering with the pattern to hide decreases and increases, so I used smaller needles: 00 needles that took me two weeks to find. Worked well. Tried them on him and he said, "The ankle could be a bit looser." I said, "No, it couldn't." Now I remember why I don't knit for him.

I really don't knit for someone who doesn't appreciate my enormous skill and effort. I follow EZ's advice and always knit for myself even if the product will go to someone else. I make the things I am interested in making. And I darn well expect my family to rave about them. I explained this to DD#1 recently. I simply said that if she expected more sweaters for herself or her son, she should make a big production of praise when I gave them. It doesn't matter if she truly loves them, it only matters that I get some praise. Later I'll ask for advice for the next time and she can carefully word any criticism she has at that time. Seems fair to me.

Bama Harriet is coming today to plan a sock KAL for our guild. Neither of us have done this before so we are going to copy the organization we have seen others use. The tough part is that it has to have several knitting levels in order not to leave anyone out. Also, I believe in dpns and she is a 2-circs kind of girl. I've been playing with the "knit the gusset first" option and she may win me over---at least for that pattern.