Ravellenic Games 2012

I have not updated this blog in more than a year. Sorry about that! I was looking at my Twitter profile, wondering if I should still have my blog listed there if I don't update it. So I decided to update it.

The Ravellenic Games 2012 are happening right now, in conjunction with the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. I have never participated before, but I decided to this time around. I have a lot of WIPs but I'm actually working on a fresh project.

Just a basic pair of socks, toe up with a gusset heel. This yarn is Lion Brand Sock-Ease, which I chose because it just happened to be close at hand (my stash is a bit disorganized right now). This project is entered into the Sock Put competition. The above photo shows where I was when I went to bed Friday night. I would have been further along but I got distracted by the opening ceremonies.

Saturday afternoon this happened.

My Knitpicks circular needle broke, and when I went to dig out my other pair, they were broken in the same way. I managed to find another pair of circular needles in the 2.25mm size so I didn't have to switch to DPNs (I tend to break wooden ones).

Today I have started the gusset for the sock and hope to get the heel turned before I go to bed. I'm not sure how much knitting I'll get in during the week since I have to work all day, but I will at least get some time in during the evening.

Holey!

Oh noes! On Sunday I found the first hole in a pair of my own hand knit socks. I had noticed a lot of pilling on the inside of the socks the last few times I wore them. The heel on one sock is almost totally worn through, and the other is not far behind. I have never darned a sock, though it is a good skill to learn if you are a knitter. 

The yarn used to knit these socks is from Yarnpirate. It's a merino/tencel blend which I'm now thinking was not a good choice for socks. I have read that merino isn't the best choice for socks anyway as it's very soft, and also there was is no nylon in this blend. I have loved the socks on my feet though. The yarn feels great on and was cool to knit with. I have wondered if maybe I should start knitting my socks at a tighter gauge (I normally knit on 2.25mm) because I've read that a tighter gauge prevents wear for longer. 

So, how to proceed? I could teach myself how to darn socks and I can even use the original yarn for that since I have some left. I have noticed some thinning in the toes and other heel too so I will either have to reinforce those too or just darn them eventually. A second option would be to unravel both socks, cut out the weakened yarn and reknit them at a tighter gauge using up the leftover yarn. A third option is to reknit the socks at a tighter gauge but use a different yarn, a wool/nylon blend, for the toes and heels. I think I like that idea best because it might lengthen the overall life of the socks. I'm not really sure since I haven't had this issue pop up yet with any of my other socks. Thoughts?

Now I guess I should look at the other socks in my drawer and maybe learn how to knit after-thought heels too.