The Best Toasty Toes Ever!

The title of this post is NOT about the Toasty Toes Socks that I knit for my pal, Leah.  The socks I knit are far from the 'best'.  The yarn was wonderful and squooshy (as she requested) and the pattern was fun to knit.  They were a quick and easy sock...one that should have been easy to make 'perfect'. But, there was a bit of arrogance during the knitting that made the whole thing sadly funny and they have been dubbed the 'Zen socks'. 

It was just after I turned the heel that I noticed one of the cables went the wrong way.  The arrogance comes in at this point.  Susan said I could ladder back and fix it, but I thought it would be easier to finish and then go back and fix it by cutting and grafting.  Ah, yes...the best laid plans. When I went to fix the errant cable it was then I noticed, yes...after cutting it, that it was I had changed the direction of the cable and it COULDN'T BE FIXED!  I did add the socks to my Socks That Walk photo album so I can prove that 11 pair of socks have been knit this year, but  I should be embarrassed to put up a picture. I have decided that they are proof of my Zen-ness and the Zen-ness of dear Leah. The socks are perfect as they are. They accept who they are, we accept that they are what they are, and it is perfect. I could have sent them late and reknit the sock, but that seemed problematic.  Would the yarn hold up to frogging and look as good as it did the first time through? There was yarn left over, but I wasn't sure it would be enough to reknit. I wrote and asked her if she would accept socks with an obvious mistake...and she said she would. The socks will keep her warm despite the error of my ways and as Carole said "It would be fine with me to have a pair of f*cked up socks knit by Margene."  Thank you Leah for being such a good sport and may you wear the socks long and well while you think of me and get laugh out of it all, because you have living proof that I am Zen.

Speaking of Carole...SHE was MY Toasty Toes Pal!  The title of this post is about the socks she knit!  Carole is a dear friend and that makes the socks even better.  She asked Emily to hand dye some of her Sophie's Toes yarn just for the socks and it is such lovely yarn!  It's so soft and the colors are vibrant and autumnal.

Carole is the best pal ever and wearing a pair of sock knit by her hand makes me smile...warms my heart, as well as my toes.  She also included one of  Scout's  hand dyed yarns. Don't you just love Lemon Drop Martini?  Carole and I share a love of martinis and the Lemon Drop was my favorite summer drink.  (I had a Appletini at Rhinebeck and Cara can tell you just how much I enjoyed it.)  A pair of Lemon Drop socks will be so much fun to knit and wear.

Oh and that chocolate you see in the photo...now you see it...now it's gone. Yum!  Thank you Amanda for hosting a wonderful exchange...it's been a blast.

On my side bar is a picture, taken at Rhinebeck, of Carole in her fabulous scarf, and super mom of twins, Risa.  Thank you Carole! I love, love the socks!

Comments

[Manise]

I'm with Carole on Leah's socks- they'll be loved just the same. Carole is a great pal and the socks look so soft and warm...and well, toasty!

[Laurie]

They certainly will be loved. Carole is right on the money.

Now I feel much better about my twisted toe decreases.

[Rachel]

I also agree with Carole. Who cares if the pattern is a bit wonky? They're still handknit socks, with lots of time and thought put into them. Leah is lucky to recieve them, and I'm sure she'll wear them with pride!

[Kim]

Your new socks from Carole are great! I love the colors and the Lemontini yarn is fantastic! They don't call me Kimtini for nothing...LOL :-)

[jessie]

Carole's socks are GORGEOUS!

I avoid zen crises by never, ever, knitting socks with cables.

Yet.

[Kathleen]

The socks from Carole are lovely. I am sure you have seen Cara's P-word socks in the yellow yarn. They are lovely. Would you knit another pair? They sure are on my radar... :) Especially since my mother kept the ones she knit--for herself! The nerve.

Sorry to read about the misscrossed cable. Did you just graft after you cut? If nothing else, a lot of heart went into those Toasty Toes socks for your pal. Do you think she will post the naughty cable?? ;)

[Lucia]

I think every pair of cable socks I ever knit (which is nearly all of them, since I'm inordinately fond of cables) has at least one miscrossed cable. I try to think of it as the spirit cable, an affirmation of the earthliness of the socks. Yours are beautiful as they are -- the ones you knit and the ones you got.

[Liz K.]

I just read Leah's post and she seemed pretty damn satisfied with her socks from you. We can't be perfect all the time, even you!

Love the lemon drop yarn! You know I have a thing about the foofy martinis too! I am usually a bourbon drinker, but put something sweet and fruity in vodka, and I'm your girl.

[amanda]

Your socks look great and Carole did a great job! I can't wait to see the Lemon Drop yarn take shape -- it is so summery and happy!

[Stitch-n-Snitch]

Booootiful (sorry, still in the Halloween spirit, I guess)!!! ;)

[Marcia]

I'm with whoever it was (the Amish, maybe?) who always deliberately put a mistake in their work. Otherwise they were arogant since only God is perfect! That covers a lot of my work.....

[Jennifer]

Ah, mistakes are part of being human. It gives the socks character!

That lemon drop martini yarn is so gorgeous!

[Laura]

I'm with Carole for SURE. Anybody would love to get a pair of socks from you with a cable twisted the wrong way!! Hugs and smooches to you Margene for helping to remind us all that we're not perfect and who really wants to be anyway? Leah is such a sweetie - and I've been having so much fun watching Carole knitting away on her socks I never imagined who they might be for. I hope Amanda does this swap again! I've missed out on BOTH rounds now!

[Cheryl]

I'm sure your socks were wonderful, even with the miscrossed cable. And I love lemon drop martinis! My husband also makes a killer grapefruit martini... but I digress. The lemon drop sock yarn is delightful.

[Teyani]

what fabulous socks you have been gifted with from Carole.. Carole totally rocks! and that Lemon Drop yarntini is so vibrant - I just love Scout's yarns. and yumm... chocolate (my personal fav sweet)

I think that it was great you sent the socks to Leah - She's a peach, and I am sure that she will wear them with pride. I certainly would. And sometimes it is good to receive a zen moment eh? I've had a few (ahem) myself.

[Roxie]

The only way to achieve machine-like precision is to use a machine. The signature of hand work is unique and idiosyncratic elements. Having socks with that so-called mistake is like having "Knitting Rules" with Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's autograph in it. This is a problem?

[Becky / Knitting Interrupted]

Handknit socks from you even imperfect would be a desirable thing my dear! I'm sure she'll love them and if you didn't point it out while walking down the street I'm sure no one would ever look and say "GASP those have a backwards cable in them!" (grin)

I think they are ever so wonderful just the way they are!

And btw, you scored some pretty terrific socks there in trade!

[Leah]

I am more than honored to have a pair of Zen Socks knit by Margene! They are gorgeous and I love them as my post attests!

We all need a little Zen in our lives!

[Karen]

Beautiful socks! And I love the lemon drop sock yarn too. They will be bright and cheery when they become socks. Enjoy your new socks!

[Rebekah]

Oh I love squooshy socks, they are the best. Althugh sometimes I wear them to squooshy which makes footwear difficult.

[Leah]

I am more than honored to have a pair of Zen Socks knit by Margene! They are gorgeous and I love them as my post attests!

We all need a little Zen in our lives!

[Carol]

Mistakes are a way of life for me right now, but I'll bet every one of your readers forgive & move on ;) Bet they looked great even with a little twist.

[Erin]

The socks are beautiful! Lucky you.

[Norma]

Lovely, lovely socks. I, too, would be happy to have some f*cked up socks by Margene. Might as well be by you -- as most of mine are f*cked up, too. :)

[yvette]

The socks are beautiful, fabulous colour AND Green and Blacks Maya Gold, my favourite chocolate!

[christine]

How wonderful to have a good friend for a swap partner.........great socks, great yarn and good chocolate!

[abigale]

I am just gobsmacked that you would consider cutting the work and fixing the cable! I can't even ladder down to fix cables - not that I knit anything cabled anyway (I can - I just don't - too fiddly, and with my attention span asking for disaster).

But hey - handknit socks from someone else - doesn't matter if they're not "perfectly knitted" they're perfect as they are!

Love the new yarn - and your score from Rhinebeck - you're going to have so much fun spinning all that up!

Abi

[Carole]

Oh, geez. I didn't know you were going to quote me on that statement about your f*cked up socks. Haha!
So glad you love the package. Thanks for being such a dear friend. It was a pleasure to knit socks for YOU.

[Kim]

Just the fact that you would CUT INTO SOCKS proves to me that you are far more zen than I!!! You brave, or perhaps just crazy, soul...

[Risa]

mmmmm Appletinis! I discovered them this past summer during the birthday weekend getaway. Good stuff for sure. Lovely socks.. and super mom? Not likely :)

[Debi]

I have a secret M...I did the same thing with one of my Sockapalooza socks and to my horror it couldn't be fixed either! You handled it much better than I :)

I love your new socks and that dishy new lemon drop yarn!

[scout]

Finally! It's so funny that I dyed that so long ago. I can't wait to see it knit up.
xo

[Birdsong]

Perfect is truly a state of mind, and to me, the color is absolutely perfect... I didn't consciously notice the mis-twisted cable the first look, and sure wouldn't be bending down to look at my feet all the time to check:) I am also feeling a bit smug knowing about those socks you got from Carole in advance and that both of us managed to fool ya this year...

[Cara]

ONE Appletini? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[Jan]

Those *Carole socks* are just gorgeous...pattern, fit, color (kudos to Emily!). You lucked out on this exhange, Margene!

[ann]

I have to back Cara up on this - it was more than one. Which led to The Kiss!

[Allison]

Carole did a great job! And Leah is gushing about you on her blog, so you KNOW she's very happy with her Zen socks!

[Carol]

Thanks for stopping by! 1st pic I ever took of the moon that turned out. Keep your toes toasty!

[Wanda]

How awesome that your Toasty Toes pals was one of your real-life pals. Those are gorgeous socks! And I'm sure the "mistake" in your socks to your TT pal was something that no one would even notice and that they look great.

[Cynthia]

Margene, if the sock fits wear it! Minor issues and I am sure your sock pal will not be returning those lovelies - I don't think I would!

Carole's socks are wonderful - congrats! And chocolate and some more great yarn - I love it, can't wait to see it knit up!