"Turn Work" - Part 2

So okay, that didn't work either. I do not understand what turn work means in this sock pattern but! I learned how to figure it out and do something I could understand. And, by myself! Of course it took me telling my non-knitting lunch buddies what I was doing and finished with... "Yep, it should work....". They all nodded eagerly and heck is sounded good to me. I ended up knitting a row to get the purl row on the inside of the sock and now my knitting is golden. I have turned the heel. Why is turning the heel so much fun? Is it just fun to knit or you know you are crossing the threshold of being more done with the sock than not? I am contemplating starting the second sock so that by the time I am done with the first one it is just a matter of finishing the second sock, not starting it. /nod

I think I might try this pattern again with a heavier sock weight yarn in the future. I have tricky ankles. I have lymphedema from incompetent valves in my legs. I wear compression stockings by day and am supposed to... yep.. "supposed to" wrap my legs in compression bandages at night. So the swelling in my feet and ankles varies by day and my attention to my leg health. I don't need a drawer full of big "thick ankle" socks but I will need a variety I think.

Back to my sock!

Anatomy Of An Error ~ "Turn Work"

*STRESS!*

That is what knitting errors does to me because I am very new at fixing them. I have been working my current project of Rainbow Lace Socks by Evelyn A. Clark. The cuff went very fast and I found this lace to be easy for me to remember after a few repeats and was knitting along like a pro. Time for the heel. It says... "Turn work; p27 stitches." Hmm... I turned it and looked at it. (You know what I did, don't you?!) Well turning it put the stitch I am supposed to knit on the correct side so there I go starting that heel flap. About 5 rows down, I started looking it. The heel seemed to be wrong side out to me so I studied the picture and looked at the sock, saw where the "right side" was so turned the sock inside out. And the lights came on! I sighed. And I sighed again. So "that" is what "turn work" means. Okay, another damn sigh. Yes, I am one of those knitters that would rather live with her mistakes than fix them. More so, I am afraid to unravel! I have a fear of loosing a stitch and when I do I actually break into a sweat, lol.

So, I figured out how to slide into the prior stitch and pop the tail end out and perfecto, there is my stitch! By the time I unraveled row four, there were 26 stitches instead 27, then suddenly 25. *Panic scream!*

Patiently I studied my stitches. One was very easy to find, the other slid down the line and looked like part of the lace but once I identified it and looped it back up the four undone rows, it looked like it was supposed to be there. YAY! I have this bad feeling that some day I will be proudly wearing my handknit sock and every step I take I will feel another stitch pop as it unravels leaving a trail of yarn behind he. Haha.

Thankfully this was one of those nights where the error was my teacher. I understand "turn work" now. Unraveling doesn't have to be a stressful occasion and variegated yarn can tell you all on its own where the mistake is. I had an extra loose loop. Studying the stitches I saw that there were two pink, one purple and three more pink stitches on my needle. That purple stitch screamed at me "Lady! I do NOT belong with these pink guys! Fix me!" Ah, so easy. *struts, yeah right!* Today, I am a better knitter!

:)

Happy 4th of July!