I finished the first of my dad's birthday/Christmas socks on Sunday (1/29). I'm using the instructions from Charlene Schurch's new, excellent book,
Sensational Knitted Socks.
The instructions are very thorough and have charts for all different sizes. I'm using a very simple pattern, the first one in the book. Wool: Trekking XXL, 75% superwash wool, 25% nylon, 100 grams/2 ½ oz, 420 m/459 yds; Color: # 111 (black, grey, and yellow flecks); Needles: 2 mm (U.S. 0).
One ball of wool should be enough, although I was a little unsure. So I had the attendant at the mail room at work weigh the completed sock and then the remaining wool. He said they weighed exactly the same, so I hope I'll have enough to finish. If not, I plan to undo the toe of the completed sock and finish both toes in black wool. (Color # 111 seems to be discontinued.)
The socks are finished (except for weaving in the ends), and I did run out of the Trekking wool. So I undid the first sock from the toe and joined the wool to the second sock. I would undo a few rows on the first sock and then knit a few rows on the second sock until the two socks were at the same place. Then I joined the black wool and finished knitting each sock separately.
Which meant I had to use Kitchener stitch again to finish the toes. Schurch has a clear explanation in her socks book on page 24. However, on the first sock I was not doing the "as if to knit" correctly. I was "knitting" into the back of the stitch on the back row instead of the front of the stitch. The second sock is better, although still not perfect. Maybe next time....
