Save Those Yarn Squibs!

Only a few days ago I finished reknitting the toe of a sock made from handspun yarn, my very first handspun, actually. A dreadful hole (three toes wide!) had sprouted. And, of course, this was a pattern with cables and twisted stitches which I had decided to carry ALL the way down to the very end of the toe. Fortunately I had a little bit of leftover yarn, so I soldiered on – ripped back past the hole, got all the stitches onto needles, figured out how to manage the decreases and the pattern, and we were done. No need to do that again for a long time, right?

So today, guess what? Yeah, this –

Could I be so lucky again as to have leftover yarn? YES! Two little squibs ready for action. This one was much easier, partly because I'd just gone through the same geblinkin' process mere days before and partly because the toe was a simpler construction – a star toe in stockinette.

Once again – rip, get stitches on needles, tink some, figure out where we are, and onward.

What have I learned? When knitting socks with handspun yarn, always use a nice sturdy commercial yarn for the toe. Other spinners may be able to produce toe-proof yarn, but clearly I cannot. Oh, and lesson number two – always save leftover yarn, no matter how tiny the squib.