The Reverse Frog

I've been working on the Gentleman's sock with Lozenge pattern from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks. Along the way, I bumped into a few problems. I kept at it, though, confident it would all work out in the end. Then this happened:

I ran out of yarn at the toe. Again. *Sigh* The only problem is that this is the second sock. There is no backup yarn. After seriously considering just setting the damn thing on fire, I had an epiphany. "I know! I'll just frog back some of the cuff and use the yarn to complete the toe. No worries!!!".

Yeah, the only problem is that, as I soon discovered, you can only reverse frog straight stockinette stitch. Something about the change in direction from purl to knit stitches turns the process into a big knot and, really, a total nightmare. But rather than re-knit the socks (and that was so not going to happen!), I patiently reverse-frogged (Gorfed?) 10 rows of cuff. After about five hours (yes, you read that right - FIVE HOURS), I wound up with a dinky little ball of frayed yarn, which was (thank goodness!) just enough to finish the toe.

I used a sewn bind off on the cuff, and I'm pretty happy with the results. There's only a slight problem.






Now the cuff on both socks don't match, and I have to reverse frog the first sock. Aaaaack!!!!!






I just couldn't face it last night, so I cast on another pair of socks instead. I'm a bit behind on my Rockin Sock Club kits, and I had originally planned to work on the October kit next. However, after working on a pair of brown socks for what seems like forever (!), the colours on the August kit just called out to me. The design is cute (I think these will make a lovely Christmas gift for somebody), and I'm enjoying the different look. The design calls for a lace cuff that is then joined together and folds over the leg. I'll be knitting them on DPNs, but since the cuff is knit straight (and wet blocked before joining to work in the round), I used a circular needle to start out.