Dos and Don'ts of Knitting Complicated Sock Patterns:

I chose the Spiral Boot Sock pattern because it was rated easy. What I didn't realize is that "easy" for a sock pattern can still be complicated because you have to follow one pattern and do another while decreasing every other row, repeat 8 times, blah, blah, blah. The pattern is well written. It's not the pattern. It's the knitter (me) who has the problem. So I made myself a list of Dos and Don'ts to follow while knitting knee socks in a 12 row pattern that I'd like to share with you.

• Do have a piece of paper and pencil by your side at all times for diligent note taking.


• Do use a row counter (or see above).


• Do knit in a well lit area - preferably natural daylight.


• Do knit at your most alert time of day and when no one will be asking you lots of questions you don't know the answers to - like "What's for dinner?"


• Do keep a positive attitude if you notice a dropped stitch 40 rows below the current row you are working on because you didn't follow the natural daylight rule.


• Do not panic and start ripping back, instead just darn it with a sewing needle and matching thread and move on.


• Do take as many notes as possible about the first sock you knit, because it may be a while before you forget the pain of the first sock knit the second sock and you want them to at least look similar.


• Do not drink more than one ounce of alcohol per hour while knitting "complicated" sock patterns, because then you could easily "forget" what row you are on even if you are in the middle of it!


• Do not rely on your memory for where you are in the pattern even if you are stopping for just one minute to let the dog in/out. You have good intentions, but there are so many distractions along the way that it could easily be hours or days before you get back to it.

• Do not knit late at night without note paper while drinking wine and the only light in the room is the glare of the TV. This is a recipe for disaster. (See dropped stitch above.)

Now if I can just follow these simple rules, the socks will turn out beautifully. But, no one will see them under my pants and inside my boots, so they don't have to be perfect, right?