Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Serious about socks

Last year I was so good with my 2009 Personal Sock Club and was just a smidgeon short of finishing the seven pairs of socks I set myself as a goal for the year. This year I started with the best of intentions, but I've already fallen sadly behind.

This is what I've achieved so far:

embossed leaves

I'm not even to the heel of the first pair - which are Embossed Leaves socks in Madeline Tosh Toshsock. (You can see the unopened manilla envelopes in which I've stashed my PSC 'shipments' reproaching me in the background of this photo).

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with sock knitting. If I'm knitting a sock and someone asks me how my knitting is going, I always find myself pulling a rueful face and making a comment about the tedium, or finickiness, or some other semi-negative quality of the knitting. I don't do this with other projects, and I don't know why I do it with socks. I love sock yarns and I love wearing hand-knitted socks or giving them as gifts, but I seem to have some ambivalence about the in-between knitting process.

But undeterred, I'm publicly reorganising and recommitting to my 2010 Personal Sock Club. I think one of the reasons I was successful last year was I set very specific deadlines. Much as I hate to admit it, I've had to realise after many years of trying to change my habits that I really do achieve much more when working within rigid timeframes.

So, here, for all to see, are the PSC 2010 due dates for six pairs of socks for the remainder of 2010. It's a six week turn-around with slightly less time for the first pair as I've already started them.

4 June
15 July
27 August
8 October
19 November
31 December

This will be either a successful strategy or a very public shaming.

8 comments:

Rose Red said...

You can do it Lyn!! Unlike me, who has not knit one pair (or even one stitch) of my 2010 personal sock club yarn. All of which was leftover from last year anyway!

Anonymous said...

well i admire your courage to go public and given your self-discipline i think you will meet all of your deadlines. i set myself six for the year but im not hopeful either - i wonder what it is about that middle-of-the-sock ambivalence. you do make lovely socks though, so no more self-deprecating comments!

1funkyknitwit said...

Oh this is funny as I would have already failed this task but I'm sure your dedication is far better than mine.
I set no rules to my knitting projects except for maybe one blue baby blanket in which the recipient is already 6 weeks old ;-)

missfee said...

oh Lyn that colour is to dye for - not to die for ....


anyway it is your sock club - you make the rules and you can always move the goal posts

2paw said...

Oh, good luck with achieving your sock goals. I, too, benefit from a little public shaming with my goals!!!

Sel and Poivre said...

I too have a "moment" of disdain for socks about 3 or 4" down the first leg. By the time I cast on for the second I wonder what I was fussing about as the thing seems to fly along from that point no matter how long it has taken me to get there!

As for going on record - I love my blog for "keeping me honest"!

Brendaknits said...

I used to read a blog written by a pharmacist from Eastern Canada. A few years back she knit 52 pairs of socks in one year. One pair a week!! I couldn't imagine.

Lynne said...

Go for it!