Usually when I catch Monkey Kitty doing something hilarious, he’s too shy to keep at it while I turn on the video camera on my phone and start recording. For example, we put a sheet with a bunch of little Tinkerbells on one of the couches to try to keep cat hair off of the couch itself, and Monkey Kitty loves to pounce on the Tinkerbells – unless the camera is rolling, in which case he just looks at you inquiringly and meows softly. It’s almost like he’s saying, “Um, mom? This is kind of a personal thing I have to do, I’d rather there not be a record of it later.”
But when there’s yarn involved? Apparently that’s more important than a little dignity.
Today, we brought home a bag of yarn. I thought the Blanket Thief had put it safely away in the office, while he thought that I had protected it. Ten minutes after we got home, Monkey Kitty started meowing by the entry table, and then I heard a soft “thump”.
I went upstairs to find…well, it’s really just better if I show you.
And this is why I can’t leave yarn out unattended for even five minutes…
I have small feet, so generally speaking a ball of sock yarn is more than enough for me to make a pair of socks with. In fact, I’ve never once run out of yarn while making socks. I’ve never even come close – I’ve sometimes had so much yarn left over that I could make a pair of gloves with it (well, almost – I ran out with a finger and a half to finish, so I don’t know if that really counts, actually).
I’m not sure exactly how this happened. I’ve done this pattern before, twice, and I had plenty of yarn left over. It doesn’t have significantly more stitches, nor is it significantly longer than a normal pair of socks. Assuming that all sock yarn is roughly the same yardage, there shouldn’t be a problem…
… er…um… just a moment…
… I thought that maybe this was just a significantly smaller ball of yarn, but that’s not it either. I just checked and this is the standard 100g/420m ball of yarn, more than enough to make two of any other sock pattern.
Somehow, inexplicably, I’ve either lost some yarn or am using a ridiculous amount more than I need. I’m not going to be able to match the stripes in the toe of the second sock for sure, and it’s possible I might not be able to finish at all. I’ve got the red yarn I wound off to get to the first yellow stripe on the first sock, and the red and green yarn I wound off to get to the same place on the second, as well as one more repeat of green-red-yellow on the ball. I’m still not sure if that will be enough either, but it’s at least in the realm of possibilty, and that’s enough to make me keep going.
I’m pretty sure the knitting fates will bite me on the butt and make me run out of yarn with about 3 rows to go, but at this point? I’m pretty willing to have just about any color on the toe, so long as it’s done.
