Improvise, Adapt or Overcome

So what do you do when you run out of yarn before you finish the project?

You do what any good Pearl does in times of trouble - Improvise, adapt or overcome.

Which is precisely what I did this weekend with the help of my Inner Knitter.

My intention was to knit a simple pair of anklet socks for a friend of mine. I cast on and knit and knit and knit.

Shortly after I completed the gusset I looked at the remaining ball of yarn and my heart skipped a beat. The ball was much smaller than I anticipated. There was not a snowballs chance in h*ll that I would make it to the toe.

I found myself in a self induced dilemma.The socks need to be delivered to the intended victim on Monday morning (Today). And here I was on Saturday evening almost out of yarn with no hope of getting more. I bought the last two hanks.

There was no time to rip and start from the toe, which is what I should have done in the first place. You see, my Inner Knitter warned me that this would happen but I ignored her. Seriously, I could smack myself for being that stupid.

So there I sat with two socks halfway done trying to come up with a answer to my crisis.

My Inner Knitter, who reminds me of Dolores, had a solution and practically screamed it inside my head - Oh, for pity's sake would you please remember what she (the intended victim) said on more than one occasion?!

In the dark recesses of my tiny little brain I could hear my victim say:

"I really should knit a pair of pedicure socks."

Eureka! I shouted. "Pedicure socks are what she wants. So Pedicure socks are what she shall have."

In no time at all I readjusted the pattern and was casting off.

Only a few small inches of yarn were left and to celebrate I did a happy dance in the living room Saturday night. Life is good.

Yarn - Collinette Cadenza.

Pattern - My own.

Needles - 2 US.

 

Comments

[gretchen]

1.

They could also be flip-flop socks if she doesn't do pedicures.

[Tiffany]

2.

Very cute!!!

[Beth]

3.

I love them! That is a GREAT idea!

[Kim]

4.

Gotta love the inner knitter! They always seem to be right even when we want to ignore them. I love what you ended up with!

[Penny]

5.

LOL.. Oh I just love reading your posts...
Those stitch markers sound great!!!

[Emily]

6.

Love the socks. Very cute. :)

[AmyJ]

7.

I *love* pedicure socks. So nice and cozy, but with a nice "vent" for the toes. Too bad they don't convince the husband to spring for a gift certificate for the mother of his children.

[Tanya]

8.

Great thinking!

[Jenny Raye]

9.

Genius, pure genius!

[Bryony]

10.

That's a lovely colour, but yes, I've heard the yardage complaint about Colinette yarns before :( Mainly with Jitterbug admittedly, but still :( But well worth the re-thinking :D Very cute :)

[Nicole]

11.

That's a solution I'd never have thought of!

[Marion]

12.

What a great way to make lemonade from lemons! I need to expand my creative thinking. I wouldn't have thought of pedicure socks! Way to go!!

[kathy b]

13.

They are awesome! Fantastic way to make lemonade out of lemons. I just may have to knit a pair......Im thinking quick , very fast, very cute!

[leah]

14.

Great solution!

[5elementknitr]

15.

Stellar idea!

[Lisa L.]

16.

What an excellent solution!

[Pat K]

17.

Next time, listen to the voices. But in the meantime, what a great save!

[Lynn]

18.

Great save! Glad it worked out. You will probably get requests from all of your friends for them.

Lynn

[Keatyn]

19.

What a great solution! I saw your post on Ravelry in the contestants group and came to check it out! I will definitly continue to read your blog everything is great! You can find me on Ravelry as knittingpanda87

[Sharon Rose]

20.

Good thinking! I would have said do toes in a matching color but I like your solution better since it involves less work. *grin*

Saw your post on Ravelry - I'm Needlegrrl! :)

[jackie]

21.

I've never seen a pair of pedicure socks. How cute they are! Great job on regrouping and coming up with a new plan!

[Carrie K]

22.

Improvised, adapted, overcame and produced a really cute clever pair of pedicure socks! Bet you meant to do that the whole time. ;)

[Morgan]

23.

what a fantastic idea. The ladies who do my pedicures in the winter are always worried about my feet getting cold. They are very cute.

[Nicole Creely]

24.

Good job thinking on your feet. The pedicure socks came out great!

[LaVerna]

25.

Necessity is the mother of invention or unvention or revision.Pick one.The pedi socks look great!

[Meg]

26.

Great save! But don't you just love that Cadenza? so soft, if only there was more of it!

[Erin]

27.

Lovely save! I'm a big fan of contrasting toes to solve that problem.

[Wanda]

28.

That's a great idea. I'm glad you remembered. I've been meaning to knit myself a pair of pedicure socks for awhile.

[Shannon]

29.

I like those socks, great thinking.

[Karen]

30.

My sister gave me two hanks of that yarn and told me to pick a none busy pattern because there isn't much on those hanks. Yikes, I will have to knit mine with legs shorter than normal cuz I want toes on mine.

[Sue]

31.

Great recovery and they are soooo pretty.

[Charity]

32.

Very resourceful! :0)

[kat]

33.

what a smart idea!

[Ilene]

34.

Your pedicure socks are cute. I saw a pattern on Annie's Attic for sale that was very similar - they call them Flip socks for wearing with flip-flops. Maybe you've started a new trend!!

[Sylvie]

35.

What a great idea! You have a great Inner Knitter :)

[Christina]

36.

I like the colors of you sock and the idea of pedicure socks. That was really very lucky that your friend always wanted socks like that. I hope she was very happy when you gave those socks to her!

christina

[trek]

37.

Creative solution - as long as she gets pedicures, right? ;o)

[Guinifer]

38.

That's crazy! Was that one skein or two, that you didn't have enough? I have to admit it was a brilliant idea!

[Sarah]

39.

Your socks are so pretty! I love the colors of the yarn!