The Joys of Frogging Socks

Well, as per the title, I think you can guess what happened to me over the weekend. When I finally looked at the ribbing, I realized that I'd been managing to wrap the yarn over the previous needle I'd worked with, adding stitches. I'd also dropped a stitch somewhere along the line, and since I have no idea how to pick the darn things up, I began the arduous process of tinking.

Of course, in the process of tinking, I dropped another eight stitches and finally ripped the damn thing up, frustrated. The fire alarm had given me a migraine that still hasn't quite kicked the bucket.

Every time I tried to work on the socks over the weekend, I would lose the last stitch I had cast on and end up with one short when I joined and knit the first row. This happened more times that I would like to count or admit.

Finally, last night I tried the long-tail cast on again (that thing is complicated, but so much faster than knitting on) and amazingly kept all 48 of my stitches. So far, so good. I'm over an inch and a half in the ribbing, I haven't lost any stitches and I haven't gained any. I check the ribbing fanatically every row to make sure I haven't dropped one, either. Makes for more tedious knitting, but it's worth it to me.