Third Times The Charm...Right?

Doesn't the saying "Third Times the Charm" ring true? I ask because I am certainly hoping so. On Friday I began my one week vacation visiting some of my family in Myrtle Beach, SC. Since I had finished my second pair of Falling In Love Socks, I wanted to have another sock project to take on the trip with me. I decided to begin the Monkey sock. However, I wanted to do it toe up. I had requested from several people that have done this sock toe up if they could provide me with the pattern. I never heard anything back so I decided that I would attempt to convert the pattern myself. Mind you, have never ever done anything like this. So while I was sitting at LGA at 6:30am waiting for my flight, I casted on for my first ever Monkey sock using my recently purchased Cherry Tree Hill yarn, colorway Country Garden.

This is Country Garden about 30 minutes into my flight.

Around 2pm Friday afternoon, Country Garden had two lace pattern repeats completed.

After reviewing the completed work and discussing the pattern with my sister Mary Beth, we decided that some tweaking need to be done in order to get the pattern to look more like the true Monkey pattern. As a result, we had to back off 26 rounds back to the completed toe. Mary Beth was wonderful to have taken care of this for me.

Into the evening we sat around and knitted. I was happier with the results of tweaking the toe up pattern. It definitely looked more like it was suppose to. I was loving the way the colors were knitting up in this sock. By Friday evening, I had reached the beginning of Country Garden's cuff. While the pattern wasn't exactly like the Monkey, I was happy with the way it turned out considering I was writing the pattern myself. Here is Country Garden before I went to sleep.

Saturday morning arrived and I sat and analyzed Country Garden. I was no longer happy with how the sock was looking. There was something in the pattern that needed to be changed and I couldn't figure out what it was. I was becoming disappointed with how the sock was not exactly like the Monkey pattern cuff down. I decided that I need to start it all over. I was now going to knit the sock the way the pattern was written, top down. Mary Beth snapped this picture of me contemplating what I was doing.

It had to be done. While I was proud of myself for attempting to figure out the Monkey toe up all by myself, I knew in my heart that I would never be truely happy with the way the sock was looking if I had continued with the way it was. So now, I was starting the Monkey for a THIRD time. Early Saturday evening my mom, Mary Beth and I had all started the Monkey sock together. Here is a snap of what our socks looked like by the evening hours. From left to right the sock are Mary Beth's, my mom's and mine. What is funny is that this is a Monkey in three different stages. Mary Beth's had one lace pattern repeat, mom's had two and mine had three. We thought that was pretty funny.

So anyway, today has been a better knitting day. I had started a "no brainer" Christmas gift knitting project last night because I was frustrated with the Country Garden. I had backed off and redone so many pieces of it that I had to put it aside and do something different for a bit. Today I picked my sock back up and have now completed 4.5 of the lace pattern repeats. I will post a pick of it tomorrow.

In the meantime, if anyone has the Monkey sock in a toe up pattern please let me know.