Let the past sleep, but let it sleep in the sweet embrace of Christ, and let us go on into the invincible future with Him. (Oswalt Chambers)

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

The Long and The Short of It

Mom at five feet and John at six foot five standing together reading a bookThe short (5 foot) lady is my mom. She's the height I usually knit socks to fit.

The tall (6 foot 5 inches) guy is my son John, the one who lives 2000 miles away in Idaho and is eventually going to receive the Opal Handpainted Basketweave Ribbing Socks for his birthday in March.

This is my first time knitting socks for him, and I'm a little concerned about the fit. In addition to being tall, he is also very slender. His ankle measurement is 8.5 inches, so I cast on 64 stitches, same as for everyone else I knit for except myself. (I have a narrow 56 stitch foot.)

I made the cuff eight inches tall and hope that's long enough for him. And then came the heel. How long? I looked up measurements in several online charts and decided to go for about three inches.

Yesterday my knitting goal was to get through the gusset decreases. After picking up 22 stitches on each side for a total of 62 stitches on the heel needle, I thought the decreases were never going to end. (The reason I hate to knit to deadlines - it takes the fun out of the process.)

Now I'm back to 32 stitches on the heel needle and ready for the last 50 rows before the toe decreases. The toe decreases are where I want to be when I pack the sock in my suitcase for the trip to Idaho.

Several ladies on the Opal Chatters List wrote to me about making socks for their equally tall - or taller - sons. How did our babies get so tall?

During John's growing years, I worked at Kellogg's. The rumor was that feeding Pop-Tarts to our boys would make them grow tall. It sure worked for John.

2 comments:

Birdsong said...

Very cute about the Pop-Tarts; I just hope it isn't hormones in the foods! I am 5'3 1/2" and my two sons are both over six feet tall. My baby, Jesse, turns 19 today and is probably still growing. Good luck on the socks!

Anonymous said...

Cecille: There is no doubt it is hormones in the food, at least in part. Choose organic now!