It started with a simple request. OK, really, it started with some sock yarn. And my Dragon socks and a slight mishap with the dryer. (note to self: Knitpicks dye-your-own sock yarn is not superwash!) And a request to some knitting groups for unfelting advice. I had several responses, ranging from “can’t do anything, sorry” to “give them to someone smaller” to “try some hair conditioner”! The most well-thought-out, methodical response came from Dez Crawford, and went something like this:
“Soak socks in mixture of 1/2 cool water and 1/2 white vinegar overnight. Rinse with plain cool water. Drain and gently squeeze out excess liquid. Put one tablespoon of hair conditioner into one quart of water. Mix well. Immerse socks until thoroughly soaked. Gently and evenly tugging on fabric, re-shape each into desired size using either a sock-blocker or an actual foot.” Oooh – a recipe! I can follow that! I hated to see my first (and pretty much only) original sock design go to someone else. I’m proud of those socks, and love them.

The good news: They stretched a whole lot more than I had been able to stretch them before. There is hope that they will fit an actual size 8 foot once more.

The bad news: Well, basically I’m lazy. I was trying to get the big gallon jug of vinegar from the top shelf of the pantry (about 6 feet up), and rather than pull down everything in front of it, I just slid it to the sides. In the process of pulling the jug toward me, it clipped a few things, which started to rain down. One of them was a 24 oz. jar of spaghetti sauce. That’s right, a glass jar. Which landed square on the end of my second toe. Of the same foot I tried to break a few months ago. The glass miraculously did not break. I’m not sure the same can be said of my toe. Here’s where you go to another page if you’re easily icked out (scroll down if you’re not):

According to our Physics teacher, a 2 lb. jar (this one was closer to 2.5, but I was guessing) dropped from 6 feet (and compressing my toe 1/4 of an inch) would have a force of 573 lbs. Ouch. I’ll try the socks on when I can touch my toe again. And I blame Dez Crawford.

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