Leftovers

It was a day like any other day when I noticed the boyfriend's socks were wearing thin. Before the problem could get any worse, they were off his feet and and waiting for repair. Thankfully, there wasn't a hole - yet - and I still had a bit of yarn leftover. I did eventually fix them with a bit of duplicate stitch. Plus, from all reports, the socks are good as new and, to a casual glance, look that way too.

So, that story had a happy ending but what happens to that next pair of well loved but holey socks? It depends. On leftovers. I sit quite firmly in the camp of toe-up socks which means that I can use up every last little bit of yarn. I've taken advantage of that little gem too. After that darning incident, though, I began to wonder about my socks that don't have a bit of backup waiting in the wings. I'm still going to wear them and, when they get a hole, I'll just have to mend them with different yarn. After all, there's no way I'm going to trash a pair of hand knit socks because of one hole (or even two). Maybe using up every bit of yarn just to use every bit of yarn isn't so great.

I was thinking about leftovers during my last pair of socks and made sure to leave several grams for repairs. I've also revised my thoughts about toe-up socks. They're not about using up every yard but using every yard wisely. If that means leaving a bit for later, I'm all for it.