SSS

Yes, I'm going to talk about Single Sock Syndrome (SSS) today. If you take a look at my progress bar, you will notice five (yes 5) sock projects that are right around fifty percent complete. That means that I have five single socks on the needles.

I think the origin of SSS is the fact that many knitters do not like to knit the same pattern twice. The two socks at one time approach would therefore seem ideal for these knitters. It's true that I do not like to repeat patterns, but I think my problem initiates from a different concern: I get bored. There are so many knitting patterns that I want to try that I get bored spending weeks on the same one. I want to see what it would feel like to try something new. Given my penchant for buying sock yarn (2 more skeins this week), it is not surprising that my boredom manifests itself as SSS.

For some knitters, SSS is quite alarming. They do everything they can to avoid it, including knitting two socks at a time, a slower process, but one that guarantees that there will not be a SSS outbreak. Other knitters embrace SSS. I have heard on more than one podcast of a knitter making the second sock a year or longer after the first.

I take a more moderate approach. SSS does not bother me. I know that when the mood hits, I will finish the pair. However, I am not entirely lackadaisical about this problem either. I do not believe in having languishing projects. If I am still not knitting on a project within a couple of months, I frog it. A couple of times a year I finish all the projects on my needles before I cast on for something new. The oldest project I have on my needles is one of the socks, and it is less than three months old. I do feel that something must be done about my SSS before it becomes more contagious. I will not cast on for anything else until at least three pairs of socks are done, and no more socks until all five lonely socks have a partner.