Extreme Second Sock Syndrome

In 2008, I was really beginning to get a handle on knitting and was excited to make things for friends. One project that loomed as a rite of passage was making my first pair of socks, mostly as a warm up to contribute to a pair of Harry Potter socks for a good friend. I got an easy beginner pattern that worked really well for me as I knit my first sock (notice that- sock- singular). I finished the first one and cast on immediately for the red snitch sock for the Harry Potter pair. This led to other socks like another Harry Potter pair, my first pair in fingering weight, my first intricate lace pair, so on and so forth... and my very first sock (one sock still) lingered forgotten and sad at the bottom of my stash bin. Fast forward to a few days ago, when I was rooting around in my stash for some yarn and found the sock stashed below.

It was knit out of Cascade 220- the same grey as the yarn I used to recently make mittens for Heather, and I happened to have enough leftover to easily get a sock out of it. Excited to get this floating random project finally finished, I immediately cast on and easily finished the second sock over the weekend.

I really didn't notice immediately the difference when I first pulled them on...

but then it began to be more apparent when I looked closer (but really, not that close)....

and finally had to come to terms with the fact that my knitting has changed over the past three years. The sock on my right foot I knit this weekend- the sock on the left foot is from three years ago, and is quite a big bigger, with looser stitches and not as clean of decreases and increases, stitches picked up, the whole shebang. If it had been a comparison from project to project, it would have been nicer than two socks in the same project.

I guess it's a nice thing to be able to say, "Hey, look at how far I've come!", but unfortunately right now all I can think is I have a pair of kind of mis-matched socks.

This will hopefully forever persuade me to not leave a project and come back to it a long time later. My experiment with extreme second sock syndrome (for all you non-knitters, this is knitting one sock and waiting awhile to cast on the second- though usually not waiting 3 years) is a good kick in the butt for sure. :)

Might have to go back and re-examine all those half-finished projects in between chapters of the Iliad...