What's Up With The Pins?

I finished a pair of basic socks today, and rather than do a typical "Finished Object" post, I thought I would instead answer the most common question generated by my knitting. (Although, if anyone is curious these were made from an old skein of Opal, on 2.25 mm patterns using my Ann Budd pattern.)

So what is up with the pins?

Simple, really. As I've stated before, I have some OCD tendencies. One of those is an obsession with 'perfection' in one form or another. For socks, that means that they have to be absolutely the same size - no winging it with a ruler. I put a pin into a stitch on my very first row, and then mark every 10th row after that. When the leg is as long as I'd like, I put a final pin in and move quickly through the heel and gusset. Another pin goes into the stitch made by the last gusset decrease, and then I mark the foot as I did the leg. Not only does this create matching socks, but it also gives me a template for future socks. I know, for example, that my Dad favors socks with 85 rows in the leg and 55 in the foot. You see, it has lots of benefits!

Now back to the alpaca.