Aide Memoire

Normally I can read the stitches and figure out where I am--but, mindless sock knitting completely throws me. Not being the most attentive person to begin with, I start welcoming distractions when knitting the hypnotic and boring round and round and round. I actually start listening to the voices in my head as they do their best to amuse and distract me. This isn't such a huge problem when working on the leg or foot, but confusion reigns when I do the gusset decreases.

Where am I? Gee, I need to return the library books. Is this a decrease round? What was the name of the kid who sat next to me in 5th grade? What the heck is this? Is Ringo Starr dead or alive? SSK side? How many seconds are in a year? K2tog? Left slant-right slant? Should I make chicken for dinner?

Sometimes I really need to engage those voices in conversation, but I also have to be somewhat attentive to the sock. Therefore I've devised the following system:



See the blue marker? "Blue" rhymes with "two" and that means K2tog.

And we have:


It may not show, but there's a pink marker. Now, try to follow this reasoning: "pink" reminds me of "pink slip" and that leads to slip across the marker and then SSK.

So, take that voices! I can knit round and round and listen to your chatter and even forget who and where I am--but, here comes the pink or blue marker. For a brief moment, I'm brought back to the knitting and as the voices whisper, "blue-two," "pink-slip," my fingers magically follow along.