3L Finals Socks

Hello again from Japan! I'm enjoying a leisurely night at the Chairpeople's house before I head off to the airport tomorrow morning. I'll be back in Houston by tomorrow night, and I plan on catching up on comments and posting over Memorial Day weekend. Sorry to all those who have kindly commented, but haven't received responses--I've read everything and will write back ASAP!

Meanwhile, one last catch-up post. When the finals crunch time rolled around, I put aside the Koigu that had been frustrating me through attempts at stockinette, Hedera, Monkey, etc., and opted for something less stressful: a garter rib sock.

The photo doesn't show the colors properly, but this is what remains of "Koralle im Meer" yarn that I used to make ankle socks for the Anesthesiologist's Christmas present (go me! Yay for stashbusting!). It's a really vibrant mix of orange, teal greeny-blue, and royal blue (GPG would say "Subaru" blue, since he used to drive one of those bright blue WRXs).

I actually finished the socks on the flight to Taiwan a week and a half ago, and they are now packed in my luggage, ready to go back to Houston. Originally I intended to make the socks as gifts, but in the end I decided to make them to fit myself, so I'll always remember them as the socks I was knitting when I finished law school. This weekend I will have to post a catch-up to the catch-up and show the finished pair!

In a novel departure, I made these socks with a short-row heel. I told Caitlyn a while back that I preferred cuff-down, heel-flap socks (as opposed to toe-up socks or short-row heel socks), but . . . I think I may be changing my mind. (Sorry, Caitlyn!) As I've been knitting socks lately, I've kept in mind that soon I will have to knit socks for an unknown recipient, my Sockapalooza pal. Although I have measurements for this person's feet, knitting for someone I don't know won't be quite the same as knitting for someone like, say, the Aspiring Ecologist, who I know can wear socks that fit my feet in circumference, but which are slightly longer in length.

I've also been a little disappointed with the way my recent heel-flap socks have fit my ankles, which are fairly narrow. (My ankles at their narrowest point are actually narrower than my feet around the ball, when for most people the two measurements are the same.) I decided to try Gleek's suggestion of working the short-row heel over more than half the total number of stitches to see if that made for a better fit.

The verdict? I'm quite pleased. So pleased, in fact, that I'm knitting short-row heels on the next pair of socks I'm working on, some toe-up knee-highs. I think the short-row heel is more forgiving, more able to suit a variety of different heels and ankles than a heel flap.

But, never fear: I still prefer cuff-down socks to toe-up socks. I'm only knitting these knee-highs from the toe up so that I can maximize the use of the yarn I have! I'll post pictures of my progress when I get back. I've turned the heel of the first sock, but we'll see how much I actually get done on the flight tomorrow--I have no gauge check, and I only did some hasty measurements of my leg dimensions before I left on my trip, so I have to wing the calf-shaping!

More from Houston this weekend!