16-Sept-12:
I’m going to be a bit hypercritical only because I’m in the middle of doing the Christmas knitting and this sock has been vexing me.
I’m not going to say that I hate these socks. I don’t hate them. I did find them frustrating. I spent the majority of last weekend trying to get the heel done, and had to reknit it about 5 times before it actually looked right. Add to that…I made a pair of 2x2 ribbed socks recently so it felt a little soon to have to go through that again. I’m also not sure of the eyelet pattern and its randomness.
On the plus side, I do like knitting with Lorna’s Laces, and I love the colourway. That way, even if these socks turn into being socks for me instead of for a relative, I’ll at least enjoy them. I like the gusset that the designer added on, which is a bonus - most toe-up, short-row heeled socks don’t use gussets. I think its also the fastest I’ve knit a sock at this gauge. I cast on the second sock yesterday morning and even though I was out on a bike ride most of the afternoon, I still managed to finish it by about 6:30pm today. My tensioning finger is a little sore from the yarn burn (rope burn? heh!) but otherwise doing fine.
If these were just “socks for fun” and I’d been able to make modifications and plink away on them in my own time? I probably would have enjoyed them a bit more. Instead, I felt rushed and constrained, and just a little resentful of the short-rows. I’m glad they’re done, though. They are rather pretty.

I consider these my “Cheesy 80’s Soundtrack” socks because there is a playlist in my brain that is stuck on repeat while I’m knitting these…

Watching the Detectives by Elvis Costello
Somebody’s Watching Me by Rockwell
Every Breath You Take by The Police

and more recently added:

Private Eyes by Hall & Oates

I’m sure more will be added. The 80’s seem to have been a landmine of softcore stalking songs…