Casted on Saturday, October 29.

April 16, 2012: I finished the first sock in this set last November, at a gathering of knitters that Corrin and I hosted. I cast on for the second in early January, and then let it languish while I flitted about with swatches and classes and dreams of thick, heavy sweaters.

On Thursday, April 12, while sitting in the San Francisco airport, I pulled the sock out of my bag and started the stockinette portion of the leg while explaining sock construction to my traveling buddy. I spent several hours on Saturday and Sunday curled up on the sofa, too sick-feeling to do much that wasn’t mindless and repetitive. The result is that now, on Monday morning the 16th, I have a cuff, leg, heel, and gusset completed, with very little un-knitting required.

Between a date with Monarch of the Glen tonight, knit night at Yarntopia tomorrow, and reserved commuting time all week, I hope to have the pair ready to wear on Friday.

Also, I’m thrilled at how well the colors are matching up between the first and second sock. I fiddled with the cast-on quite a bit in order to match with the long tail, and have been a bit anxious about gauge with the second sock -- but it seems to be turning out alright!

April 17, 2012: 3/5 of the way through the foot…

April 22, 2012: I decreased the toe and bound off this morning; the socks are currently in their bath to soak.

I learned a lot about sock construction making this first pair; I love the way that gussets come together, I adore making short rows, and the magic of a heel fills me with delight. I want to play with “filler” stitches for areas of construction where gaps are likely to form -- I have a half-baked idea that I could do something with embroidery-style stitches to fill gaps along the way, but I need to practice on some gusset-type swatches. In combination with the “Get En-gauged” class that I took, I’ve learned far more baout needle sizes, yarn weight, and fiber type than I knew before I started; if I were making this pattern again with this yarn, I’d definitely go down a needle size.

The socks created by this “basic pattern” seem far more appropriate for men than women, given the general shape of the leg. As such, I’m blocking them and getting them ready for Dad as an early Father’s Day present. But while they are in the bath, I’m already swatching for my next pair.