A decision... and an FO!

Thanks everyone for piping in with your opinions on the wedding dresses. It appears that the winner of the popular vote by a landslide was for dress #1. That one BTW was the most expensive by a good margin... you guys have posh taste! So in keeping with a true dictatorship that chez Spaz is, I've polled the people, heard their desires, and decided to go with dress #2 instead.

This was an interesting lesson in psychology here. I seriously didn't know which one I was leaning towards when I posted the pics. But when the votes started coming in, I found myself getting all kinds of defensive for dress #2: I cheered when people voted for it, I sneered when people voted for #1, and I got downright ugly when the votes were tallied. I figured that this must mean that in my heart, I truly wanted dress #2 if that was my reaction. So, this isn't quite the Today Show throws a wedding, but I really truly do appreciate your opinions. Thanks so much for taking the time respond.

And on to what everyone really wants to hear about... an FO!


Sockapaloooza Socks
Pattern: Yukon Leaves
Materials: Regia 4ply Stretch (70% wool, 23% polyamide, 7% polyester Elite. 200m) A little under 2 skeins in color 87 (denim). Size US2 Addi turbo circulars , 24" and 32".
Gauge: 7.5 sts/in in stockinette
Finished size: 8" circumference, 10" toe to heel.

Started: February 24, 2006
Finished: March 9, 2006

Notes
I think I may have mentioned this already, but I deviated from the pattern by working the socks toe up using a Turkish Caston and substituting a short row heel for the heel flap and gusset. Otherwise, no major modifications.

Discussion
I loved making these socks. The lace pattern was incredibly easy to memorize (I managed to get the hang of it after I *gasp* swatched). I'm loving the 2 socks on 2 circulars method even though I never feel like I'm going very fast.

I worked a regular toe shape for the first time on this sock, and I'm not sure I got the increases quite right. I think my increases look a bit wonky in general, but I ended up using K1, M1B (insert left tip under strand between needles from the back and K), K to within 1st of end of row, M1F (insert left tip under strand from the front and Ktbl), K1. I'm not sure if you can see this from the photo, but I didn't end up with crisp increase lines like I usually get with paired decreases, but instead it looks like there are little purl bumps running alongside the increase sts. Does this mean that I reversed the direction of the paired increases?

And, drumroll please... no gaping holes at the sides of the heel! I used that magic trick of pulling the sts around the holes tight to close up the hole and distributing the excess yarn through the rest of the row. So the holes are much smaller, though still a bit noticeable if you look carefully.


I really hope that my Sockapaloooza pal likes these... they're not quite solid like she asked, but I just couldn't bring myself to using a completely solic color. I'm also paranoid about the fit since this is the first time I've made a garment that's meant to fit snugly without having the actual recipient on hand to try them on as I went along. The lace is pretty stretchy so it fits both my feet and DF's feet when we tried them on at the beginning, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Previous posts about this project:
It's not election day but... on March 5, 2006
Mission accomplished on February 26, 2006
So much for being regular on February 16, 2006
Blogging grand rounds on February 7, 2006