As I work on a project until I am relaxed and can enjoy the process of just knitting, my mind begins to wander and think about what I am going to make next. I think, “What if?” For this sock, I thought “what if I picked up the ladder between rows of stitches? What could I do with such a ladder?” I made a small sample and in doing so I got the idea of ruffles running up the leg of the sock. It worked! Using a solid yarn for the basic sock allowed the self-striping yarn for the ruffles to stand out. In changing the expected repeat of the self-striping yarn from the diameter of the foot to the long ruffles running the length of the sock leg, the stripes became solids and further enhanced their effectiveness. As a second benefit, simply picking up the ladders made the inside of the sock as finished as the outside. Your fellow knitters will look at this sock and ask “How did you do that?” It’s easy. Ripple away!