First stranded colorwork. First Latvian Braid. First modification (Snowflake Toe). Stashbuster-ish. Learned/tried out Norwegian Purling (I find it faster/easier to purl continental -- less movement).

Used yarn from ESK for Q4 KAL.

UPDATE: I just need to vent for a minute. I’ve been loving this project. I’m not entirely happy with my results -- I’m still figuring out the tension of the floats. Even though I’ve got it down intellectually, my performance still varies.

In any case, I just spent a motherloving HOUR looking for my 5th ChiaoGoo DPN… and didn’t find it. I KNOW that I cleaned up sooooo carefully last night… and now it’s gone. And I went through my whole area.

My solution: whip out the cheapie bamboo needles and use one of those. But I really don’t want to. I want to buy another set of ChiaoGoo DPNS!! What am I going to do with just 4 of them?

I’m pissed.

NEW UPDATE: Found the DPN on the floor… after my daughter stood up from her chair. It had gotten stuck in the afghan I was covered with last night, that she had appropriated this morning (it’s chilly!) I had already ordered a replacement set on Amazon… and was able to cancel! Yay me!

JUST FINISHED: Well, does it count if it’s not blocked (but needs to be) and there’s no loop… and it’s not lined? Obviously not FINISHED, but done as much as it’s going to be for the next while. I’ve gotta get working on stuff I’ll actually be gifting for Christmas!

I can’t decide whether I’ve got Project Dismorphic Disorder or just a more refined eye for catching mistakes, but I see So. Many. Flaws. in this project. The gusset is too gappy. My tension is all over the place. The Latvian Braid is a joke. The heel flap is like something from an entirely different project.

But here’s what I love: I love that it was my first real colorwork project (the intarsia sample I did as part of my intarsia class at Stitches South doesn’t count). It was so much fun to follow the chart and make pixel art with yarn. I love the Rios. It’s so squishy and the colors are lovely. I love how the Indiecita almost looks self-striping -- the pooling is so cool. I’m quite proud of how I managed to incorporate the Snowflake Toe modification. I’m also pleased with how quickly I got this done. My husband was jaw-droppingly impressed with how much progress I made and how quickly. That represents a LOT of growth for me.

I’m also happy with my unconvential color choices for a holiday project -- but honestly, this came out of the requirement that I use ESK-only yarn. I have some Ravelry Red in my stash that would have been perfect with the Lettuce… but I picked it up at a going-out-of-business sale at another LYS. (At $10.50/skein I really couldn’t turn it down.) But these blues and greens are colors I love, and it makes me really glad I picked up the Indiecita and Natural last time I was at ESK. No purpose in mind when I purchased -- just wanted to add to my stash. And it worked out perfectly.

A few nods to my most helpful links:
happygoknitty’s Falling Snow Stocking -- her notes for the Snowflake Toe were perfect.

Anthronerd’s project was exactly what I needed when starting the heel flap. That was SO HARD for me to figure out. I’ve only knit one sock before, and this was NOT a clearly written beginner pattern.

I’ll also be using Tar3820’s notes for lining my project… whenever I get around to that.