Notes:

I measured my foot circumference at 9 inches and foot length at 10 1/4 inches.

Gauge: 8 stitches per inch in stockinette.

8/4/15 - Old Norwegian Cast On - 64 stitches. Leg: I did 75 rows of 2 x 2 ribbing. This measures 7 inches, unstretched.

8/6/15 - Starting the heel flap. Scary!

8/7/15 - Ugh. Tore it out to start over. I had trouble with the heel turn and when I tried to redo it I just couldn’t get the stitches back on. So I’m going to start over with a 1x1 rib cuff and then the 2x2 ribbing for the leg.

8/8/15 - 15 rows of 1x1 ribbing. Measures 1.5 inches.

8/10/15 - 61 rows of 2x2 ribbing. The sock is 7 inches total. Now for the heel, take two.

8/13/15 - Tore it out. Again. But I think this time I will get it. I messed the heel up too bad. This time I will just do 1x1 ribbing for the cuff and then straight stockinette. And I am going to put in a lifeline at the end of the leg so that if I mess up again it will be easier to redo the heel.

8/14/15 - I know what I did wrong with the heel. For the heel flap, when I slip the first stitch of a purl row, I should have done it with yarn in front. The pattern doesn’t specify. I did it with yarn in back then moved the yarn to the front to start purling, and was basically wrapping every stitch and ending up with these bumps that made it impossible to pick up the gusset stitches smoothly.

http://stitchsprouts.com/blog/2014/07/08/tt-slipped-stitc...

I managed to do it but there was this big ridge inside the sock. So although it sucks to start over for the third time, I’m glad I did because I don’t think the socks would have been very comfortable. I probably should have taken a class but it’s too hard to find the time with work and a toddler.

8/18/15 - I’m on the heel flap for third time. I was still getting bumps on one side of the heel flap, so I had to rip back a few rows AGAIN but now I got it. The slipped stitches look the same in both sides without any bumps. I just leave the yarn when I turn for each row, which is in the front once the row is turned, then slip the stitch with the yarn in front. Next hurdle: the heel turn.

8/19/15 - Success! Mostly. I did ssk instead of ssp on the heel turn but oh well, will do it right on the next sock. I’ve picked up all the heel flap stitches and am ready for the gusset.

8/24/15 - I knit 44 rows after finishing my gusset decreases and today started decreasing for the toe. The end is in sight! Or at least the halfway point - hopefully I can repeat it for the second sock and can officially call myself a sock knitter.

8/25/15 - I finished the first sock. I’m not sure i did the grafting entirely correctly, I can’t tell if there is a gap. But it looks good enough to me! So that was 3 weeks to finish the first sock. Let’s see how long the second one takes, now that I kind of have a clue. The first sock took 35 grams.

9/13/15 - Finished! I’m already thinking how I can improve for my next pair. I ended up with pretty big gusset holes in the corner of the heel flap and the instep, so I will try a different technique for picking up those stitches. Also I want to try a ribbing pattern. The stockinette looks nice but slides down. The fit for the heel and foot and toe is great, but I’m not sure how I feel about the purl bumps on the inside of the sole. When I first tried on the socks I definitely felt it, but after wearing them for a day I barely notice them at all. I might give purling the soles a try some time.

Can’t wait to knit my next pair!