'tis a pitty...

but I had to frog it, the green scaly sock that is.

I did a short-row heel on the way home from Chestnut Hill yesterday, tried it on and there was no way it was going to fit my foot, so I frogged the heel and prepared to do a heel flap and gusset. After much fudging, since I've never done one before, I finally turned the heel and was happily doing gusset decreases when I realized I should have read a bit further in the directions I was adapting - I was decreasing every round instead of every other round. Since so many little things had been fudged at that point, I decided it was time to make a clean break.

Here are the plans for the next attempt:

• Start with 14 or 16 sts for the toe so it's a bit more shallow
• Work increases so there are a total of 72 sts
• Rearrange stitches so there are 40 on needle 1 (top of foot) and 32 on bottom (sole) so I can avoid the gapping that happens on either side of the stitch pattern and keep things nice and tight
• I think a heel flap and gusset is still going to be my best bet with my wide feet and high instep. I plan on using at least 32 rows for the heel flap, but am not adverse to making it a bit longer. I also want to look at a few other toe-up heel flap and gusset patterns because I'm not in love with the look of the one I adapted from Sensational Knitted Socks. I'll have to look over some of Cookie A.'s other sock patterns to see if I can find one I like, or otherwise adapt the one she gives in the original pattern.

This is definitely an adventure and I'm learning a lot more about heel construction. I can think my way around a short-row and an afterthought heel with no problems, it will be nice to get some practice in working/designing hell flaps and gussets. I've been doing a little reading about them and many feel that they work best for high-instep/wide feet. Now I do like the fit of my Austermann Step sock and that just has an extra-deep short-row heel, but it's also knit in stockinette so the stretchiness stays uniform. I think the heel flap and gusset is going to work better for me with lace patterns. I frogged the Super Mecha Sock last week because the instep was just too tight and I'm thinking that the structure of a heel flap would alleviate that well.

I just cast-on for a pair of socks for Michael so I can test out my Socks by Numbers pattern for infant/toddler socks. I also have grand plans to get the Toe-up Baby Socks pattern up before the end of the weekend as well. All of this and I have to find time to go to bed earlier since I've been able to figure out that sleep deprivation is a big contributor to my sever lack of patience with my son. We'll just have to wait and see how productive (read: how much housework I can avoid) this weekend.

Lots of pics coming soon - the camera just has to make it upstairs.