Knitting along

Hello, fellow Entrelac Sock knitters! I just joined this knitalong so I've got a bit of catching up to do. I really enjoyed reading everyone else's thoughts and input - it's great to know that some of the problems that have rattled around in my head weren't just me - it looks like many of us are experiencing some of the same things.

I have come to realize that sock designers as a breed must be really tight knitters. I know I knit loosely, but there's no way I can get my gauge to match many of the beautiful socks that I see in Knitty, knitting magazines, other blogs, etc. And I do find that getting a dense yarn like Koigu to knit up at anything less than 6.5 st per inch or so to be impossible on any size needles. I used some Cherry Hill Farm sock yarn that I had on hand,which is definitely thinner than Koigu, but even then I couldn't get my gauge to be any less than 7.75 st per inch, even on US Size 00 needles. As I wear a size 6/6.5 shoe I knew I wanted the socks to be smaller than the pattern, but my gauge was already bigger, so what to do? (this is where it might have been good to read all those knitalong entries about size issues before I started!)

I ended up deciding to do the pattern as described but with % stitch blocks instead of 6. Since the toe-up design allows for trying on as you go, I found that after 3 CC tiers I needed to go up to the 6 st blocks called for. I've now gotten sock #1 done through just past the heel, and have decided that as all of the really tricky parts are in the foot that ultimately I would be a happier person (and one more likely to end up with a pair of socks rather than a singleton) if I went ahead and started sock # 2 now, and get it up to the same point before I start on the leg section. As of tonight I am a couple of tiers into the 2nd sock and am glad to have that toe cast-on done with.

More to follow soon! (sorry for the goofy picture order; I've just started blogging and find the picture inserting to be really problematic!)