And what of those Spring Forward socks? Well, according to the above photo, they appear to be motoring along nicely. Indeed, I’ve started on the second one.

But wait a minute – started on the second one before finishing the first?

Yes.

Of course, plenty of people do this – they knit their pairs of socks simultaneously, on a circular needle using the magic loop technique. But that’s not what’s going on here.

My friends, all is not rosy in the garden.

It was going so well! I’d turned the heel (with its delicious heel flap), and was haring along towards the toe, when I decided I’d like to try the sock on, just to see how it looked.

Blasted thing wouldn’t go over my heel! Sockblocked!!!

Now, the Spring Forward pattern says that the foot will stretch to 11 inches, and the leg to 12 inches. The circumference of my foot at the widest point (under heel, over front of ankle) is just short of 12 inches, so I’d thought it would be OK – after all, it’s the leg part that needs to get past that wide point.

Unwarranted assumption, alas. The leg part went on fine, but I got stuck at the heel turn. It almost worked – and oh, how I tried to make it work! – but in the end I had to concede the feet (sorry).

So what next? Clearly, the natural thing to do would be to stuff the project into a drawer and never speak of it again. Apparently I am an unnatural knitter, because instead, I did maths.

My sock will stretch to 11 inches at the heel turn, I said.
It needs to stretch to 12 inches.
One inch (the shortfall) is about 9% of 11.
I am working on 2.25mm needles.
9% of 2.25mm is 0.2mm.
2.25 + 0.2 is 2.45.
Therefore, if I use 2.5mm needles, that should give me the increase I need.

So that’s what I’m doing. The second sock up there is being knitted on 2.5mm needles, and if that works (I’ll check it once the heel is turned), I’ll frog the first one and reknit it.

Perhaps they’ll be done by spring.

So, you remember a couple of Sundays ago, I showed you some Lorna’s Laces sock yarn, and posited that the next thing I cast on might be a sock?

See that up there? That’s a Spring Forward sock, that is, cast on last week. I’ve had my eye on the pattern for ages, and I’m finally using some luscious artisanal yarn that two dear friends gave me for my birthday a while ago. (Glitz, Bias, I’ve lost the label, and I can’t remember where it came from – can you?)

I even learned a new cast-on for it (as per my goal): the “old Norwegian” or “twisted German” style, which gives a beautiful, stretchy edge.

Despite my slightly odd issues about socks, I’m really enjoying this. Making excellent progress, too: I turned the heel yesterday and am half way through the gussets. The yarn works beautifully with the pattern, which in turn is easily memorised and solidly satisfying.

I’m totally in love with the slipped-stitch heel-flap, moreover – so much so that I’m harbouring mad notions of one day making a jumper featuring that texture. Planning to knit a jumper in sock yarn is a symptom of something serious, I’m pretty sure. I may have to be talked down.

In the meantime, it’s lovely to be following someone else’s instructions for a change, because the purple thing is mired in intarsia and can’t be worked on except in good light with minimal interruptions. Which … yeah. Not such a feature of my life at the moment.

(The minimal interruptions part, I mean. The light’s fine.)