Brilliantine Socks - One Sock Finished

I finished up most of the first sock on the drive down to Florida (St. Augustine) on the 23rd.  It was a horrible drive down, raining until we were half-way through South Caroline (or Slow Carolina, as we took to calling it, because of the traffic).  I finished up the ribbing Christmas Eve, and then went back to working on my test knit, which I also finished on Christmas Eve, except for the bind off.

The second sock, however, has been giving me fits.  I am now on my third go at it.  The first go my gauge was too tight.  Bruce attributed it to my migraine, I thought maybe the stress of travel and visiting may have been responsible, but now I think it was the extreme humidity making my hands stickier.  I finished the foot and laid it next to the completed sock and was shocked to find that it was noticeably smaller, so I ripped it back.  I worked on it on the drive back up (far more pleasant than the drive down - although the south bound traffic was heavy for most of the way back) consciously trying to be more relaxed in my knitting and loosen up my gauge, only to find when I go to the ribbing that I had loosened up too much.  The second sock was a good quarter-inch longer!  I ripped back to the ankle to redo the leg and when I picked my stitches back up and counted to make sure I had the right number on each needle I discovered, much to my chagrin, that I had 29 stitches on the top of the foot, one stitch more than I needed or wanted.  So I sighed a sigh, pulled the needles back out and ripped all the way back to the beginning, again.  On the bright side, I do have the pattern memorized.  I am hoping that third time will be a charm.

Pattern:  Basic Toe-Up Sock from Custom Socks by Kate Atherley
Yarn:  Biscotte & Cie Felix in Brilliantine
Needle:  US 1 (2.25 mm)