Life goes on: sock knitting

I started to knit these socks right over new year 2017.  My idea was that I’d knit these low cut socks and do two pairs so that I could start to understand the anatomy of the heel.  Also I knew that I had a swath of time ahead where I wouldn’t be able to sew.

The pattern is free from purl soho.
The yarn is koigu sock yarn, also from purl soho.  I love this yarn - it has turned out even more beautiful than I imagined.

As always I overestimated the size of that swath, and I overestimated my desire to knit while in airplanes.  I’ve had a personally traumatising life event occur because I was knitting on a long haul flight while all the other passengers were sleeping, and the airplane crew threatened me with legal action if I didn’t shut my window (and my eyes.)  I didn’t really get at the time that I did actually have rights and the power to do something about this situation, and the memory of that uncomfortable flight (it was well over 10 hours) stays with me.

So I managed to complete one sock while working in Thailand for a week.  (I thought it would be cute to kind of colour block with the blue - but I didn’t bother on the second sock.)  I started the second sock and got past the heel - and then my time ran out.  The first sock, even after being blocked with really hot water, was a disappointment.  It was loose and the arch was about 2 inches below my arch.  Learning to knit socks seems hard enough, without having to add in some kind of high arch adjustment!  Also a friend has knitted me a pair of socks that fit perfectly so I know it’s possible.  My goal for the second sock was to pay attention to knitting as tightly as possible to see how much difference it made.

So after the usual life transitions (+9 months), I found myself in Nepal ready to knit.  This sock was the first thing to finish before moving on to some other immediately useful accessories (it’s cold!)  I finished it without much ado, and luckily one other volunteer doctor in the area is addicted to knits!  She was ecstatic when I gave her these socks.  Her feet are a little bigger than mine and so I think the socks fit better but I suspect she’s also too enthusiastic to be a critic.  (Not a bad thing.)

I’m not going to use this pattern again.  It may be that having a sock which goes higher up the ankle helps to counteract bad fit in the foot - at least it is snug somewhere?  I also think that for my next pair of socks I’ll err on the side of smaller needles to see if that helps.

Sorry for limited photos!  My internet is quite slow so it’s easier not to have to load too many things at once.

And this is also on Ravelry.