by Cheryl
I can’t believe I’m not dead yet! Not only am I not dead, but I got the socks in progress from my target and finished them for kill number two. My target had started both socks in Knit Picks Essential Peacock Multi, which by the way I don’t like very much. One sock was finished up to the gusset decreases 
and the other had the ribbing and some cuff. My target seemed to think she was doing something wrong with the first one so moved on to the second and had planned to rip the shorter one out. I tried to figure out what the problem was (couldn’t find it…maybe it was the slightly shifting pattern that threw her off?) so I went ahead and continued from there. Imagine my dismay when after finishing the pair I noticed my target had done a plain stockinette heel instead of the s1, k1 called for in the pattern. :doh:
I debated ripping it out then and there, then decided to send them off to the new target so she could choose which heel she likes/fits better. There was a lot of discussion on Ravelry and in the Sock Wars forum about this since many warriors seemed to miss the asterisk that indicated s1, k1 to end. Apparently some people actually like a stockinette heel better and it is within the acceptable modifications for the contest. If only I had seen it before I began knitting in a fury (I still don’t know how I missed it since I even took a picture when they arrived) I could have knit a matching stockinette heel and that would be the end of it. 
When she sends one of the socks back for me to re knit, I have an EXCELLENT plan. No need to rip the whole sock back to the cuff…I’ll just pick up stitches on the first row after the heel is complete, snip the yarn, rip back the heel, re knit the heel then graft it back to the rest of the foot. VOILA! Easy fix. Much better than redoing the whole thing. In the meantime, I have been working on…more socks. Can you believe it? I didn’t think I’d be touching any other socks during Sock Wars but apparently I am at a loss as to other acceptable travel projects.
I have a bit of a backlog on finished projects to show you (since I have been a really bad blogger since beginning the podcast). I’m not really sure what possessed me, but a few days before mother’s day I decided I needed to make something for my mother in law. What should pop into my head? A doily. :paranoid: WHAT? Not only that, but I decided it would be a good idea to crochet it. :rofl: Sure, 
why not? My crochet skill just barely exists at all so lets knit a doily on a tiny 1.5mm hook with cotton crochet thread! Sure! Why not? Well I’ll tell you why not…tiny cotton cheap crochet thread is a total PITA. I was only able to stick it out until round 11 before I decided I’d had enough. At the very least I could have 
chosen something easier to work with. But it was there and in the stash so you know how that goes. It’s actually a lovely, well written pattern (Autumn Reflections, you can see lots of nice ones on Ravelry) and I would totally do it again if someone can recommend a crochet thread that isn’t so cheap, splitty and unforgiving. It would also help if I could learn to get consistent tension but I’m telling myself that better yarn would totally help with that. I apologize for the picture quality…Jim had to take pictures of the blocked and starched doily with his camera phone since I completely forgot about it.
