new for me

So, I'm trying a new heel on these Here There Be Dragon Socks. I've done short-row heels before, but on the Lolita Legs stockings, there were supposed to be holes. The designer of the Dragon socks suggested the Priscilla Gibson-Roberts method of short-rowing heels with a backward yarnover. She also suggested looking at the tutorial at the Blue blog.

So, armed with the pattern and a print out of the tutorial, I sat on the train last night ready to short-row me a heel.

I read the tutorial. I tried to do a couple of rows. I read the tutorial again. I could make neither heads nor tails of the damn thing. Determined to not deal, I picked up a book and read until I had to change trains in Newark.

Then, as I was walking between tracks 2 and 5, I remembered that when I first turned a heel and gussett heel, I just blindly following the directions, having faith that it would work. And it did. So, I determined to try again once I was sitting on train three (train one being the subway, train two being the train between NYC and Newark, with train three as the train that actually gets me home). And try again I did. The first part, where the rows get shorter was pretty easy. The second half, where the rows get longer, not so much with the easy. But as I was ripping out and being very careful not to drop any YOs, I realized I had two stitches together where there was supposed to be a YO and a stitch. Problem solved. I am now about two rows from completing the heel. I'm very excited. I've been working on these socks off and on since May and they've been in the state of "waiting for a heel" for months.

I do still see some holes along the heel, but I think I know what I did wrong there (the YOs are twisted and need to be turned to sit properly on the needle). I might rip out or I might just see what washing will do (socks are koigu and it does bloom a bit when washed).

I'm also magic-looping this pair and so far, I like it!

No progress has been made on the St. Andrew's sweater. I knit two rows on Monday and didn't touch it yesterday. I'm not having an easy time with the hormones this cycle. To think I used to believe PMS was balderdash put forth by the patriarchy to keep women in place.