Finally!!! A start on my sockapaloooza socks...

So, it's taken me long enough to get started -- but finally, last night I did! The start of knitting something for someone else based just on measurements is so much more a leap of faith than starting a project for yourself or someone you know! This is my second sock exchange and both times I've been assigned sock pals whose feet are much larger than mine. This always throws me for a loop... None of my favorite patterns will work without major mods. I do the math and start on the sock and it just looks too big... That little voice in my head keeps saying "that doesn't look like a sock! that looks like a too-small sleeve!" So I measure the proto-sock again and again! I've learned to trust the little voice in my head, so it's real hard to block it out.

I really struggled with the yarn choice and the pattern choice. I am totally in love with Socks that Rock right now -- but all the colorways I have are soooo varietaged, they would totally overwhelm any stitch pattern. Now I love plain old stockinette socks - and always have a plain sock in progress in my purse - but for a sock exchange, it seems like you need to step it up a notch. So after much purusing of my now sizeable sock yarn stash, I decided on Claudia Hand Painted sock yarn in plumlicious. I'm knitting it up in a eyelet-cable rib. I'm basically using the same stitch pattern used in Antoinette's Collar (from new Rowan mag) and staggering adjacent cables so not all the cables cross on the same row. I *think* the stitch pattern doesn't fight too much with the yarns' variegation -- but time will tell. I'm hoping the ribbiness will help with the socks fit and that using the eyelet cable will make it seem unique. Fingers crossed!