Tabi no Monogatari Part 9

I bet you guys thought I totally abandoned this project, huh?  Well, I haven't ... I've just been trying to to squeeze this in between my new sweater project (usually on the way home from work, in the car (aka car knitting)). :)  But then, I got majorly sick (twice! :() and then my sweater project was going into the home stretch so, this just had to wait. :P  (I have (somewhat) slightly (temporarily) abandoned my cable squares project.  The last square I was working on fizzled my brain so, I need to take a break from it until I can get more braincells back. :P)

So, here's what I've done for Hubby's lef side so far:

1. I started with a Provisional cast on 72 sts.
2. K 1 straight row, then connect in the round.
3. K 3 rows in the round for the foot.
4. Start toes: 36 sts on each side, 13 sts for big toe, 23 sts for remaining toes
• Row 1:
• Front: k1, k2tog, k to the end, for a total of 22 sts
• Then, slip remaining 13 sts into a safety pin
• Back: Turn work over; slip 13 sts into safety pin
• Then k to last 3 st to the end, ssk, k1, for a total of 22 sts
• Row 2-3: same as row 1, for a total of 21 sts and 20 sts respectively
• Row 4-5: k
• Row 6-7: same as row 1, for a total of 19 sts and 18 sts respectively
• Row 8: k
• Row 9-10: same as row 1, for a total of 17 sts and 16 sts respectively
• Row 11: k
• Row 12: same as row 1, for a total of 15 sts
• Row 13: k
• Row 14-17: same as row 1, for a total of 14 sts, 13 sts, 12 sts and 11 sts respectively
• Row 18: k
• Row 19: same as row 1, for a total of 10 sts
• Row 20-21: k
• Row 22-23: same as row 1, for a total of 9 sts and 8 sts respectively
• Bound off (I did in the round because in my haste, I forgot to Kitchener stitch it instead :().
5. Big toe:
• Row 1:
• Front: k, yo, k to last st, yo, k, pick up 2 st, for a total of 17 sts
• Back: pick up 2 st, k, yo, k to last st, yo, k, for a total of 17 sts
• Row 2:
• Front: k to last 3 st, ssk, k, for a total of 16 sts
• Back: k, k2tog, k to the end, for a total of 16 sts
• Row 3: same as row 2, for a total of 15 sts
• Row 4-25: k <= I think I messed up here ... I think at Row 23 or 24, I should've started to decrease already.  The toe looks blocky now. :(
• Row 26: k, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k2, ssk 2, k, ssk, k then k, ssk, k2, ssk, k2, k2tog, k, k2tog, k
• Bound off (I actually was cognizant enough to remember to use the Kitchener stitch this time. *yay* :P).
6. Then I went back to the bottom of the provisional cast on and picked up the stitches to start the foot.
• I picked up stitches where I thought there'd be holes and knitted them together in the following row.  Perfect! :)  No holes! ;)
• But, I learned that the provisional cast on I used was really just a bunch of loops, not actually stitches so, there's a bump now between where the toes and the rest of the sock.  I think I need to either try this version or use the provisional cast on in which one uses waste yarn. :( I hate using waste yarn because it means that I have waste yarn (or I have to make waste yarn). :(  Having waste yarn (or making waste yarn) seems like it's such a ... waste! :P  (My pake-ness is kicking in! :P) (Translation: Pake = local slang for cheap :P)  I wonder if I can do this with just one of my other fixed circular cable needles ... Hmmm ... :P
7. Then, the foot.  I did 71 rows for the foot portion before starting the heel.
• OMG ... I must've done the heel part at least 3 times.  First, when I measured Hubby's foot, it looked like I had done enough rows.  I even measured it with the left side and it seemed to be about right.  So, I started on the heel (I even finished it!).  Then I stuck it on his foot again just to make sure that it fit.  And you know what?!  It didn't!  And I even saw that I had dropped a stitch somewhere because I saw a loose stitch just hanging out there!  In anger (I was seriously frustrated at this point; I don't think it helped that I was sick), I ripped it all out and started again.  I made a few more rows (more like 5 - 6 rows) and started the heel again.  This time I was smart (well, sort of).  I just did the heel all the way up to before the heel starts to cup and then stuck it onto Hubby's foot to be sure it'll go over his heel.  Did it work? No!! (I was still sick as I re-caught my cold! :()  So, I ripped it back again and added more rows. :( *argh!!!*  In the end, I finally figured it out.  I added two (2) rows before I started the heel.
8. I used the same method as the test sock to make the heel: using the German short row method.  This has been a fairly easy method for me and now, I seem to really (only) understand how to only do this method.  I think I shall push myself into trying something different on the next pair of socks. :)
9. With the heel done, I finished off the leg by doing a total of 19 rows: 12 rows at 72 stitches, decreased it by 2 stitches for another 5 rows (@ 70 stitches) then another 2 rows (@ 68 stitches) and finally the last 2 rows (@ 60 stitches) before ribbing the cuff.
10. As for the cuff, I started out with 68 stitches and 2x2 ribbing but when I got to my last row and tried it on my Hubby, it looked extremely stretched out (like it was already used for ages). :(  So, I took it to my sock goddess, Ariana for some feedback and instruction.  Ariana said that I was a loose knitter and recommended that I reduce the number of stitches to 64 stitches, try a 1x1 ribbing and go down a needle size.  So, thinking that I might need to get smaller fixed circulars, I checked with my favorite yarn store, Yarn Story to see what she carried.  Kim, being the super nice and curious person she is, asked me what I was up to so, I told her my cuff saga.  I tried a pair of Addi Lace fixed circulars at a US 000 and didn't really notice much (if any) changes.  Kim inspected my sock and said that my sock already had a fairly tight weave (aka I'm a tight knitter) and that going down a size may not help (or it might not got on Hubby's foot); the best thing I could do was to reduce the number of stitches by an inch (8 stitches for a total of 60 stitches).  So, what I ended up doing was ...
1. First, I tried to make my knitting super tight, knit through the back and used a 1x1 ribbing.  After 3 rows, I tried to squeeze my Hubby's foot onto this sock.  It wouldn't go over his heel. :(
2. So, I ripped back and tried again, this time switching out my needles from the Knitter's Pride Karbonz to my Chiagoo Bamboo. And ... it fit! :)
3. Then I bound off using an Estonian bind off. :)

*Yay!!*  Look a completed left side!

Now, with what I've got left (as shown in the background), I'm going give the rightt side try. :)  Maybe I'll actually have a pair of (wearable) socks soon! :)