Mad Cow Progress - Finally

I've turned the heel on the second mad cow sock and feel like I'm finally making progress. The instep is always the long, boring part for me. (I guess because I have a big foot.) But now that I'm on the upper part, I have a renewed spirit to finish this sock.

I've discovered I kind of like the short row heel. I don't even mind wrapping and picking up the wrapped stitches. I think I prefer that to having to pick up all those stitches when you do the heel flap. This way when I'm finished with the heel I just start knitting again. I also like the idea that you could do a contrasting heel if you wanted.

The only thing about the short heel that kind of bugs me are the points. From this angle the heel looks a little like a bonnet. For this pattern I did 14 wrap stitches on each side and 14 stitches unwrapped in the middle. I wonder if I only did 12 stitches in the middle if it would stop the points? Probably it would just relocate them.

Some people don't like the fit of the wrapped heel. It works fine for me. I guess because I have a flat foot. No high instep for me. This picture is a little misleading, it actually looks like I have some arch. Must be the angle.

I should have made these notes when I did my first Mad Cow sock, but I didn't so I will document now. Cast on was 66. I did the heel over 42 stitches. 14 wrapped stitches on each side and 14 stitches in the middle of the heel.

I also wish I had weighed the yarn prior to doing the heel and after so I would know how much yarn the heel used. I think it would be fun to use up left over yarn on the heels and toes, but you need to know you have enough yarn. Oh well another day.

This is the latest addition to my stash. Two skeins out 1 skein in. It's Cherry Tree Hill Loden. Yum. I bought a solid so I can knit a lace sock with a leaf motif. One pattern I found in "More Sensational Knitted Socks" really struck me, but it's done on a purl background. I don't know if I have the patience to basically purl an entire sock. But there are lots of other leaf type patterns out there. I even found one in my "Gathering of Lace" book.

While I'm looking for the perfect leaf pattern for the loden yarn, I'm going knit my CTH Nothern Lights into the Mad Weave from Sock Madness. I'm pretty excited about getting into something that's a little tougher than straight stockinette.

All my other pending projects are lace shawls and scarves. Socks and shawls, it's an interesting mix.