Sockalong update -Mosaic socks week 2 KAL

I mentioned last week my problems with knitting the mosaic socks which is the sockalong pattern for 2022 from Winwick Mum. You do not have to do the new pattern and perhaps I would have made better progress and much less mistakes had I done a different pattern. 

Sock knitting is  a new thing for me and I do not find it very easy. Its Ok since there are very good instructions but I would say the current pattern is certainly challenging me.

I believe - well pretty certain really I have completely cocked up the repeat mosaic pattern.

Now if I am honest its due to me being apparently unable to read properly!

These are my current projects - or two of them. The orange hat is the Isolation hat from Ravelry that I started just before Christmas. Its much harder than I expected and has been ripped back 9 times so far! More on that one later. I am also nearing the end of a jumper for my other half thats not pictured here because it does not fit into my knitting bag.

I had a few colour choice issues which are detailed in last week's post so I will not repeat them here. But thats not the only problem. I realised half way through the second repeat that I was meant to be knitting each pattern row twice!

 Well no wonder its hard to see the contrast!

Sock with heel flap completed

I am half way through the second pattern repeat and realise this mistake.  So half way through my second repeat, I sorted that bit out and do each row twice as I should ahve done. But then also I have more than once got completely confused as to where I was in the pattern repeats as well and I obviously got where I thought I was meant to be wrong because my socks do not look like others on the internet! Being part of a KAL does show how other people do things and this is incorrect.

Its still quite pretty though and, I feel, surprisingly well knitted.

Well I could undo it - rip it back or frog it etc but:

1) it does not look so bad, 

2) I have no problem with slightly ( or majorly?) not quite identical socks - after all I usually knit fairisle jumpers with odd sleeves on purpose and for around 30 years its been my trademark as far as friends who know me are concerned to do that, 

3) I am not so sure frogging this will mean when I reknit it it will follow the pattern anyway!

 Well no I am not unpicking because its not so bad and I have written notes on the pattern so I should hopefully manage to make a second identical sock with the same (or probably not the same but similar) mistakes so they (kind of) match. Thats the aim anyway. That will also mean I do not need to unpick and begin again.

So having realised this cock up has taken place I have decided to continue, finish the sock and knit a second one as near perfect as I can.

 Yes I am so imperfect!

But the pattern is now starting to look more like other people's so I am much happier now. I also at around the same time I sorted out my pattern repeats ( or thought I had) I decided to move up to a slightly larger needle. This is because I think the fabric is going to felt up if I carry on with the 2mm. I am now using a 2.25mm. I will need to do the cuff in the smaller needle next sock as well so that matches too. I am thinking maybe I should ordinarily go down a couple of needle sizes when starting socks and then go back up for the main body? Not sure yet but thats a possibility. I will decide on my next pair. So now I am trying very hard to do the pattern correctly for the rest of the foot of this sock. This time I am using the chart rather than written instructions but so far I have managed to swap the pattern colours round half way down anyway so not really achieving much improvement this way either. 

So I think this will end up being "inspired by" the Winwick Mum Mosaic pattern rather than actually looking like its meant to.

Also I decided to print the pattern rather than rely on the PC version. I think thats actually why I made the mistake of doing half the number of rows for each colour repeat - I was trying to remember etc. Having to keep going to check what comes next in a different room ( because the PC is in a different room to my comfy space) to where I knit is not ideal. Not the best way to knit. With a pattern in hand its slightly easier.  Had a printer problem recently though so I am avoiding printing because I seem to spend hours cancelling the print and then reprinting but it did eventually work and I have a hard copy of the pattern to sit down with. 

Time will tell if it makes the slightest bit of difference of course!

This is how my sock is looking at the moment:

I am quite pleased with it despite everything not being quite as it should be pattern wise.

And I do not like circular needles at all! 

The only advantage for me is I am less likely to drop the stitches which being so small are hard to find properly to pick back up. I prefer to knit on 4 or 5 pins and on around a 5.5mm as well! So I swapped back to the 5 pins and wow has it grown since I did that. I might even catch up the other KAL participants now!

More on this KAL next week

Bracken