Well, if I were the recipient, I'd love it. The yarn alone is enough to love it. And the fact that a master knitter like you has knit it -- priceless!

Your sock pal will be thrilled, of that I can be sure.

Press on! :-)

AHHH! I just scraped my yarn preference. At least I'm still on board with my pattern. Even if it's fun (which it most certainly is) I still want the socks to be PERFECT! As I'm sure you understand. Good luck - I hope the socks turn out to be everything you want them to be.

I've already ripped and restarted my socks once, and am hoping my second attempt will be "right." I feel your pain!

I feel your pain, having just performed my sock anxiety all over the internets. But for what it's worth, I think those socks are unbelievably awesome, and I'm willing to bet that your pal will be completely thrilled.

I've changed my yarn at least four times. Today is it, though. What I start today WILL be the socks my sweet pal gets. That heel is a masterpiece!

omg - our fearless leader goes through the same sock knitter remorse as the rest of us mere mortals!

i finished sockpal sock 1 last night and, while I believe it is beautiful (as in hang it on a wall) I am not sure how wearable it is (as in may be a bit too much). I will post it on my blog tomorrow (since my stash is flashing today) and see what everybody thinks.

I say this in the kindest possible way, but my feeling is that it would take a very unique person to wear over-the-knee socks. I also wonder, unless they have elastic around the top, will they stay up? Regardless, I just cannot imagine the outfit that would look right with dark green and blue variegated, knitted stockings. Unless your pal is a very adventuresome dresser, I fear that your monumental effort (and huge yarn investment) will be for naught.

I think your socks are wonderful just as they are...I have a couple of skirts that I would be very happy to pair with them, so I say keep on doin' whatchu doin'. (Not that I'm your pal, I'm sure that I'm not!)

Alison I'm there. I'm at the dreaded "point of being not so sure you want to go on with Plan A". Actually, I'm certain I'm changing sock yarn and possibly pattern too. I better get to it. :)

Thanks for your feedback Kristin. I'm having the same trouble picturing the outfit that one would wear these socks with. I think that's what's really making me pause. Still, since my pal asked for those colors, I gotta trust that she can wear 'em. And for what it's worth, I'm just making knee-socks, not over-the-knee like in the pattern. Mine should only be about 12" from the floor - well under the knee.

are you kidding, any sock knit by you is a must have :-)

I'm feeling that way about the socks I made, too. Technically, I'm amazed at what I've done! These are actually my first socks ever, and they are the right size and the first one feels great on... but I'm not sure about how the variegation and pattern go together. Or don't. I think I'll press on, though. Maybe. Wishy-washy.

Those socks would go with almost all my outfits ;-) They are beautiful.

It's lovely. :) .. but you definitely don't want to kill your hands, so... if you do decide to go with something different, I'm sure it will be lovely too. :)

I've knit a heel flap (too long) and turned a heel (changing the pattern changed the gauge. Must redo with a different pattern) ...

And as soon as I get pictures, I'll be ripping it back a ways and re-working it. ... it's only April 2, right? ... and as soon as I have the first sock figured out, the second one *should* be a breeze. :) (insert wishful thinking here)

Plus I've already learned one OTHER thing that'd I'll be doing differently for the second sock (and the pattern, should I write one up.)

Hang in there. ... and trust your gut. ;)

I would say "hang in there". I recently worked a pair of socks as a present and halfway through the foot of the first sock, I HATED them. I couldn't stand knitting them. It took me WAY longer than it should have b/c I hated them and was almost embarassed about gifting them. The only reason I did NOT stop and start with another yarn was because the recipient had seen them already and said she liked them. I finished the socks, gifted them and blogged about them. The recipient loved them, our other co-workers liked them, commenter on my blog liked them as well enough to ask what yarn I used. SOOOOOO, I guess what I am saying is that different people like different things and I believe from reading everyone's comments, that your sockapalooza is more about the time and work put into the socks. How cool is it going to be for your pal to get Knee Hi socks? That takes a lot of commitment and work on your part and I am SURE that that will mean the world to her.

They are lovely and I can't wait to see the finished product!

Thanks so much for the support, Peacock and Knittingnurse. I think I will stick with them! :)

i think your sock pal socks are coming along very nicely. stay with it... the fun of sockapaloooza is knitting for someone else who probably dosen't like exactly the same things as we do. i'm totally opposite than my pal and i have to keep reminding me that it's not for me!! lol... so i hope that makes sense..
anyways your socks are great and i can't wait to see them done!

I'm glad you're going on with these socks! I love Koigu and I love that pattern, and I've been waiting with baited breath to see how they'll turn out. I'm sure they'll be adorable and your pal will love them. I might even have to make a pair for myself (not any time soon, though - my pal's socks need to be done as well as my lace stole and my Somewhat Cowl...need to get knitting!).

Alison, I was wondering if you could comment on your likes and dislikes when it comes to DP's for socks. Bamboo vs. metal vs. resin. 5" vs 7" I looked through your archives and it looks like you've used several different typesm, and I'm curious what they were and why you chose them. Thanks!

Well, if they're not over the knee, that changes everything. That means she could wear them under pants if she wanted. And they won't have that whole sexy-garter thing that's going on in the picture, which is what made it impossible for me to envsion her wearing them in those colors. In that case, I think you should continue. What's not to like, esp. if she picked the colors herself?

Oh, thank you--I was having the same sort of feeling last night while finishing the first of my "second draft" of my SPIII socks--I feel so much pressure for them to be perfect, and the colors are, well, bright! But I pressed on and started the second one (or I'd have two new coordinated "stockings" for the mantle).....Pressure, pressure--no doubt self imposed! It's good to know even an expert like you feels some of the angst!