Unfinished Sock Woes

I wanted to share my UFO for this week. I am working on a pair of socks and I wanted to have the first sock finished this weekend, which did not happen. One of my knitting goals for 2014 was that every piece I knit have at least one element that is new to me. These socks have multiple new elements and they are driving me crazy.

It is my first time using fingering weight yarn, size 1 needles, and legit stitch markers. It is also the first pair of socks I have made and for some reason I decided to make it even harder on myself and knit them using the standard continental method instead of my usual combined method. In hindsight I think that I would have enjoyed making a sock in a worsted weight sock yarn with simple ribbing.

The sock pattern is called, “Elm” from The Knitter's Book of Socks. I instantly fell in love with the pattern and I rarely find a pattern that I want to follow to the stitch. This may have actually been a first, but I fell in love with the stitch pattern and not the overall sock design. I should have considered that I don't like long socks. The more I get into constructing this sock the less I think it is something I will wear and that has hindered my motivation.

I still really like the stitch design. It is basically a repetition of the 3 x 3 rib pattern used for the cuff. As it moves towards the toe the ribbing shifts and appears to crisscross in a beautiful way. I get a little fed up with the constant decreases and increases, but the finished socks will be beautiful. My only variation on the pattern is that I used Ty-Dy Socks Dots by Knit One, Crochet Too instead of the pattern's specified yarn. I saw this at my local yarn store and grabbed it on a thoughtful impulse. Its one of my favorite sock yarns.

I'm giving myself another week to finish the first sock and then I will work on another project before I start the second one. I need to give my hands a break from the small needles. Do you have any never-ending projects?