I’ve heard a lot about short row heels, but I didn’t really know what that meant until I looked it up yesterday (it seemed a little obvious, but when it comes to knitting, I don’t assume anything). I was interested in trying something new on my Monkey socks, and since I was still using dpns and knitting from the cuff down, I figured that I’d innovate with the heel. I used the marvelous Kaity‘s clear and helpful tutorial to learn how to give my sock a short row heel. Success (mostly, but the error was mine, not hers)! Then I wasn’t sure what I should do to accommodate the ankle, but both Kaity and Joy were helpful and told me that I didn’t need to add any more stitches. I’m going to go get started on the bottom of the sock now!

My sock looks so bulky, not at all like the pretty pictures I see on Ravelry, and I cannot wait to block them once they’re finished. Can you believe I actually want to block anything, much less this enthusiastically?? I think I’ve only blocked two items in my life (I should change this).

I keep doing this to myself. I don’t read the entirety of something, and it ends up biting me in the butt. For some reason, I had it in my head that the Monkey sock pattern by Cookie A. was knit from the toe up. I was apprehensive about starting toe up socks, but I figured that I would get it soon enough. So I got up this morning, Googled the figure 8 cast on, and got it after a few false starts! The tutorials on Knitty and Hello Yarn were invaluable! I was rolling, and just about the time I got to my first set of increases, I decided I should see where the sock pattern picked up. So imagine my surprise when I realized that Monkeys are NOT knit from the toe up. They’re top down, just like every other sock I’ve ever knit.

I was discouraged but not totally cowed. I googled toe-up Monkeys and found a few people who’d done it that way. Monos Locos, an adaptation by Jennifer O’Sullivan, looks interesting, but it inverted the lace pattern and removed the purls, which I did not want to do. Another toe-up adaptation, this one by Zhenya Lavy, kept the lace the way that Cookie A. had done it, but employed the magic loop, which I have yet to attempt. So that was no good for me, either. I found this web site that had a listing of Monkey KALs, and lost it, but I just used my Googlefu and found it again. Here you go! It lists various Monkey adaptations and tricks. So what was there to do but to frog what I had? Thankfully, I was relatively close to the start of my socks, so frogging was only mildly painful. Also, I already swatched this, so when I do begin, at least I know I should be on gauge.

I just checked, and it’s the Falling Leaves pattern that is toe up (and also on a magic loop). I think I may try those after I finish the Monkeys, unless I find another pattern that I like better in the meantime.