Turning things upside down

I am ready for the heel turn on the toes socks tonight (at this rate, I might actually make it through Christmas knitting list!). I decided to switch to the upstream sock pattern instead of the Spiraling Coriolis because the SC said you needed to be able to freely rotate the toe, and that doesn't work when there are, um, toes on the toe. I could probably have figured out how to alter the pattern (in fact, I'm pretty sure I know exactly what I needed to do), but I didn't want to take a chance on holiday knitting, and besides, this exercise is about following the pattern. I don't know why that is such a challenge for me. Even when I like the way the pattern looks, I always have to change something. I just can't help it.

Well, I resisted the first temptation, but I am going to give in to the second. I have discovered that I need the slower increase in the arch expansion and the faster increase in the toes. Remember the pointy toes from last time? That was me miscounting and increasing every 4th row rather than every third. When I did it right the second time, the toe came out infinitely better. But, at least for the Bearfoot yarn, I appear to need that slower increase to match my row gaugefor the instep; I ended up with too many stitches in the arch a little too fast, which made it a little baggy for my liking. I was just checking the length to decide whether it's time to heel turn, and inadvertently put the sock on upside down (and on the wrong foot, of course, so that the toes lined up right). A happy mistake, as it turns out. The steep increase is too much on the top of my foot, but it hugs my arch beautifully if the sock is upside down. I'm not sure that I understand why this is, but I'm going to run with it. It's so much better upside down! This time, I will change the pattern. I think Cat would approve. So, on to the heel turn. I will post pictures again soon, but really nothing has changed except the length. It's all stockinette, so it's not too exciting.

Oh, and one more thing. I'm feeling the need to do something different on the ankles. I don't want the whole sock to be stockinette. I learned from the last Bearfoot yarn (that turned into a scarf...) that lace and handpainted don't go well together. I want something fun, though. I'm thinking maybe the Flame Chevron from Walker? I can't tell if it would be good or bad with this yarn. I guess I could always try a few rows and find out....