Solutions for Sock Snafus

I finished the Be Mine socks--aren't they gorgeous?

I'm quite a loose knitter, and I never swatch for socks. I mean, they're socks. By the time you've knit a swatch, you've knit half a sock anyway. This means, though, that my socks come out a little larger than the pattern would predict. That's actually pretty handy; I have big feet, so if I knit the women's medium, they're usually perfect for my high insteps. This can lead to issues with row gauge, however, and such was the case here.

I didn't care how long the calves turned out (after all, high socks aren't a bad thing), but I was faced with a problem when it came to the feet. I knew that two heart cable repeats would be too short, but three repeats plus the toe as written would be too long for me. (And by extension, the friend whose Christmas present these are. We have near-identical feet.) The solution?

A French toe! I love French toes. They're the best way to make sure you can squeeze in an extra pattern repeat, yet still make socks that fit. I especially liked how they looked with this pattern--see how neat and swirly? If I were to do things over, the only thing I'd change would be to continue purling between the front decreases all the way up to the end of the toe, which would have been some awesome design congruence. But they look quite fetching anyway, I think!

Yarn: knitswithsticks Wullenstudio (75/25 wool/nylon, 450 yd/skein). Size 2/2.75 mm needles.

Pattern: "Be Mine" socks from 2-at-a-Time Socks by Melissa Morgan-Oakes. Modifications: on feet, worked three cable repeats plus a French toe (from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush.)

It is so hard to take pictures of one's own feet. I enlisted the Irishman for the effort. He can't take a picture to save his life (I honestly don't know how; my camera is as basic as it can possibly be), but he does do his best. I love him anyway.