Can't Talk, Knitting

Sock Wars has started, the pattern arrived late on Friday due to infrastructure-destroying weather in the organizer's area (Belfast, Ireland). Then little Frieda had to make an unplanned visit to the vet's office, because she was acting strange--scratch/bite on her belly, secretive eating of something unknown, and then totally lethargic. She basically got over whatever was bothering her as soon as we got to the vet's office, because she loooooooves the people who work there and seeing other dogs. Anyway, I got a much later start than planned, and then my first start had two problems:

• The sock was gi-normous, even though I'd swatched as directed
• The two balls of yarn I used were completely different colors, even though they had the same dye lot. One is noticably paler than the other--this is probably because they are hand-dyed.

I tried to fool myself into thinking that I could make it work, but I only had a few inches knit so I decided to rip out the socks and start again using one ball of yarn and one size smaller needles. The new needles are size 6 Knit Picks options needles, and I like them a lot--the tips are sharper than Addi Turbos, and the joins are pretty smooth, and the cable is flexible enough for Magic Loop.

Now, mid-day on Sunday, I've finished the heel and gussets and expect smooth sailing the rest of the way. Here's where I am:

Note that I'm knitting both socks at once, so they're both at the same point and (hopefully) pretty much identical. Here's the pair in black and white, which shows the rib pattern better:

I like this rib stitch, and the pattern has been very straightforward and quick, except for the false start. Hopefully, I'll finish up this afternoon and get these in the mail tomorrow!