Disappointment

Well, I wanted to show WIP pictures of the soon-to-be-Jaywalkers, but today is not the day. There seem to be a couple of things wrong:
1. I deliberately made the width of the foot a little narrower than usual. Up to the heel, they fit nice and snug.
2. I turned the heel and they look fantastic. Since I figured out a better way to avoid the hole when joining the short-row heel to the rest of the sock, there are four *closed* connection points and *no* gaps or holes.
3. However... they are very snug around the heel and instep, probably because I made them deliberately narrower, etc. (see item 1).
4. I attempted to compensate for this by increasing stitches above the heel, in the inch or so before the leg pattern (Jaywalker) gets started.
5. I am about 6 rows into the Jaywalker pattern, and now the leg is too wide and puckery.

It's my own fault for not making a decent gauge swatch (okay, for not making ANY gauge swatch) and not paying any real attention to the gauge notes in the pattern. The pattern calls for Lorna's Laces, which I *know* is thinner than the STR I'm using, but which I conveniently ingnored when looking at the size notes.

So, I will frog back to about a half-inch above the heel, which means I've only increased about 8 stitches from my foot, and will probably do the pattern with only 5 or 6 stitches between the increases and double-decreases. There will be math involved. Be afraid; be very afraid.

In other news, Kelly "kidnapped" me yesterday and we took a lovely drive to the Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, about 20 miles from San Jose as the crow flies, but about an hour as the car drives, thanks to twists and turns and a 6% grade that was designed to make it easy for the mule train to bring the construction supplies up (and down) the hills in the 1880's. It is a terrific place with lots of great photos of stars and planets they've discovered. There are 9 telescopes up there; the oldest is a 36" refractor (glass lens) and the largest is a 120" reflector (mirror). While we were up there, we had a good look at the fire in Henry Coe State Park, the one they've dubbed the "Lick fire." Very smoky, very scary looking, and that was yesterday when it was only 500 acres. Today it's at 5200 acres and likely to double before they get it under control. We can see it from the house, too, since we're just a mountain range (and a reservoir) away. I'd be worried, except for that 7-mile long reservoir.

Off to book tickets for our trip to Vegas in October and to see if we can get tickets to Blue Man or La Reve while we're there.