In the holiday spirit ....

... please forgive me for broken promises. I have been atrocious at keeping an account on here or on my LJ account. But I am beginning my New Year's resolutions early and am determined to get going here. :)

The Christmas gift knitting frenzy is in full swing at my house. I have only completed one gift so far and have at least 14 left to do. Am I mad? Why of course! I didn't realise it was being contested. But I have some pretty things to talk about first ... a gift to myself.

When we were in New York I had a slight mishap with my bank card and wasn't able to lift the last of my funds. So when we got to Purl Soho I was working on money I had borrowed from other people. Not a nice situation to be in. I wanted to get something so I bought some Bryspun flexible needles, but the Blue Sky Alpaca and the Koigu had to stay on the shelf. Again on our second trip to School Products (we liked that store), my hands had to stay in my pockets. (Everybody say awwww). But when I returned I had some money in my bank account, so I treated myself:



Lorna's Laces Swirl DK in two colourways - Mt. Creek on the left and Pioneer on the right. It's a lovely blend of merino wool and silk and I have no idea what I'm going to do with it. But at the moment, I'm just enjoying looking at it. *grin* And maybe stroking it occasionally.

But also I need some help. Before the cash crisis in NYC, I did manage to purchase some Koigu KPPM in School Products (might I say I love both that shop and that yarn). Some was for my sister and is currently being knit into socks for her. I'm using Wendy's toe-up gusset and slipstitch heel pattern as usual, with some changes in numbers for gauge etc. See?



Now my problem is a little loose stitch on either side of the heel where I join it back up to knit the leg. At first I thought it as coming from the instep stitches that sit on the needles unused while the heel is knitted, just a by-product of being left unused on the needle for so long. However, I've realised that is only the case on one side and on the other side the loose stitch is actually part of the slipstitch heel.



Excuse the less than great photography, i have yet to master macro settings, but I think you know what I'm talking about anyway. I'm going to darn up the little holes here and the sock will be fine, but I'd rather avoid it in the future.

Does anyone else find this happens with their heels or is it just me? Is there something I could be doing (or not doing as the case may be) to prevent it? Or is it an inevitable part of my knitting that I should just suck up and move on? Answers on a postcard comment please!