An Old Dog Learning New Tricks

a few days ago, i posted this:
to show my progress on trying to knit two socks at once. well know its grown to this:

i'm currently working the gusset decreases. i wasn't sure how i felt about the technique--in the beginning it was fiddly and seemed to move slowly. but the idea that both socks would be finished was just to appealing. oh, and a bit of common sense helps too. once i realized that 3 inches on two socks was 6 inches on one--with one more sock to left to knit-my whole perspective changed. i found that my tension was a bit tighter (possibly compensating for the initial awkwardness) but i liked the knitted fabric at 10 sts per inch.

now, would i use this technique for colorwork? probably not right now. its still quite a bit awkward just keeping the two skeins of yarn from tangling--not that i had major problems--but i just can't see juggling all the different strands...at least not for the colorwork projects i want to try. the trickiest part for me was picking up the gusset stitches. i found that i had to reposition (i.e. knit and extra row on the turned heel in order to get in the right position to pick up the stitches according to the directions. other than that, not so bad. i can see doing mindless stockingnette socks in self-striping or variegated yarns, or possibly adding some cool Barbara Walker textured stitch patterns, or even some simple lace. its really about understanding the cable path. once you get that, its all kosher.