Whitby

She looks like a lovely Whitby, no?

Truly I enjoyed every moment of knitting her. The Louet Gems is a dream to work with and the pattern was memorizable right from the start. I even enjoyed knitting with my old Pony Pearls that haven't been used in years.
You'd think that I'd be happy and celebrating the completion of the first sock and eager to start the second. The problem is the sock doesn't fit. Oh I know it looks like it fits but it fits like a latex glove. It's just too darn tight. My gauge is a smidge off from Nancy Bush's but that's not unusual for me. I typically knit to a much tighter gauge than she and my socks still always fit. My gauge was only off by 1/2 a stitch. I got 7 spi whereas she got 6.5. Normally my gauge is more than a whole stitch tighter than hers.

What to do?
I can't wear the sock as is. I'd lose feeling and blood flow to my feet. I could go up a needle size but I'm not sure that would be enough and truthfully I like the fabric at 7 spi. I could add stitches between the diamonds and the cables and add a couple more ribs to the back - bring the stitch count from 51 to 59 or so (I haven't done the math yet). For now, it's just resting. I didn't cut the yarn or kitchener the toe or rip it out yet.
I started working on my second Mexicali Peppers sock again. That's disheartening also because I know I won't have enough yarn to finish. I guess I've got to knit until I run out before I plan a solution - see how much yarn I'll need. I'm not opposed to contrasting toes but I'm not sure what the Perchance to Knit base yarn is and I'd like to match it. Maybe my friend, Sheri, at The Loopy Ewe could help me figure that out.
April may be my first sockless month in a long time.