Let the kiddo pick out her own sock yarn at Michaels — the right price-point for a growing teen with a tendency to be extra tough on her clothes. I’ll give it to her: Izzy located a skein with cashmere in it.

These socks also mark a first: major surgery. When both pairs were done, Izzy tried them on…only to discover that I’d made the foot too short. So I snipped apart the toes, ripped back to the start of the toe decreases, added a good 1/2″, and then finished them up again. Can’t tell you how clever it made me feel.

The good news? I can check off Fair Isle and mittens from my 2013 Knitting goals. (And when you add in those first socks, I’ve hit everything on my list by early April.)

The bad news: They’re too small — I clearly overcompensated when I frogged the too-big third of the first mitt. So guess who got lucky?

Yes, Izzy really was that excited to claim them as her own. There’s that. And there’s the fact that they coordinate with the too-small hat she also claimed.

So after a brief mourning period, I did what any good knitter would do: I ordered more yarn. And since I enjoyed this further foray into colorwork, I’m excited to cast on another pair.