Design Features

Back when I worked in software (shudder) for hours and hours a week, there was a thing that happened all the time called problems, errors, f-ups, mistakes or whatever you want to call it.  In other words, you put in some code, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.  Sometimes it did something with the product that was FAR from what it was supposed to be doing.  If it didn't work, you crawled back into your cubicle and spent day and night trying to fix it.  If the program still worked, it was called a "Design Feature".  Especially if you were before the customer and had no time to change anything.

I was never a coder or programmer, but I did work closely with them.

Things rubbed off.

When it comes to knitting I now occasionally experience "Pattern Enhancements".

Let me just say that it is extremely easy for me to live with Pattern Enhancements, so it is rare that I actually tink something just for a mistake on one or two stitches.  I'll tink it because I don't like it or I have become bored with it, or because I MAJORLY f'd up, but not because there is a small mistake.

That being said, I've used this same pattern for every pair of socks I've knit.  I've read and re-read the heel part of the pattern several times over immediately before execution and have knitted this same heel about 16 times now.  I think every heel I've done is different.  Seriously.  It's not really anything that messes up the heel and they pretty much all look the same, it's just for some reason I interpret the pattern differently every time I make a heel.  A stitch more here, one less there, a purl instead of a knit, a knit instead of a purl, a turn instead of a wrap and turn, and so on, just one stitch here or there that is wrong.  When it's all said and done I always end up with the correct amount of stitches in each section and no holes, so I don't really worry about it too much.

Why am I babbling on about this now?  Well, the foot portions on both Marine Life socks are complete and it's time to execute my cunning plan of working both heels at the same time.  Time to see if this pair ends up with any "Pattern Enhancements".  They should at least be the same - in theory.

My second set of dpn's should arrive tomorrow.  Once I get both socks on the needles, I'll take a photo.