Help!

Knitters are the best.

I have big thanks to offer Kate, first for her detailed confirmation in the comments about how to get out of my semi-confused state regarding continuing on my sock. I kept the computer beside me to help me through the gusset and referred to her excellent tips to get back on track.

As if that weren't enough, I received Stephanie Pearl McPhee's Knitting Rules! from her in today's mail. She had an extra copy and thought it would be helpful for me to have. I've flipped through it and agree that it will be a beneficial addition to my library. I'm touched by her generosity and grateful for the knitting assistance. Thanks Kate!

I suppose in my own way I did my part to help other knitters by spotting an error in the pattern and bringing it to the book publisher's attention. It isn't on the correction page yet, but I expect it will be soon. Customer service responded to my e-mail in record time and is sending a gift to me for finding the mistake. How about that? I'm amazed how fast someone got back to me and that I must have been the first person to mention this to them. Crazy.

Knitting-wise, I'm working on the gusset decrease. I had a mini panic when I noticed a dropped instep stitch but thought I still had the proper number on the needle. (I didn't.) It's a good thing I bought some smaller gauge crochet hooks over the weekend. JoAnn's had a clearance sale on them, so I bought three for $1.50. The smallest I got was a 3mm hook, and it was the perfect size for the job. I'm good to go again.

OK, now I'm ready for the stretch run on this sock. No more mistakes, no more confusion, and if those problems crop up again, it's good to know that I've got several different places and people to turn to for help.