Monkey On My Back

For the last few days I've been trying to figure out this really popular sock pattern (Monkey Socks) that everyone on Ravelry seems to love. TONS of people have made these socks, and the general consensus is that this pattern is fun, easy, and generally lovely. So, of course, my thoughts were that these were perfect socks for me to start with. I started the pattern a few days ago, no problem. Once I got past the first inch or so of ribbing at the top I had a problem. The pattern didn't seem to work over the 16 stitches that is called for, and so the whole thing just seemed totally off. The pattern didn't line up, and ended up just UGLY. I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong, and after looking at a bunch of blogs about these monkeys, I still don't know what is wrong. However...I finally found a way! After working the pattern a few times on bigger needles with some old crappy yarn, I found that I can work it easily over 18 stitches instead of 16. Still don't know why things were wrong to begin with, but I'm excited to get back to work on my socks. Finally!

And yes, I am aware that changing the number of stitches will likely mess up the rest of the pattern, but that is something I will deal with when the time comes. On to my monkeys...