Rose Ribs--First Sock Completed

I've been traveling a lot lately and have been afraid to bring my extra-sharp Signature needles in my carry-on bag in case some TSA employee decides to take them away from me. That means that I've been making slow progress on my Rose Ribs socks. But I finally completed the first one and got through about half of the leg of the second last night.

I followed the instructions for the larger sock, casting on 70 stitches on size 2 (2.75 mm) needles. I worked four pattern repeats, then changed to size 1.5 (2.5 mm) needles to narrow the calf. I followed the instructions in the book (pages 81 to 85 of Sock Knitting Master Class) for the heel, but I picked up the gusset stitches through the back loops and then worked those picked-up stitches through the back loops on the first round. This helped tighten the join between the heel flap and the foot. The little safety pins mark every 20 rounds of knitting so I'll be sure to make the foot on the second sock the same length as the first.
The Rose Rib Lace pattern is a relatively simple alternation of yarnovers and left-leaning (ssk) and right-leaning (k2tog) decreases. Every other row is worked as the stitches appear so in the 8-row repeat, there are only 4 rows that need attention. The pattern is not charted in the book because we thought the instructions were so easy to follow written out in rows. Still, I managed to lose my place and more than once skipped a pattern round. I finally noticed that the eyelets are outside the medallions for two pattern rows, then inside the medallions for two pattern rows. Rnd 1 forms eyelets on the outside, Rnds 3 and 5 form then on the inside, and Rnd 7 forms them on the outside again. The decreases are worked so that k2tog decreases and ssk decreases are aligned for two pattern rounds, then they trade places. I've probably just made this sound more complicated than it is. Give it a try--the socks are definitely worth the effort. If you prefer working from charts, you can easily chart the 7-stitch, 8-row repeat for yourself.
I hope to wear these socks when I teach at Clara Parkes' Knitter's Review Knitting Retreat this weekend.