I finished the socks for my mother, and this is the result!
The splitting and grafting worked great and Mum loves them, and the fit is perfect! My Dad was very interested in the process and engineering of it all when I told him about what I did. Now I just need to find a pattern he'd like for when Fathers Day rolls around in September 🤔
I'm working on a pair of the Ginko Garden Socks by Stephanie Mazur/Lost Sock Knits for my Mum, my first colourwork socks (not my first colourwork however! Have done sweaters/mitts etc before).
When I first worked with the indicated needles (2.25mm stockinette, 2.5mm colourwork) the colourwork and ribbing was too tight, so I cast on again and bumped both needles a size (2.5mm and 2.75mm). This ended with the sock in the pick. The stockinette section was perfect, but the colourwork came out baggy. I knit the second sock entirely on 2.5mm and it has come out perfect - I just needed bigger floats not bigger needles (my fault, I went with my usual size floats that I've used for round yoked colourwork/mitts, which don't need to stretch as much).
Now, I could cast on a third sock and knit it in it's entirety, or I could be crazy and split the sock, reknit the colourwork, and splice the whole thing back together.
Wish me luck, I will let y'all know how it goes!