The first thing you notice when you start this pattern is that the instructions are wrong. "Work these stitches as an I-cord" does not produce the beautiful band at the top of the socks in the photo. Fortunately, there is a paragraph explaining the "Band Pattern" in a different section of the pattern - but it would be nice if the instructions mentioned this pattern.
The second thing you notice is that the fancy-schmansy Louet Gems yarn has a tendency to split. Not a good thing when you'll be manipulating and twisting stitches like crazy in these socks. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Austrian Socks from Interweave's
Favorite Socks, with apologies for the blurry picture:
