One Aran Braid Sock complete

I've finished one of the Aran Braid socks, and have made a little progress on the second sock, too. The giftee of these socks has a women's size 4.5 foot, so they're teeny tiny.



I'm knitting these on two size 0 circulars with a gauge of 10 stitches per inch. I've done 15 braid repeats on the leg (the pattern calls for 11) and 16 cables on the instep. I use Grumperina's method for cables without a cable needle. I find this method to be much easier to work than the usual one where you rearrange the stitches and then knit them.

I'm debating whether or not to abandon my Christmas plan of socks for everyone who's worthy, which neccesitates lots of plain stockinette. The other option is to knit as many pairs of fun and interesting to knit socks as I can, and when I run out of time, just purchase non-homemade gifts for whoever is left on the list. The second option makes me a little sad though.