We interrupt this regularly scheduled broadcast....

For Ravelympics 2012!!1
This is my first year participating and I am excited to actually begin something on-time.  The team I am on is Team Tribute after The Hunger Games. WooHoo!!!
The project I am trying is my first pair of socks.

I have had to reknit the cuff several times. First, I measured the widest part of my foot like the book advises. Then I multiplied it my 5 stitches per inch.  Multipling 8.5 *5 gave me 48 stitches. The opening ceremonies were starting and I wanted to get started so I cast-on these and worked for about 5 rows.

After the Internet was available again, I looked up the gauge of the yarn I was knitting.  It turns out the yarn I was knitting is 4.5 stitches to the inch.  This gave me 39 stitches which was easily divisible by the 3 needles used to knit the socks.  I had 13 stitches per needle. Following the directions, the ribbing was worked in knit 3 purl 1 for about 2 inches.

It didn't match up.  It was always ending up with a knit 2 section before starting again. After feeling disgruntled, I read the instructions.  It said that these socks would be knit using a double ribbing, knit 2 purl 2, for the cuffs. 
Yikes, I had to restart again.  This time, cast on the 40 stitches to make the pattern work out. It turn out that 40 stitches was what the pattern suggested I cast on in the first place!! 
Sometimes you have to do things wrong 4 times to get it right once.