FINALLY! Cast-on Socks!

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! Above are a few of the little It's the Balm Socks (from Simply Notable) I knit up for holiday gifts. They were kind of a test knit to see if:

1. I liked knitting with sock yarn &
2. I could understand sock construction

The construction uses an after-thought heel and after reading this post about them, I KNEW they were for me!
Even though the socks are little, they were INCREDIBLY fun to knit up! Suddenly sock yarn wasn't scary. In fact, it was actually enjoyable to knit with! I was AMAZED at this discovery! I decided that, after the gift knitting was finished......I WAS CASTING-ON SOCKS! Two at a time & Toe-up!

So......yesterday morning, I printed out instructions for Judy's Magic Cast-on, then CAST-ON! I'll be "winging it" without an "official" pattern. After the toe increases were complete to the size of the foot (64 sts), I began a k2, p2 rib on the top of the foot. After the waste yarn goes in (for the after-thought heel), I'll continue the rib around the leg portion of the sock. Finally, I'll cast-off with a sewn bind-off (which is VERY stretchy). Anyway, that's my plan!

Here's the first day of progress:

I'm pleased with the results so far! Socks aren't nearly as SCARY as they sound!