slowly growing or slow going?

  After buying a kit for the Aprika socks from the Cyber Monday sale at Knit picks, I finally worked up the nerve to cast on during May.  I'd hesitated because the reviews for the pattern were hot and cold... but mostly cold.  

   I knit my socks toe-up and have never completed a pair of stranded socks, so this project is a first for me in many ways.  The cuff and first couple of charts around the top of the sock seemed to drag on forever.

   But then I finally got to the good stuff.  My stitch count went way down after finishing the calf shaping and the main chart pattern is pretty addicting.

   Since the photo above, I've knit a few rounds of the foot chart.  But this pattern is starting to slow down for me.  I think it's mostly because I'm not thrilled about the afterthought heel method because I can no longer try the sock on as I go! /knitter problems  There's less of a safety net when you can't be sure of the fit on something so I think that I'm subconsciously trying to delay an inevitable fit-fail-frogging by hiding these at the bottom of my WIP pile.  I may knit to a good stopping point on the foot the knit the heels so I can go about my trying on every few inches like I do with a toe-up sock.