Ta-da! I've finished the first of my projets anciens — gosh, it sounds so much better in French! — the Garter Heel Socks by Susan Lawrence, from the Vogue Ultimate Sock Book, which I started in May 2009. The yarn is Chameleon Colorworks Bambino superwash merino/bamboo/nylon blend, in Viridian, a lovely yarn in a lovely color, soft and pleasant to knit with.
When I slipped the growing first sock on my foot, I remembered why I'd left off some five years ago — I'd had to add in 8 more stitches to make it big enough, and it was still a little snug. The stitches looked visibly pulled, but I wasn't sure if that was the effect of the bias stitches themselves, or this yarn on the bias, as it has a rather lovely shimmer to it and so the light catches it differently, or if it really was too snug. I suspected now, though, that adding still more stitches would make it too big, so I carried on after all. It feels perfect, so I guess I'll go for that!
Besides adding in those 8 stitches — one in each K section of the lace repeat — I made a few other modifications, most obviously in the welt at the top, which I did in 3×1 rib instead of garter stitch, as I like that better. I also did my usual pick-up-extra-stitches on the heel flap, which for me solves that problem of a little hole just there — so my gusset is a bit longer than the original, but not by much, as it happens.
The garter-stitch short-row heel is quite comfortable, but I have the feeling that other than not having to fuss with the wrapped stitches when knitting the heel together, there isn't much point to having it be in garter stitch except the visual element — though that is certainly interesting!
A Bluestocking Knits 
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