Heel Help?

I have the beginnings of a Marigold to show...

I got up to the heel last night and now I've hit a snag. I'm not a fan of the straight short-row heel in toe-up socks because I like my socks snug and a short-row heel just doesn't have the fit of a gusset and heel flap.

I decided to try the heel from Knitty's Widdershins, which is basically made up of...

1. Increases to form the gusset (pretty easy, M1 at beginning & end of sole)
   
2. Short row increases (i.e. the heel turn bit in top-downs, but in reverse) - slightly confusing as the pattern is given for a 54-stitch sock whereas I have a 64-stitch sock so I wasn't sure how many increases or where to start/end the short row shaping
   
3. Followed by the slip stitch (K1, sl1) heel flap from bottom up with decreases at the same time on both sides of the flap - thoroughly confusing as by this time I wasn't sure how many stitches I was supposed to have on my needles, and therefore how fat my heel flap was supposed to be, and therefore where the decreases (P2tog/ssk) were supposed to take place
4. HELP!

I wish there's a formula somewhere that helps you calculate how many stitches you need for different parts of this pattern for socks with different stitches... Anyone game?

For the sake of expediency, I'm thinking of ripping the whole thing out and trying the toe-up gusset by Wendy Johnson which I found thanks to Emily on Ravelry. (Check out her Marigolds - they're beautiful.)

In other news, what happened to my mum's birthday cardigan? Well, I came so close to finishing it on time (I was literally weaving in ends minutes before we had to go to her birthday dinner), but alas, I completely forgot about buttons!

I gave it to her to try anyway and while she expressed all the admiration and gratitude to sooth the nerves of the giver, it is clearly too small!

I'm hoping a bit of heavy blocking will fix the problem but we'll see. Here it is blocking in all its glory.

Sockapalooza Panic!

The Sockapalooza 4 socks are due to be sent on August 2nd. I've been eyeing other people's gorgeous finished socks for weeks but have I done anything about my own socks? No, siree!

Well, at least I have now got the yarn.

This is the 5-ply 100% superwash merino (Joan) from Live 2 Knit in Lilly Pilly. I've never used this yarn before but it feels quite soft and bouncy. And the colours are perfect for my pal (she likes pinks and purples and lilacs).

I'm thinking the Marigold pattern by Flint Knits. (Pal likes lace socks and I think this pattern would work well with the stripy yarn.)

Of course when I put in the order for my sock pal's yarn I had to get some for myself. (Plus it's universally acknowledged that sock yarn doesn't count as stash.)

This is in the Choc Cherry colourway. I think the name made me think there would be more browns but the yarn is actually a mixture of blues, reds and greys. Lovely nonetheless.

Part of the reason I haven't started on my Sockapalooza socks is because, despite a great start, my mum's cardigan is still unfinished and her birthday is this Saturday! I'm up to the shoulder shaping of the 2nd sleeve and I still have hope that it'll get done in time but I don't think I'd be able to block & dry it properly. I also haven't found buttons for it. Panic panic panic.