Darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there . . .

With the Windowpane Seaman's Scarf done, I've moved on to a new project: socks. I've never knit socks before. In fact, I haven't knit in the round before (I'll admit, I'm terrified of circular needles!), so I think this is going to be quite an adventure. I'm using these handy-dandy instructions, which are perfect for someone like me--full of photos and very explicit instructions that will help ensure I only mess up 15 times instead of 50.
I started the socks this morning. I'm using some cheap Wool-Ease in a lovely shade of gray--I'm not so much concerned with them being attractive as I am with them looking like, you know, socks. So, I went for the cheap, easy-to-use stuff. I did not, unfortunately, opt for bamboo needles; I think it would've been smart, as these aluminum gems are a bit slippery.
The great sock adventure started off fairly easily: cast on stitches then divide them onto 3 needles. Even I couldn't mess that up. I twisted all the stitches inward, and here I have a very pretty triangle that reminds me a bit of an Ojo de Dios, which are very pretty, but a lot less functional than socks.
Of course, after this I had to start actually knitting, and that's where the trouble began. I'm not sure who invented this particular method of knitting, but I assume this person was born with extra arms; I, on the other hand, have just the two arms, and accordingly, just two hands, so wielding 4 needles posed quite a dilemma. I nearly took out my own eye a few times, and also came quite close to a self-inflicted nose piercing. Who knew knitting could be so dangerous?
I also discovered that it's essential for the yarn to really have a death grip on the needles to prevent them from slipping out--this is where that bamboo would come in quite handy. Several times I wound up with a pile of needles in my lap and a clump of tangled yarn in my hands where the needles used to be.
My first "real" mistake materialized quickly: I noticed a strand of yarn hanging limply between two needles. Not having seen random lengths of yarn trailing off any socks I've ever worn, that didn't seem quite right to me. In fact, I had picked up the wrong needle and knit the stitches out of order, messing up the round. Frog number 1.
Since that debacle, however, I've been moving along at a fair pace. Here's what I've got so far. Not particular impressive, but it does boast one key quality--it is, in fact, round. Hurrah! I know this project will get a lot more difficult when I get to the heel and then deal with something called the "gusset" (you know it's bad when they start using words like that), which involves--eek!--picking up stitches. But until then, I'm going to bask in the glory of my loop of yarn.