Mountain Lake Socks

I've started on Caleb's first sock. (He actually does have socks, its not like he's been running around barefoot for 4 1/2 years, he even has handknit wool socks, these are just the first pair I've knit for him.) A freaky thing happened with the yarn. I didn't spin it thick, I spun it at my non-lace weight. Yes, I have two weights for spinning: lace weight and non-lace weight, which is bigger. Why yes, I am a highly technical spinner who checks her Wraps Per Inch religiously and loves nothing more than spinning an entire bobbin with an Angle of Twist variance of no more than 3 degrees. OK, I'm a seat of the pants spinner and I spun these singles in the thicker weight that's comfortable for me. Here's where it gets weird. Once I plyed and washed the yarn, it puffed up - not a slight puffing that would just make the yarn look more finished, no we're talking Peeps in the Microwave* kind of puffing: freaky and dangerous. I'm knitting these on US 3's/ 3.25mm needles and I'm getting (are you sitting down?) 5 stitches per inch! Isn't there some sort of Knitting Law that prohibits this kind of activity? How am I knitting with such small needles and getting such a huge gauge? Its not like I'm knitting them so tightly that my hands are in pain. This yarn is very comfortable knitting on these needles. Why are there only 5 spi? Worsted weight knitting doesn't happen on US 3's people! My only explanation is that the same forces in the universe that can let you knit 374 rows of a sweater and have the exact same measurement as when you started are at work here. Want to know the cool part? In a sock for a 4 1/2 year old foot, at 5 spi, there are only 28 stitches around. The picture above is about 10 minutes worth of knitting. I should have these done by lunchtime.

*I have spent the last 20 minutes Googling for a picture of Dueling Peeps to link to here and I've had no luck at all. Sorry, no Dueling Peeps today.