Postcard

This is the postcard I received from my August Project Spectrum Postcard Swap buddy, Anne. It is lovely, tiny stitches on an ombre background. Thank you, Anne, for all of the care you took.

And this is a sock gone wrong. The second and unfinished sock is between one and one half and two inches larger in circumference than the first and finished sock. I noticed this awhile ago, but optimistically told myself that it would work out, was stretched out by the needles, would pull in once I began decreasing for the instep. I knit the heelflap, turned the heel, picked up stitches for the gusset, started decreasing for the instep. Finally I tried it on. Not good, baggy about the ankle. Baggy about the ankle is definitely not good since I'm already unsure about wearing anklets. What went wrong? Did I inadvertently pick up needles larger than I used for sock #1? Did I loosen my gage that much? Was I cocky after finishing sock #1? I'm trying to decide on a course of action: definitely frog #2, but start again on smaller needles, or use the same size needle and try to knit tighter. Think I prefer the smaller needle path, but when to check my progress? The pattern tells me to knit a gauge swatch circularly in stockinette (I did that before I began the pair, and accomodated my gauge then); I think this sock will lie dormant for a bit.