The last few weeks have seen quite a few projects completed though, the Monkey socks were completed first, using the handpainted Opal yarn that'd been sitting in stash for about three years. With the idea in my head that I'd do socks connected with all the characters in Suzanne Brockmann's Team 16 books. Since I'm seriously strange when it comes to things like that, I like wearing things that remind me of the books I love, so when it comes to my yearly rereading time for all the series' I'm hooked on I pull out the little outfits and have myself a real good time getting totally immersed in my favourite characters again. Considering the jungle setting for Wildcard's story (Out of Control) I figured a pattern called "Monkey" was particularly fitting and when I delved into my stash for the yarn, the handpainted Opal just screamed 'jungle' to me. Since they were my first non 'plain stocking stitch' pair they took me almost a month to complete, but I got them done and they feel great on.
Now they just need a good blocking. I've been wearing them without doing it and while they're perfectly comfortable, I think the blocking would make the pattern show up a whole lot better. Just gotta hope I can get some sock blockers when I go to the Stitch & Craft show at Olympia on Friday. Only two days left till the exhibition now and I absolutely can't wait. Last time I managed to curb my spending (made sure I only took £50 cash with me), hopefully I can behave just as well this time but with my sock wool obsession at the moment, that's likely to be blown in minutes. I'm only supposed to be buying some wool for my boss Neil's birthday socks, and maybe a skein or two for myself, but I can never be quite that restrained when it comes to buying. I might even run into a work colleague at Olympia, since I told her about the show and she has the day off on Friday she's decided to go and treat herself too.
The second completed socks were my camouflage ones. I saw the Lornas Laces camouflage colourway on Angel Yarns and got majorly bummed out by the fact that they were out of stock, so I did a hunt on Ebay for the stuff and ended up getting four skeins. I figured two would go on a pair of plain stocking stitch socks (the easiest pattern to knit up quickly for me) and two for a pair of jaywalkers when I finally get around to trying the pattern out. I'm a big fool for anything in that shade of green anyway and I figured they'd look great with my combat pants for work, gotta coordinate after all. The first sock went incredibly quickly, I managed to get all but 10 rows of the ribbing, right down to the start of the heel flap done in one day, a miracle for me. The rest was a little slower, but they were on my feet in a week and half.
On a real run with the sock knitting, I had to cast on for the next pair immediately, using some Natural Dye Studio yarn I'd bought from Ebay. I got it so long ago that I can't remember the colourway or even if it's pure wool, or a mix with alpaca or silk in it. Whatever it is, it feels absolutely lovely, far softer than any of the other sock yarns I've tried before and I love the way it stripes up. So far I've nearly finished the first, just a plain stocking stitch foot with heel flap and gusset and a 60 row leg in 2x2 rib. Just gotta finish off the toe of that one this afternoon and I can move onto the second sock. Somehow I never end up with second sock syndrome, even if it does end up being a little slower than the first, I just plow straight on with it in the desperation to get the things on my feet. I'm calling these socks my love hearts pair since the colours look exactly like the sweets (candy) I used to love when I was younger.
This is as far on as they were when I took all the photos earlier this week. I think fondling this wool when I first balled it up from the skein was what's hooked me so completely on Natural Dye Studio's yarns. Since I balled the yarn up I won two more lots of the stuff on Ebay, one is pure British Blue Faced Leicester wool in the Titanium colourway, and the other pure merino sock wool in the arctic skies colourway. Both are lovely and soft and I can't wait to work with them.
Despite the lovely warm spring weather we had in London last week, the weather today has been looking completely yucky. Luckily I haven't been out in it, yay for the days when I get to do my typing work from home rather than having to drag into the library, since it looks like it's about to pour down with rain. It's the sort of day where you just want to snuggle up at home with some project that'll produce an end product that's warm and soft and completely huggable. So I think I'm gonna do just that, finish up the work for the day and run off to my socks ...
