In which all is revealed

I can finally reveal my secret project - my Mum's birthday socks - now that they've been proudly presented. Mum was very pleased with them and they seemed to fit very nicely which was a relief (must remember in future to keep floats nice and loose at the back).

Keble College socks

Pattern: my own
Yarn: Rowan Wool Cotton (one skein each of 907 Riviera, 911 Rich, and 930 Deepest Olive)
Needles: 3.25mm dpns





The socks look great with my favourite shoes - shame I don't get to keep them! Still, never mind, because these look just as good:

Hopscotch socks

Pattern: my own
Yarn: Oxford Kitchen Yarns
sock yarn in Raspberry
Needles: 2.5mm dpns





I was so happy to finish these socks as a) I get to wear them and they are gorgeous (she says modestly) which is due in no small part to Katie's beautiful yarn and b) I was able to finish writing up the pattern.

I'm still ironing out some of the wrinkles but I should be posting the link to the pattern pretty soon. In the meantime I'm looking for volunteers to test knit or test read the pattern. This is the first of my sock patterns that I've written up and I'm sure there are areas for improvement. If you'd like to see the pattern (either to knit or read) drop me a line in the comments, via Ravelry or at thomasinaknits ATT yahoo d0t co d0t uk.

With those socks done i was able to cast on a fresh pair with the merino dk that I had dyed a while back. I'm using a stitch pattern based on a cardigan I saw in Marks and Sparks a few weeks ago and they're progressing very nicely.



In fact I like them so much that I've just put my remaing cream merino into a mordant bath to soak so I can start some more dyeing tomorrow. I fancy something in reds and oranges this time but we'll see how it comes out. I'm using the cream of tartat again, 25 grams to 2 litres of water and 100 grams of yarn.



This is turning into a monster post, but I just wanted to draw your attention to the Scion Craft my Ride competition. This is one of those times (like when I think about Knit Picks or STR) that I'm really sorry I don't live in the US. Not that I really want a Scion, but it's such a fun competition. For those of you who do live in one of the 48 contiguous states the closing date is 22nd October. I'll definitely be checking back to look at the entries.