Happy Birthday Socks

 Now they have been received, I can show the birthday socks knitted for my long term friend from my schooldays, Merilyn.  These were rather special as I used Merilyn's double knit cream home spun wool which she had sent to me, plus a commercial sock yarn.  These two yarns knitted up to triple knit, or 12ply, and make a lovely cozy pair of socks.  This is what remains.

The left overs

I've hunted high and low for a photo of the completed socks, to no avail.  But I can show this one, looks like I have just finished the heels, and was now starting on the feet.  I knit my socks flat, two at a time, and when completed, stitch up the side seams.  The coloured sock yarn knits up as little specks of colour throughout with Merilyn's cream home spun, quite a nice effect.  Sometimes you just don't know how the colours will turn out till you get started.  

Birthday socks for Merilyn

We had a nice chatty phone call, and she is thrilled with her socks, they fit perfectly, she said.  That's a relief, I made them to fit me, and as we are a similar size, just hoped our feet were too.  Here is a photo of us together earlier in the year, when Merilyn and her hubby came up to Wellington for her brother's funeral.

Old school friends together

As for my other knitting, it's coming along slowly.  I've two pair of socks on the go, plus a blue wool cardigan for me.  I had wanted to do an easy lacy pattern, but try as I might, it just didn't work out.  I'd knit the lacy row, and find out I had an extra stitch somewhere along the way, that just doesn't do in lacy patterns does it.  After unravelling my knitting for the fourth time, I'd had enough, and decided to do a simple textured pattern instead.  I just wanted a design simple enough that I could sit and knit without thinking too much in the evenings, or while knitting in the car.  This will be a long term project - after all, I will have to keep knitting socks too, won't I.

My new knitting project, the colour is more blue than shown here