All Fingers and Thumbs

Done at last and straight in to action. Socks make great little summer projects but as the weather starts to cool down they really come in to their own. There's nothing quite so satisfying in knitting for me as finishing up and pulling the item in question straight on for some much desired warmth.  Pattern:  Caretta Caretta - Alice Yu for Knit Love Club Yarn: Socks that Rock in the wonderful Thraven Needles: 2.25mm DPNs Started: June 9th 2010 Finished: October 18th 2010 Ravelry page These are a wonderful match of a pattern I love (top down - yay!) and a yarn I'd dreamt about owning until the start of this year . Thank you again Wendy for your generosity and thoughtfulness it makes these beauties all the more beautiful to me. I may never take them off  though I love how they look when I do. The sculptural aspects of the ribs are wonderful. And the colour - oh the gorgeous colour - it's a little more true to life in this last shot. I doubt I'll ever have the photography 

Oh why, oh why is Socktober flying  away so fast? I'm making glacially slow progress on my beautiful Carettas. They were three quarters done before the month started.  This toe has been tormenting me all week, so close, yet so far, from an actual finished sock. Even when I manage to sit down with it in my hands I'm so tired it gets only a row or two longer. Still I'm hopeful that today even I must be able to finish off these toe decreases. I'd thought I'd be on to the Lorna's Laces next but then last weekend the next club parcel arrived with this in it.  Seriously! I'm so excited to even hold this legendary yarn I think I have to let it queue jump!

A long time in the works mainly because of the idea that I needed to think about the knitting of them here finally are the Spring Shoots. Pattern: Spring Shoots - Alice Yu for Knit Love Club Yarn: Brooklyn Handspun - Soft Strength in club colourway - Persephone Needles: 2.5mm DPNs Started: April 2nd 2010 Finished: September 19th 2010 Ravelry page I wasn't sure I would ever be bothered to knit another sock in this way, it is based on Cat Bordhi's Houdini structure  and I am quite wedded to the cuff down, heel flap construction. I suspect in the main I love my top downers because it is what I learnt first, though there is something very special in the rhythm of the knit. Normally a simple cuff to get you into the feel of the needles and the yarn, then a stretch of leg with pattern if you fancy, then the magic of the heel for a little razzmatazz  and then gusset decreases ahoy you can feel yourself running down hill to the toe. This pattern taught me lots and it is fun to cut y