2008 here I come!

It was quite a shock to look back and realise I hadn't blogged since Sept. Didn't have the best of autumns or Xmas but so what - others are much worse off. Reading messages on the Knittyboard from American folk who've been experiencing really low temps and snowstorms, just wish a bit of the cold frosty weather would come this way. It was wet before Xmas, wet over Xmas and been dreadful this past month with yet more floods. However we've actually had a bright sunny day today and it was even warm enough to sit in the conservatory and knit.

Although I haven't blogged I haven't been totally inactive. One of the things I'd flagged up during the Rut-busting swap was that I aimed to knit toe up socks. And at last I can report that I've actually done it - with the help of Knitherapy who sent me Simple Socks and a skein of wonderful purple yarn. I found the toe very easy to do and when it came to it, with a combination of the instructions given in Priscilla Gibson Roberts and Interweaves mag the heel was far simpler than I'd anticipated. I guess it was just one of those things that's OK if you just sit down, take your time and read the instructions properly.
This is one side of the heel and this the other. I'm surprised at how neat it's turned out - Ok there is a tiny hole at the top of the short row turns but I know what I did wrong and avoided it on the other sock.

These photos don't really show quite how bright purple this yarn is. It's Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Amethyst. As it happened I had a skein of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Tropical Storm which has short runs of the purple in it so I used this for the cuff to break it up. Because they're purple I refer to these as my Regal socks and love them. I like both methods of working socks ie toe up and top down and it's nice to have the option of using either method.

Have also knit a couple of pairs of other socks as follows:-

These are Monkey socks knit in Knittery merino/cashmere mix - colourway Cherry. These were knit for M's mum for Xmas

These are Monkey but this time knit in Ruby Sapphire Lustre sock which is a merino tencel mix. This has a lovely sheen and feel and is lovely to work with. These were for Bloodquaffer as part of a Knitty sock swap.

These are Embossed Leaves knit for my mum for Xmas. These were also knit in Knittery merino/cashmere mix - colourway Forest Moss. I know these may look small but my mum does have very small feet. I loved this yarn and can't recommend the Knittery yarn highly enough.

After knitting these, and another couple of pairs of socks was desperate to knit some lace after Xmas but just not got very far. Started one or two patterns but failed miserably so got some Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino and am really enjoying knitting some baby items for a work colleague.

Not given up on lace and do have couple of things in mind and am also determined to knit some fun bright colourwork items this year.