Received a pair of beautiful yellow socks today from friend Shirley. What a great way to cheer up a cold time of year - lunch and socks! She does such precise work and the socks fit perfectly.



Perhaps I can break out of the "what to make next" doldrums by making some socks? I've been stuck on swatching lately but at least one of the swatches made it into a hat. This is the basic pattern for Starmore's "Inishmaan" sweater but with two of the smaller cables substituted. I used Annie Maloney's "Cable Knitter's Handbook" cables No. 3 and No. 9 and mirrored them around the center Inishmaan big braid. The hat is drying on a balloon so it kept the shape and dried faster. It's from Cottage Crafts 2 ply in Yellow Birch color.




The swatches below for "Canyonville" aren't going to be made into anything. A knit friend said she wished all her swatches were the same size so that she could sew them into a blanket. Good idea! All of the yarn colors are Cascade 220 except for the light green which is Galway Highland Heather. Not sure if I'll proceed to sweater stage but have enjoyed swatching the travelling stitches. The depth effect created by the stitches moving over the fabric is fascinating.