A finished project to share, at last

Long term, and attentive, readers of this blog might have been wondering if my dad received his birthday socks on time this year? Well, I'm glad to report he did!

For those who don't know what I'm talking about, here is the short version. For the last few years I've been making my dad socks for his birthday or Christmas gift (past projects here). It's all because his granny was an obsessive sock knitter but had lots of grandchildren so he never got any of the socks she made. Also, as he has very big feet I have, in the past, not always got them finished on time!

This year's pattern is Retro Jubilee Socks by Susan Crawford, from her book Coronation Knits. The pattern is a fairly straight forward six row repeat in three colours (only using two at a time). Its easy to knit but looks deceptively fancy. I decided to knit it in a rather jazzy green and blue, with the brown to tone it down a bit. 

The heel uses a technique for short row shaping that I've not come across before and, lets be honest, I didn't do it right on the first sock. I realised that it didn't look right and sorted it out for the second one. It's not going to fall apart or anything, but, it is not as neat as I might wish (Sorry Dad). Overall I really liked this pattern and would certainly knit it again. The yarn is schoppel-wolle admiral, a great quality German sock wool, and machine washable - a requirement insisted on by my mother, and reasonable enough I feel. I've loads of wool left over, plenty for a pair of socks for me :)

I'm glad to have finished my first knitting project for the year, and I've quickly followed it up by finishing of a cardigan I've had on the needles since September. Pics to follow once I've sewn the buttons on.

In other news, my decorating project is going well, as the paint splattered all over my hands will testify, but there is still lots more to do!