Third time is the charm...

Alright, I've tried this twice before over the past couple of days and Blogger has been cranky...so, here we go again!

Just trying to share some pics of finished socks that I've completed lately so nothing super exciting. (Well, I think the socks are pretty darn cool, but you can make your own opinion!)

Now of course when taking such pics you need a couple of good helpers:

First up a plain ol' stripey pair for Alex - yarn is Paton's Kroy in Denim Jacquard. My basic sock with ribbed top, stockinette leg and foot but I used the Forethought heel to keep the stripes all lined up nicely:

Next up, the completed pair of my first toe-up socks. I posted the first one a while back but here's the pair in all its' glory. Yarn is KnitPicks Sock Memories in Grandma, pattern is Yarn-Over Cable from Sensational Knitted Socks. This first pic is to show off my first short-row heel - not too shabby for my first attempt.
Roscoe decided he wasn't helping quite enough and literally wedged himself into the next photo. These socks are Sockotta (don't remember the color number, sorry...), Woven Stitch pattern also from SKS. This was one of those patterns I wasn't sure I was going to like at first but I'm glad I gave it a chance, it turned out pretty well. This color of Sockotta has neat green/yellow/red/brown shades, kinda neat and foliage-y.One more pair to share - this is KnitPicks Sock Memories in Carnival. I love the crazy color combo of this yarn - bright and dark blue, purple and bright orange - great! The socks are the Chevron pattern (again from SKS - loving that book!), but I substituted my regular heel flap for the Forethought heel. I like the look of the forethought or a short-row heel but the heel flap seems to fit me better. I'm sure I'll still make some of all of the above types, it's too boring to stick with one all the time.

Whew! All that helping with the photos just wipes you out!

New goodies!

I found out that the yarn shop down in Old Saybrook was having a Christmas in July sale! I'm sure that's enough to tell you that I had to head down there and see what I "needed". All yarns in the store were 20% off and several were 30% off. I came back with sock yarn for 5 pairs. Not too extreme, right?
Ahh...that's better. So, I took the pic in the sunlight of the back window to try and show the colors a bit better but I'm not sure how great that turned out. There's two skeins of Bearfoot (yum!), the bright one with the green is Mountain Tango and the more reddish skein is Northern Lights, which has a bright orange streak in it that just isn't showing well in the pic. The two small ones are Heirloom "Argyle" in a neat burgundy color with a blue heathered bit to it. Then a Sockotta in a color and pattern I hadn't seen, it will stripe in pale pink, blue, and lavender with red flecks. Very different from my usual vivid color choices so that will be a fun change. The last big skein is Fortissima Socka Color in a neat gray with pink, blue and yellow bits. I also picked up a set of size 1 needles in the short 6-inch length to see how I like those for socks. The ones I'm using now are 7-inch.

Something interesting about that Bearfoot Mountain Tango color - yep Michelle, I copied you on the color! I don't know if it's just the pics, camera, etc. but this one looks tons brighter than yours. I know that Mountain Colors' dyelots vary considerably and I even saw two labelled Mountain Tango today that were very different in brightness. Different enough that I didn't even know they were the same color at all and was looking at both. We'll have to see how the finished socks compare once we get to that one. Maybe we can find a pattern we both like and see how our completed socks look? Just a thought, we'll see...

Now, in a moment of shame (or pride, depending on who you ask!).....I reveal the rest of my sock yarn stash, pre-today's additions:

Eep! Seeing it all spread out like that is kinda scary! So that looks like enough for 18 pairs...plus 5 new ones today...not too bad I guess...? The bags at the top are leftover bits from completed socks, someday I'll make funky socks from some of those.

Boxer-related content to follow soon.....!