As it seems that most of my friends are living in cold places, I've been making warm fuzzy things for people.  If you are my friend and are reading this and haven't received a warm fuzzy thing, all you have to do is ask.  The list is getting longer, but that doesn't mean that every item won't get checked off.  In the spirit of checking things off my list, here are a pair of socks that I've just finished for my friend who lives in chilly Chicago.

Unfortunately I had to be the foot model, as they are being mailed, and so my feet don't quite fill out the toes.  They came out nicely, though on the side there were times when I had to carry the colored yarn behind five stitches, so the white stripe where the instep meets the sole has a slight pucker.  Unfortunate but certainly not project destroying.  The colored yarn is variegated which accounts for the color changes.  The tiniest section of it was a beautiful olive brown, which was my favorite part, leading me to believe that I should just quit with the variegated, but I do keep coming back to it.  It is always an interesting surprise to work with, and I've heard people say that they just can't give up control to the variegation, but as a confirmed control freak, I find it a little relaxing not to have to think as hard about one aspect of the project and just let things flow organically. 

And speaking of organic flow, and releasing control, a sneak peak of some socks I'm working on for my mother.

An so, not only variegated, but a purple so bright I might go blind.  This picture is pretty accurate color wise, I didn't mess with the exposure.  But they are perfect for her, she picked out these colors, and the pattern is this neat mosaic pattern that is worked one strand at a time, slipping which ever color you aren't working with for two rows  It is awesome to work.  The author says "Mosaic patterns are magical." (italics hers) and she is right.  Both sock patterns from this post are in Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch.  My mom's birthday is on February 14th, and I plan to send them to her then, and I'm pretty confident that I'll have finished them by then, at which point I plan to make something that isn't a sock.

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