First FO of the year...

Today, I have knitterly things to show you:

One FO (the first of 2013):

Toe-up, gusset and slipped-stitch heel, with a bit of twisted rib running up the instep and leg (I also put the rib up the back of the leg as well.  Yarn is Regia (I think it looks better in the ball than knitted up).  A close-up of the ribbing (I put a tin of baked beans in the foot to stretch the rib out a bit for the photo!):

These are for my Mum as she put another pair of socks I'd knitted for her into the machine and felted them so I said she could have these ones.

One nearly-FO:

These are plain socks, using some merino fibre in purple, burgundy and sagey green (colour name is Raspberry) that I bought from Colinette and spun up last year.  I've got ten rounds of stocking stitch to go and then 15 rounds of twisted 1x1 ribbing.  I think I'll have enough yarn left (the braids of fibre is 150g) to make some gloves or a hat.

These are not for my Mum - or anyone else for that matter.  These are for me!

One WIP:

A scarf from the hand-spun yarn I made using three different wool types.  The pattern is the One Row Handspun Scarf by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (aka The Yarn Harlot).  In the pattern instructions on her blog, Stephanie says to keep going until a. the yarn runs out, b. the scarf is long enough or c. you get bored.  I'm starting to see what she means about c.!  It's a very nice pattern and I think it's working nicely with this speckled yarn, but the rows are a bit repetitive, so I'm alternating knitting that and socks.

Some yarn waiting in the wings to be cast on:

Do the colours look familiar?  They're the same colours as the crocheted hat I made for my Mum just before Christmas.  It's the same yarn - King Cole Merino Blend - but this is the 4ply rather than the DK.  These balls are going to become a Leftie scarf for Mum's birthday (which is in May so not exactly scarf weather, but hey-ho - she can put it away until the autumn).  I'll be using the blue for the body of the scarf with the leaves alternating in pink and cream.

Finally, I told a fib yesterday.  I have signed up for one knitting challenge this year. A small sock one where I've said I'll aim to knit four pairs in 2013.  Looks as though I'll make that one as I'm already nearly halfway there!

Next time, I might have made a bit more of a dent in the handspun scarf and finished off the Raspberry merino socks.  There's also a good chance that I'll have cast on the Leftie scarf as well!