Awesome socks

I've got a number of design projects that I should really be working on, but lately it's been all about the socks. Specifically, socks for my kids. (Which of course are much less time-consuming than adult socks, fortunately!)

Work is coming along bee-yew-tifully on DD1's Christmas present, the Hedwig socks:

Although I've run out of yarn for the moment. Probably nothing to worry about, though, as I have some leftovers of the exact same yarn kicking around the house. I think the amount that's kicking around is enough to finish the socks. But of course (because this is me we're talking about here), I'm not completely sure, so this could turn into a trip to the LYS to get some more.

I also wanted DD1 and DD2 to have a pair of new handknitted socks apiece to go back to school with at the end of the summer. I decided to go with a pattern I've had my eye on for ages, Just Spring, by Sharon Fuller. It's awesome - socks for kids with a small floral-ish lace pattern on the foot, and then another lace pattern on the leg that looks like umbrellas - with beading on it to make it look like raindrops falling on the umbrellas. I fell in love with the pattern as soon as I saw that! There are also beads on the cuffs, which I guess are where the clouds would be, ergo, more raindrops.

I couldn't decide which daughter to make it for, and they both loved the pattern, so I decided to make it twice, one for each girl. I thought that the Knit Picks Stroll Glimmer I bought a while back would be perfect for it - "Peacock" for DD2, who has dark colouring:

...and "Frost" for DD1, who has light colouring:

When confronted with these colour selections, however, I got a surprise: DD1 wanted Peacock. DD2 then piped up that she wanted Frost, so we had ourselves the perfect situation - just the reverse of what I'd originally envisioned.

DD2's socks are well underway:

I've got darker, twinkly blue beads being used there for the raindrops; I think they look great. And I'll be using light-coloured beads (almost the same colour as the Frost yarn, actually) with the Peacock yarn for DD1's socks.

But wait...there's more!

DD2 has been talking about wanting to dress up as Dora for a while now. She certainly looks the part - dark hair of the right length, bangs, huge brown eyes, olive skin...okay, she looks Semitic rather than Hispanic, but you can't have everything (especially when you're not actually Hispanic). I was charged with the task of finding her some orange shorts and yellow socks. Orange shorts I sort of found - got orange jogging pants and will be cutting them down to shorts length. Yellow socks, however, were crazy hard to find. So I gave up and bought some yellow sock yarn instead - HiKoo CoBaSi in colour #42 (42!) was perfect and whipped up into these really quickly:

The pattern is First Grade by Marina Hayes, which was perfect because Dora's socks have ruffles at the top.

DD2 already has a pink t-shirt and a Backpack toy, so now all she needs are white sneakers, a yellow-bead flower bracelet (Dollar Store, here I come), me to cut back those orange pants...and we're all set!

(I predict DD3 will lose her s**t over this. She ADORES Dora.)