The newest socks

These are the socks I finished the other night. The yarn is a Claudia handpaints, in a colorway called "Ancient Pottery." It's an unusual combination and I don't remember seeing it in other yarns:



As I said, just simple socks. But I like having a pair on the needles so that I have something I can knit on when I'm waiting somewhere, or when I'm too tired for knitting that requires more concentration.

This is clearly a high-merino-wool yarn; it doesn't stretch much and it's very soft. It has almost a cottonlike feel to it - many merinos do. (Some people who are sensitive to other wools can wear merino. Not if it's someone with a true wool allergy, of course, because that's a sensitivity to proteins in the wool, but people with sensitive skin who find other wools scratchy.....Funny, I have super-sensitive skin (and will go dermagraphic at times, especially when my allergies are bad otherwise) and wool has never bothered me. Well, be thankful for small blessings, I guess).

I also finished the Everdeen beanie, which means my gift-exchange gift is ready:



I'm really pleased at how fast this knit up, and when I'm in the mood to start something else new, I'm going to make myself one, out of the leftover Mexican Wave I set aside.