On Socks and Swatching

Last weekend was a trip to the in-laws for Mr Me to do some odd jobs and sort through bits and bobs. I took along plenty of knitting and had high hopes for finishing off some socks and swatching for the next few projects.

I did get the swatches done. This first one is for Laika:

The yarn is Schoppel Wolle Admiral in colourway Turquoise from The Sock Yarn Shop. I've swatched on 3mm and 3.25mm needles since the pattern calls for 3mm and I've noticed recently that I've typically needed to drop one needle size for most patterns. I've not measured the swatch yet but I'm pretty sure this will be my next project.

The second (final) swatch is for Paulie:

I've bought two completely different sets of yarn for this (I blame Mr Me for the second lot, he was definitely enabling) and in both colours bought two options for contrast stripes. This is Stylecraft Life 4ply from the haberdashery stand at our local indoor market (for a nice cheap cardi I can wear and wash over and over again without worrying too much). The colours are Cobolt (the grey is the same in both halves of the swatch) and Zing (yellow) and Melon (pink).

I'm not totally settled on which colour I'm going to use yet. Pre-swatching the yellow was an afterthought - I picked out the grey and the pink and then added the yellow just before purchasing. Now I've swatched I'm quite fond of the yellow. Thoughts?

And the socks...? Not finished - I guess I was being a bit ambitious.