FO Friday- A socks and squares

Not a grammatical error, these are the socks for my A in the A-Z knitting challenge.

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Pattern- Ampersand by Kirsten Kapur

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Needles- 2.5mm dpns

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Yarn- Mini mochi in rainbow (Crystal Palace yarns) and Regia 4 ply in black

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New skills- Eye of partridge heel

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Mods- Altered the ribbing on both sides to add extra stitches. Heel and toe in different yarn. Deeper heel flap for fit and to keep the tougher yarn in the high wear areas.

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Side detail:

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Top of foot/front and back of leg detail:

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I really liked this pattern once I had got over my temporary inability to read the chart and worked an inch or so. I usually can't decide if I really like a pattern until I have a bit of it worked up, and often decide I don't in the first few rows only to change my mind once it is more established.
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It is a very simple two row pattern, easy to work and remember and nice and quick to knit. I am not too fussed about the eye of partridge heel, will probably go back to a standard slip stitch heel flap- I kept forgetting which row I was working!
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The yarn is lovely, so soft and squooshy and the colours are just gorgeous. I did have to rewind the ball to get matching socks, and even then the feet are a little off. It is a loosely spun single, so I am not sure how it will stand up to wear, I changed yarn to super tough Regia for the high wear bits in the hope of having long lasting socks. The loose nature means it can be a little splitty and there are a few thicker and thinner spots but it is not too much of an issue and worth it for the colours (I really love the colours, can you tell?). It is also a little fluffy so there is a risk of tickle factor, but they seem ok so far today.
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If I was naming these they would be "The colour of magic", partly because I have just finished reading the book (The colour of magic by Terry Pratchett) and mostly because of the colours. Technically the colour of magic is octarine, but it is described as being a greeny blue by Rincewind, so that odd bit on one foot counts for me. (For those who think I have gone insane, read any or all of the Discworld books, they rock!). Anyway, I can't call them that as they would not start with A, so A socks they shall stay.
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In between challenge socks I am working on my WIPs; casting on is banned, which is a shame, because there is something I REALLY want to start. I have been working on a few squares of sock yarn blanket instead.
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Yarn from a dye colourway experiment:
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Leftovers from the A socks. This yarn is great for the blanket because there are loads of colours it has the potential to make a different square each time.
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Some handspun 2 ply.
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More A sock leftovers.
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