A parade of finished objects

It's been a busy January so far.  I've released a pattern for small drawstring bags, burned my hand with boiling water (making proper tea is a hazardous business) and I'm training for my third degree brown belt in Chinese Kenpo.  And I've been knitting, there are some finished objects to show off.

Pattern: Hedgerow socks
Yarn: Dragonfly Fibers Djinni Sock in Sunshine Daydream
Needles: US1 (2.25mm)
Duration: 31st October 2012 to 18th November 2012

These were a surprise gift for Bella, who has never had handknit socks before.  Hemmed top, Hedgerow pattern, and a fabulous colour on the yarn.  It's a merino cashmere nylon blend, and I can't say it's softer than a straight merino yarn, but I do appreciate the nylon in there.  I love the look of hemmed-top socks and Hedgerow is a good pattern for non-solid yarn.

Pattern: Tiled In Topper
Yarn: Knit Picks Feleici and Palette
Needles: US2 (2.75mm) and US3 (3.25mm)
Duration: 28th October 2012 to 1st December 2012

I'm attempting to add stranded colourwork to my skillset and this was the first attempt in several years.  And it worked!  I was pleasantly surprised.  Picked up a polystyrene head in a beauty supply store for $4 to block this and I've been wearing it on cold days. I made the hem longer and added a purl row at the turn point

Pattern: Boudica socks
Yarn: Wool Candy Lollipop BFL Sock in Tikka Masala
Needles: US0 (2.25mm) and US1 (2.25mm)
Duration: 17th December 2012 to 9th January 2013

I've knit this pattern before and loved it, but this time I had to skip the cables up the side because they made my hand hurt.  I replaced it with some 2x2 ribbing and went up a needle size for the horizontal braid because that part was too tight on the original sock, and it worked well.  This was the pattern that introduced me to the rolled-top for socks, and I use that for all my BFL socks.