A cheeky little finished object for a mid-week knitting catch-up: the Storm on Jupiter socks are off the needles and in the sock drawer. They are a pleasing combination of colours, bright jewel tones with sea-blues. It was a quick and satisfying project which bridged the gap between two garments very successfully indeed.

The yarn is Regia’s standard 4-ply sock, a sturdy blend of wool and nylon which should withstand plenty of use. It has knit up into a medium-weight sock fabric, thicker than I find with, for example, West Yorkshire Spinners’ sock wools, but not so thick as some of the hand-dyed wools I’ve used in the past. I have noticed that the pattern and colour combinations of sock yarns from brands such as Regia and Opal are constantly changing. West Yorkshire Spinners, on the other hand, have a fairly static set of colour combinations which they sell year in, year out. I’m not sure which I think is the better policy. It’s nice to have lots of choice, but then again it’s good to know that you will probably be able to buy that stunning new colourway somewhere else at some other time, rather than having to nab it straight away because you’ll probably never see it again.

Now, one project off the needles means that something else has to be cast on and I’ve surprised myself by setting straight off with the Gaudi V2.0 cardigan. The wool I ordered from John Arbon Textiles arrived on Thursday morning, and I cast on for the project on Sunday morning. I would have done it earlier, but I couldn’t find the pattern book which had, inexplicably, migrated up on top of my wardrobe at some point.

I’m using a twisted rib which gives a slightly more polished look than a straightforward rib border. I must say a word or two about the wool which is from Arbon’s “Knit by Numbers” range. I used the older version of this wool for my Big Blue Slouch, but since I bought that they have changed the composition of the yarn and relaunched it. The old version was 100% Pure Falklands Merino Wool. The new version is 50% Blue-Faced Leicester and 50% Falklands Merino. My feeling is that the new version is slightly finer than the old, and is knitting up into a very slightly thinner fabric which suits this project very well. It is likely to have a little more drape as well, since Blue-Faced Leicester wool often brings a slightly silky texture to a mixed yarn. Both the old and the new yarns have been enjoyable to knit with, and it will be fun to compare the fabrics once this project is finished and has been washed. If I like it even half as much as the Big Blue Slouch it will get a winner’s medal.

I’m looking forward to this being a fun knit to see me through the summer.