Socks!

I keep forgetting to mention this, but I finished the first of the Purdy Plum socks on Friday. Isn't it purdy? Haha...I really like the colors and I'm bummed I made this a tad too large for myself. But, it will make a lovely Christmas gift, don't you think? I think the color is off in the photo, but the light bits are actually pale turquoise. Now onto the second sock...
But first, I finally got around to starting the socks for my Sockapalooza 4 pal. They don't have to be mailed until early August, so I've been procrastinating (nothing new there, movin' on). I've actually thought about the socks a lot, and I was going to make some Monkey socks, but then I noticed my pal was making some of those already (not giving anything away there, since the entire internet is making Monkeys)! So, back to the drawing board I went. Lord knows I have sock patterns coming out my ears. My pal was up for anything except pastels, so I thought I'd be adventurous. Thus I'm making the Twisted Flower Socks, by Cookie A. I'm using Louet Gems Pearl as called for, in bright red (surely not pastel!). I'd say the color is pretty accurate. I was actually hoping to use the same green as in the pattern, but the only greens they had at Weaving Works were borderline pastel, and we couldn't have that. Like my pal I'm not keen on pastels. As you can see, I've really just begun. However, we're about to watch The Last King of Scotland, so I suspect some progress will be made! I have a nagging suspicion that it's a mistake making such a complicated pattern for someone I don't even know, but, well, I want to make them more than I want to wear them, so perhaps it's a perfect idea.
Oh, the blanket ends? Not yet woven in. Rachel is going to show me a trick, so the blanket will be heading on into work tomorrow.