It seems I haven’t knit Damian anything for quite some time, so for his birthday this year I decided to continue my tradition of gifting hand-knit socks.
Damian is quite fond of the humble bin chicken, so when I spotted the colourwork chart in the Pacific Knits Sydney Doodle Deck, I knew I had to knit him this pair.
The self-striping yarn and solid contrast colours are from my favourite local dyer, Halfbaked Hand-Dyed (aka Danni).
I presented the socks to Damian while they were still a little damp, and he very kindly tried them on for me anyway. They fit beautifully, although the first sock is a little snugger around the colourwork. As these are knit in DK weight, I used 3 mm needles with the magic loop method. By the time I started the second sock, I remembered that I actually owned a 3 mm short circular needle, which made it much easier to keep my colourwork relaxed. The difference is noticeable, with the second sock having a little more give.
I could always frankenstein the first sock and re-knit the colourwork section, but Damian doesn’t seem at all bothered by it – and, if I’m honest, I’m rather relieved. It means I can cast on a new garment for myself instead. Yippee!
Well, that was an absolutely insane weekend! Luckily, I have today off to recuperate, catch up on life, and recover from all the excitement.
Damian and I headed up to Bendigo a few days before the Australian Sheep and Wool Show officially kicked off on Friday. Arriving early gave me the perfect opportunity to visit Bendigo Woollen Mills before it was flooded with knitters. On the drive into Bendigo, I received a very exciting email from the mill announcing that the final limited release of Wollemi had just launched, featuring seven brand-new shades. I’d been looking forward to this release for ages!
Damian very kindly dropped me off at the mill before heading to our accommodation. The Factory Shop, as it was once known, has been beautifully renovated and expanded, with plenty more space to browse, squish yarn, and shop.
Then Friday rolled around, and the show began!
One of the highlights of the weekend was seeing so many of the Richmond Knitters wearing their Celeste Sweaters. We’d chosen the pattern as our knit-along for this year’s show, and it was wonderful to gather everyone together for 2 group photos. If you have a keen eye, you might even spot my sister, who is visiting from Perth this week.
Some of us also attended the Women of Wool Lunch, which was another fantastic event. It was lovely to catch up with everyone, enjoy a delicious meal, and celebrate our shared love of wool and fibre crafts.
Of course, no Sheep and Wool Show would be complete without a little (or perhaps a lot of!) yarn shopping. This year’s haul includes purchases from my Wednesday visit to Bendigo Woollen Mills, along with plenty more from Friday and Saturday at the show. It’s certainly a substantial stash addition, but I’m absolutely thrilled with everything I brought home, and I’m fairly confident I didn’t leave anything behind!
Saturday was another wonderful day. I got to pat some beautiful sheep, spend time admiring the incredible Woolcraft Competition entries, and catch up with all of my sisters. Two of them made the trip just for the day, and we were also joined by Damian’s mum and some of our friends.
We couldn’t resist taking a few more Celeste photos on Saturday.
On Saturday evening, we gathered for our annual Bendigo dinner. As always, it was a fantastic night filled with good food, wonderful company, and plenty of laughter.
It was an amazing weekend, as it is every year. Now I’m looking forward to settling back into my regular routine, sorting through my new yarn, and deciding which projects to cast on first.
After finishing my sister’s socks last week, my attention naturally turned to the next pair on my knitting queue: Damian’s birthday socks. Keeping this project under wraps is going to be a challenge, but if I can at least keep one key design element a secret, I’ll be happy knowing there’s still a bit of surprise left.
These socks will feature a small colourwork section, which meant I had to buy some extra yarn. “But Sonia, don’t you already have a sock yarn stash for every eventuality?” I hear you ask. Not in 8-ply, I don’t! The additional yarn is due to arrive tomorrow…
In the meantime, I’ve turned my attention back to my Marlene socks. I’m finally back in the groove with them, and I’m keen to get them finished, especially since they were cast on back in February 2025! This would also be the perfect opportunity to make some progress on my Nimue crochet blanket, but with Damian’s sock yarn arriving so soon, there isn’t much time before a new project inevitably jumps onto the needles.
I completed making the pair of (secret) Flamingo socks… this afternoon! About 2 hours before the birthday dinner for my sister Silvia. I’ve never knit so close up to a deadline, let alone wet-block right before gifting, hilarious! And weirdly I was quite calm about it. The socks were handed over a little damp and on sock blockers.
My sister was thrilled, as was I. I feel as though the socks are a perfect representation of Silvia, what a design brief! The flamingos, the tropical themed self-striping yarn (by HodgePodge fibres) and the co-ordinating cuff and heel (Lang Jawoll). Thank you extensive sock yarn collection! The other yarns used included, Advent mini skeins for the Flamingos and flowers and the white is Patons Patonyle.
The Flamboyant Flamingos pattern is by Charlotte Stone. After knitting these socks, I would highly recommend her patterns. I feel other designers don’t tackle the ‘getting the colourwork over the heel’ situation very well. Just going up a needle size, is not going to cut it. Charlotte has you increase your stitch count before the colourwork section (in this case by 8 sts), and then decrease back down after the colourwork. Huzzah! I have the formula for unlocking knitting colourwork socks and can apply these principles to other colourwork sock patterns not necessarily by Charlotte.
The creative juices are flowing for the next surprise pairs. But I’ll need to keep these under wraps until after the gifting, as the recipients are readers of the blog. You know me, I don’t want to spoil a surprise.
Sonia Knits 