Three pairs of socks and three days in the Lake District

I have three pairs of socks on the needles, all cast on in the last seven days. The first one is 'Queen Carolina' (without her purls). Its a great pattern for Trekking XXL's fantastic colours & an easy knit. They were cast on as a 'travel knit' for the trip to Newcastle for the 'Great North Run'. Son & heir and BiL were runners (Mr J was injured out & not impressed). They managed a respectable 2hrs 10 minutes running for Martin House Children's Hospice. All three are vowed to run again next year. It was a great day out & the weather was excellent for runners & spectators.

The first sock was finished in a couple of days so I cast on the second to take on the A level geography fieldcourse to the English lake District. As a mini bus driver I didn't get much knitting time but the Sixth Formers were pretty impressed with my skills & efforts! "Your not even looking......!". We actually had a fab three days. We went via High Force in Teesdale which was impressive after Tuesday's rain but the Lordre Falls in Borrowdale put it to shame with heavy rain on Thursday night & Friday morning..... oh boy were we wet after a walk from keswick along Derwentwater to look at the Eskers, Kames & Kettleholes before going to the Falls. The weather had been kinder on Thursday & the planned river study & walk up to Easedale tarn above Grasmere to study the Glacial features was great. The students were a very positive & amenable bunch - a pleasure to teach & to be with.

On my return I have cast on a pair of DK socks, but knit to a fingering weight recipe to make a dense pair of hiking socks -wonder what gave me that idea?????? The yarn is some I bought at Woolfest.

I have also cast on for the October SKA challenge- Komet by Stephanie van der Linden. The yarn is Genziana by Adriafil. It was a bargain from Sheepish in Knaresborough. Its 100% machine washable merino so whilst it might not be the toughest yarn out, it is supersoft. The photo doesn't show how vivid the green is though! I may also cast on Grün ist die Hoffnung because I am intrigued by the construction which starts on top of the foot & knits out like a top down hat!