Sock Completion

According to my Ravelry record I've finished these socks in eight days, which is pretty quick for me.  However, they aren't the original pattern I set out to knit.  Having started on the Rhombus Rib pattern, it quickly became clear that the yarn wasn't the nicest for that pattern, so I pulled it out and started over making Gretya, and that's what you see here.  I'm not sure that the yarn is much better in this pattern either, its quite a thin and floppy yarn and produced a sock that has a very loose leg.  I did think maybe I should have tried knitting it on smaller needles to produce a denser fabric, but the feet fit fine so I don't think the smaller needles would have worked for the feet.  It did occur to me (after I'd finished both socks) that I could maybe have knit the legs on smaller needles and the feet on my usual size needle.  I suspect the thin, floppy feeling is due to the yarn being superwash.  Its taken the body and bounce out of the yarn.  This is only the second item I've made with superwash yarn but neither have made me wholly happy.  Its entirely possible that its just a coincidence that I've had two items turn out a bit floppy and saggy in superwash yarn, and nothing to do with the yarn at all. But just in case, I think I'll avoid superwash in future.

Is it my imagination, or does the "whole sock" photo make it look as though I cut off my lower leg and laid it on the bed to better show off the sock? 

 

Progress is also being made on the shawlette, and its got cold again here at SewYLD Mansions, so I'm swatching for a sweater currently and planning to swatch for another Swirl cardigan also.  Though the latter can't be done immediately as the yarn remains in two five hundred gramme super skeins and requires winding before I can even start to swatch.  If I get gauge though, I'll be dying the yarn for the cardigan.  If I remember/can get some reasonable photos, would anyone want to see the dying process? 

 

Sewing.... hmm.  The promised dressing gown crashed and burned spectacularly.  I learned that:

Even dressing gowns need to be fitted.

Its best to shorten the front and the back the exact same amount.

Dressing gowns look stupid with a train (see comment immediately above)