There’s no denying it, the speckled yarn hype has taken over the knitting world and most of us have succumbed to some serious stash enhancement with these speckled beauties. Not only are they a pleasure to behold when skeined up, knitted up they give us out of this world projects. Socks are no exception to this of course, but most of the speckled socks I’ve come across are vanilla socks or Hermione’s every day socks. NOTHING wrong with this of course, it’s a great way of letting the yarn do its magic. However, there are plenty of patterns out there that are made for speckles! To give you an idea of the possibilities of those skeins that surely are patiently awaiting in your stash, here are some of my favourite sock patterns for speckled yarns.

Flying North Socks by Maria Montzka

What makes this pattern so suitable for a wild speckled yarn is that there’s so much stockinette to give the yarn a chance to shine. It’s like a vanilla sock, but with just that little extra to make it more special. Many knitters have mixed this pattern with their speckled sock yarn, my favourite pair so far is this one by Teresa (Quiet-Zone on Ravelry).

Fine and Dandy socks by The Sweater Co.

This pattern has speckled yarn written all over it. Those slipped stitches will look like little flowers or fireworks when paired with the right yarn. My favourite speckled pair so far are these beauties by Kelly (Downhomepurl on Ravelry).

Prairie Spring by devonshire Knots

Ok so I’m obviously a little biased about these ever since I knit them up myself. I still think it was a perfect pattern-yarn match and I can see them work in so many different colours. This is the pair I made over a year ago and still wear whenever the weather permits it (it feels like I have a small party on my feet).

Celtic Rainbow socks by Lea Lacoste

This pattern works so wonderfully well with speckled yarn because there’s the whole front of the sock to go wild, while the bold cable on the back is strong enough to not drown in a sea of colour. Here’s the version made by the designer herself.

Tulsi Socks by Verena Cohrs

This pattern is still hot off the press and I cannot wait to cast it on! This version that Regina (Regy on Ravelry) is working on shows exactly why it works so well with speckles, again a great use of slipped stitches that’ll pop out in unexpected colours.

And if you think that speckles might be too much to go together with a lace pattern then here’s a stunning pair of modified Frost Flower socks made by Domini (Dominiknitsalot on Ravelry) to prove you wrong!

These are of course only some options of the many many possibilities out there. Is it just me or did your hands also start itching to grab a speckled skein and cast on?

Yarns feautured in this post: Spun Right Round, Cat Sandwich Fibers, Eaden Yarns Prism and Herbstblatt Regina.

I don’t know about where you’re living but here the weather is slowly becoming more rainy and less warm, which must mean Fall is approaching. Not to alarm you or anything but it is almost September after all. And the beginning of Fall marks the beginning of knitting season starting again (unless you are like me, when every season is knitting season). Usually it is a good idea to slowly break into knitting season by starting off with some small things that will help cope with the approaching colder weather. In other words, it’s time to start knitting hats! And if there is one thing I really love it is silly hats, the sillier the better. So to mark this occasion I’ve compiled a list of the best silly hat knitting patterns. And let me start by saying that it is amazing just how many silly hat patterns are in existence. Major props to all the quirky knitters out there for letting their inner silly hat fantasies out into the open!

5. Fish (dead or alive) by Thelma Egberts
This hat is amazingly silly, yet still amazingly wearable (or maybe that is just me actually). The main thing I like about it is the many modifications you can make with it. Colour-wise you can go in any sort of direction. Maybe you feel like trout, or maybe like salmon, and you can directly work this into your new favourite hat. Oh and the pattern is free!

4. Brain by Alana Noritake
Besides being a fanatic knitter I’m actually also a PhD student. And can you guess what field my PhD is in? Yes, it’s neuroscience. So anything combining my day job and my favourite hobby makes me super happy. If I’d wear this to work it’d get stolen within seconds. The only problem I would have with knitting this hat is that I would have to align the gyri and sulci correctly, which is probably impossible. So maybe I better skip on this one. Still, this hat is amazing!

 3. Duck hat by Emily Ringelman
Better not wear this during hunting season! I love that the earflaps are actually the little duck feat, very cleverly done. The only way to make this hat any better if is the duck would actually quack.

2. Unicorn by Brittany Tyler
It has a rainbow coloured mane, it has a horn, what more can I say? This hat will keep your head warm and fabulous. And there’s even little horse ears, so cute!

1. Bearded Viking Helmet by Holly Priestley
As far as silly hats go, this is the one that for me takes the cake. And besides the hat being silly I’d also like to point out the practical point of it, because not only will you have a warm head, you will also have a comfortably warm beard area, for those of us that are a bit challenged in the natural beard department (a.k.a. women). Plus, you will be feared far and wide thanks to your instant transformation into fierce viking.

Summer is almost upon, so it’s the perfect time to start with some breezy, summer-proof knits. It always seems like skirts are a bit under-appreciated in the knitting world, if you compare the 1400 patterns found on Ravelry for skirts, to the amount of patterns for example found for shawls (over 20,000) or cardigans (over 27,000). However there are some great skirt patterns out there, so here is a list of my top 5!

5. Isobel by Cia Abbott Bullemer

What I like about this design the most is that it’s such a flattering skirt. Suitable to wear everyday and because it is a simple design it could easily be combined with other knitted clothing.

4. The Chelsea skirt by Cecily Glowik MacDonald

First of all, this is a free pattern, can you believe it?! The lace detail completes the skirt and gives a nice contrast with the tweed yarn. The row of buttons makes it just a little bit more quirky and casual.

3. Prairie skirt by Maude L. Baril

There should be more patterns for stranded skirts. Despite the colourwork it is still a light garment and the cheerful colours also make it well suited for summer. I like this style a lot and would probably wear this almost every day.

2. Swing by Hanne Falkenberg

I’ve seen this skirt in a couple of colour combinations already and like all of them. Wrap over skirts are practical and the design is simple and elegant.

1. New Girl by Allyson Dykhuizen

I love love love this skirt. I am a fan of New Girl and Zooey Deschanel’s style in the series is very cute. I can totally imagine her wearing this. This pattern is listed very high in my queue right now, hoping to cast it on in June. And I already picked out my yarn for this project! Hopefully soon more on that.

Owls, I absolutely love them. They’re both cute and majestic and have inspired many a knitting designer. One of the reasons I decided to get seriously into knitting was an owl inspired sweater, so I’ve put together 5 of my favourite owl inspired knitting patterns!

5. Sleepy owl by KnittingPony

Because owls get sleepy too. Imagine having your own owl to snuggle up to on the coach, what a hoot! Some crocheting involved.

4. Viking Ugla by Hilde Aas

Viking owls, ha! I bet owls would make awesome vikings. And although actual viking owls will most likely stay in my fantasy forever, hopefully these socks will be in my sock drawer soon.

3. Owl Mittens by SpillyJane

What’s not to love about these cute owlie mittens? The colours in this picture are already perfect but I can also imagine many other variations. How about the main colour in a yarn with long colour repeats? Bonus, the pattern is also available as socks!

2. The Woodsy Association by Tiny Owl Knits

 The best thing about these fingerless mitts is that they feature barn owls, which are, if I was forced to choose, the prettiest of all owls. Once you’ve finished knitting up these you can proudly join in singing the Woodsy Association Fight Song! The pattern also includes patterns for wolfs, badgers, and deer.

1. Owls by Kate Davies

This sweater has over 7000(!!) project on raverly! Besides that this is actually the most important reason I got serious about knitting. I saw a picture of it online but couldn’t purchase the sweater anywhere, the only option seemed to knit it myself. Now a couple of years later I have to admit I still haven’t come round to knitting it, mainly because I want it to come out perfect and I’m not sure I can live up to my own expectations just yet. But I always have this sweater in the back of my mind somewhere, and who knows, maybe 2014 will be the year I finally knit the owl sweater.

Know any other great owl patterns, share them in the comments!