A Finish - Off The Needles

Finished my second pair of socks!  Finally. The pattern is House of Targaryen, a free pattern from Ravelry. I'm happy with the way they turned out, but they took much longer than normal because I kept having to rip back too many times. I'm ready for a simple pattern..

I have been adding to my yarn stash these days. It is so much fun to knit socks and I want to keep learning. A friend and I went yarn shopping this week and I picked up two different yarns to try. The 3rd yarn already was in my stash from years ago and I totally forgot I had it.  I bought it when Judy L came to town and said she would start me on learning how to knit socks. Well, I finally learned, but forgot where this yarn was until recently. 

The top left is Panda Superwash - 51% bamboo, 39% superwash wool and 10% nylon.  I thought I'd try making a pair of short socks from the toe up to wear with my tennis shoes.  These are only 50 gm balls.

The next one (to the right) is totally new to me.  It's called Diversity by Plymouth Yarns and the fiber content is 93% Acrylic and 7% Polyester (elasthane).  I did a swatch and it handles easily, but is very stretchy.  I'm not sure how to figure out how many stitches to cast on because of the stretchiness. They recommend 8 stitches/in with US 2 needles, but I got more like 9 sts/inch.  I hope it will be self striping with only using a stockinette stitch for the leg.

The last yarn is from my stash and it's Serenity, from the Deborah Norville Collection- 50% superwash Merino wool, 25% bamboo and 25% nylon. The color is much more vibrant with shades of purples and some grays.  The color is Amethyst.  This yarn is much like what I've done my first two pairs with, so I should have not trouble with it.

Now to decide which yarn to use next?  Any suggestions or experiences on either of the two new yarns?

To see other yarn projects, stop by Judy's Patchwork Times.