FOs: Beauty & the Beast

First up, because I like this one despite the fact that the multi-colorway obscures the lace pattern, is my newly-finished Avonlea Hat.  This was a pretty quick knit, even though I struggled on round 7 of the lace pattern every time.  There was just something about the stitch sequence in that row that my brain didn't like, I guess, but still this project ended with far fewer invisible rows than many projects like it in the past.

I've really struggled with trying to photograph this hat, which I blocked to beret-shape with a dinner plate.  No matter what I try, I can't do this rosey-pink and electric violet colorway justice.  I also couldn't get it to photograph well on a mannequin head.

Now for the Beast, so named not because this was a difficult pattern to master, but because I hated the way this colorway knit up on every round of these socks.  HATED.  If I were a one-at-a-time sock knitter, I would never have knit the second sock. These socks are known around here as the "ugly socks" and I am monumentally glad to have these off the needles!  It became a test of will power to finish them, and even though they are wonderful BFL, they are going to definitely be boot socks that don't see the light of day.  Tulgey Woods (Blue Moon BFL) was a wonderfully beautiful colorway, just not for socks in my size, apparently.

And you have to know that these socks were still hot off the needles when I cast on for the next of two projects, both of which will be test knits for new patterns that I will be releasing this fall.  Today's cast on is for a lace beret of my own design that I sort of fell into as a consequence of my failure to read submission requests all the way through before getting excited and running with an idea.  The second will be the women's version of my The Sportsman fingerless gloves pattern.  So, details to follow ...