Handspun Socks "De Luxe"

These are my first handspun socks knitted on fine (2mm) needles and with a 2ply yarn. Also the first handspun socks that have a pattern. (I like plain knitting for socks)

This is how I started:

The fibre:

I found this beautiful handdyed braid, a mix of 75% Bluefaced Leicester (BFL), 12% firestar and 12% Silk. (I bought this from Dutchwooldiva)
The firestar (= nylon) and silk should make this a strong yarn.

Spinning:

The braid was divided in 2 lengthwise, each half spun in a fine single, then plied together:

It made 320m/100g of this yarn:

The colors are mostly blended and less strong then in the fibre. The yarn feels very soft, but it's very strong, I have to pull hard to brake the strand. (the silk and Nylon are working!)

Knitting:

I started the socks "two at a time" on 1 circular needle. After finishing the toe I started searching for a pattern on Ravelry. I liked "Kalajoki" because it has a small pattern with a lot of plain stockinette. I changed the pattern a bit: added 1 extra rib, a slip stitch heel, and the movement of the stripes is made up. I also decided to make the two socks the same. (the pattern has socks with mirrored waves)

Here's how they look:

And that's my knitting needle on the left, with the left-overs. Yep, I really like toe up socks because you can use up all of the yarn.

The colors don't match in the socks but thats just how I wanted them (yarn was in a ball wound on my yarn-winder and I knitted one sock with the outside end, the other with the inside end...)

They fit great and are a lot "thinner" then the socks I make with store-bought yarn and a stranded pattern.

Here's a close-up of the knitting:

I really love how the colors blend, it's like a painting!

I hope these socks last a long time!