zaubernuss - witchhazel

socks #32

For pair #240 I used yarn from the May '21 Opal box which is a variation of the "Black Dragon 2" collection (Sprechende Blumen, 11130). The "Black Dragon" collections have a black thread plied into the yarn which makes the colours appear much darker and creates an interesting effect. For the subscription boxes they dyed two colourways on regular yarn. 

For these, pair #241, I used Opal Memories "Zeit für mich" 11006 and a solid blue by supergarne, Aktiv 2551. It's the third pair I've made with this split short-row heel. I found the inspiration for these on pinterest but I have no idea where the pattern originally came from. 
It's easy enough to do though: simply do 30-40 rounds of [k2-p2] ribbing and half a short-row heel in a solid colour, change to a self-patterning yarn and do the other half of the heel and the foot. Change back to the solid colour for the toe. 
As you can see I went for the solid blue because it's almost exactly the same as the narrow stripes in the stripy yarn. I could have gone for the darker navy blue but I didn't have any in my stash and the berry colour wasn't enough contrast for me. Using yellow, orange or bright red wouldn't have worked for me either because getting an exact colour match is not easy when you mix different brands of yarn, and a slight difference in tone is very obvious if you have lots of both colours. 

This is pair #242. I used Aktiv "Peru" 3830 by supergarne and my favourite Tennarisukka pattern. 
The stripe pattern of the yarn is rather wild and might not lend itself to doing heavily textured socks but I've used this texture pattern in combination with rather wild stripes before and I quite like it. The combination of knit and purl stitches seems to make the colours blend. 

Pair #243 is the only pair of Christmas socks I finished last year. I used Woll Butt "Tannenbaum" 82228, from a few years ago. (I did make half a sock with another sparkly Christmas yarn but didn't get it done for Christmas. And since I usually lose my Christmas sock mojo quite quickly after the holidays it will have to wait until next year...)

These four pairs were all gifted - in installments - to one of the carers/caregivers at Kindergarten. When my youngest started Kindergarten last September I spent a few mornings sitting in the changing room while he was inside playing, getting used to everyone and being away from me for a while (while I was still at hand in case he got sad).
I sat there and knitted a sock.
This carer had already looked after my two big ones and we're on a friendly basis and chat for a minute or two on occasion when she can spare the time. She immediately remembered me knitting in the same way and in the same place when my daughter started kindergarten (my eldest was already there when she came to take over from someone who was retiring). She was a little amused because I still do this and after watching for a few stitches asked almost shyly if I would consider making her a pair as well... I immediately asked what size she wears and what sort of colours she likes and then I got a little carried away - haha! I did make other things while I worked on these and it took about 4 months; but she is such a lovely person and takes such good care of the kids. I just had to show my appreciation. I do that by showering people in socks. Also, she's retiring next year and by then I want to make her a pair of socks for each year she has taken care of one of my kids. That makes 8.5. I guess the last "pair" will contain three socks made exactly the same way (length of cuff, leg, style of heel, etc.) but be made of left over yarn so each one is unique and she can wear them mix-and-match style... 

Pair #244 is another pair of Mojos for my husband. He chose the yarn from my September '22 Opal box but this design will be available with the Regenwald 19 4-ply and 6-ply collection in early and late July '23 respectively. 

Pair #245 was for T. He outgrows his socks quite fast these days. He's even outgrown mine already. I've been lengthening a few pairs as well as making him new ones but even some of the newer ones need longer feet already. 
This yarn was in my September '22 Opal box as well but it will be part of the "Knuddelbande" 6-ply collection, available by late September '23. The solid is an unknown turquoise from my stash that went well with the narrow turquoise stripes in the pattern. 

Pair #246 was for T again. I've been wanting to make him some Gryffindor socks for a while and the first one was actually close to finished for almost a year before I made the second one. I used Aktiv 2532 (red) and 2522 (yellow).
I'm also currently working on a pair of Ravenclaw socks for R but I accidentally cast on too many stitches so they probably won't fit her for another year or maybe even two (and constantly changing the colours is too much work to start over).

Pair #247, of which there should be a picture here, can be seen partly done in the picture that actually is here. It's a simple pair of little-girl-socks in white and cherry blossom pink candy-stripes (as in spirals! Yay!). Despite the Yay! for the spirals it took me aaages to finish this pair because it did get very boring very quickly and I'm like a squirrel when it comes to sock yarn.
The yarn was in my December '21 Opal box.

Pair #248 is another pair of little-girl-socks (although she is not so little any more and neither are her socks). This lovely yarn was in the December '22 Opal box but it will be part of the "Schafpate 15" collection, available at the end of August '23. The pattern is Tennarisukka again and I still have enough of the yarn left to make a pair of sneaker socks for myself. 

This pair, #249, is another one for T. The yarn was from the December '22 Opal box as well. (When it arrived I asked T and R which ones they liked best and I'm glad they didn't want the same.) T keeps surprising me with his choices, just like my husband does... 

Pair #250 was gifted away again. The pattern is Hermione's Everyday Socks and I used yarn from the May '22 Opal box.
I actually edited this yarn: it had a weird mustard-yellow stripe with dark blue speckles (that took on an odd olive-green tint because of the yellow) between two thin blue-white stripes. That yellow was so terribly out of place among all the soft spring colours that I simply cut that section out and re-joined the yarn, creating a wider blue-white stripe. 
I've only done this once before with a yarn from a different brand and it's not something I would get in the habit of doing; a colour has to be really remarkably unfitting for me to do this, but it's nice to know that it's an option. Your yarn is your yarn and you may handle it as you see fit. It's a tool for you to create something you like. Make it work for you, not the other way round. 

I still have two more finished pairs (one still unwashed on the sofa table and one on my husband's feet) that I haven't photographed yet. Another pair is almost done and I have three or four ideas for more. I often feel like I need a few more pairs of arms to make all the things I'd like to make at once.

 

Lots of love! xxx

 

If you're wondering about the Opal boxes I keep mentioning: I get these as a gift from my wonderfully indulgent husband and I explain all about this subscription and how it works in this post.
I don't get paid or free products for mentioning them here. (That goes for all the other brands I mention as well. If I was sponsored I'd let you know.)

socks #31

For pair #222 I used Schoppel Crazy Zauberball "Tapetenwechsel" 2429. "Tapetenwechsel" is a German word for a desperately needed change of scenery. 
I love the colours of this yarn, they are absolutely wonderful. Crazy Zauberbälle ("Bälle" being the German plural for "ball") are still one of my favourite yarns to knit with. 
The pattern I used for these is called "Amazonas Socken" by Regia which is a free ravelry download. It's really easy to do, a simple texture pattern made of knit and purl stitches and the resulting socks are very cozy and fluffy. 

Pair #223 is a pair of mojo socks for my husband. Mojos are his favourite style of sock. They just fit him very well and in true style he chose a funky yarn I wouldn't have thought he'd go for. The yarn was in my March '21 Opal box, it was a subscription box exclusive and very boring to knit, if I am honest. 

Pair #224 was for my son. He chose the yarn - Opal "Herbstmelodie - Waldpilze" 11126. This colourway was a joy to knit, I really loved it.
I finished this pair just over a year ago (yes, that's how behind I am on posting about my socks) and I actually have to lengthen them again because the boy just won't stop growing. (He's 12.5 years old, I suppose the growing will go on for a while but if he keeps this up I'll have to admit defeat and start buying his socks for the sake of my hands...)

One of the reasons I'm so behind on my sock posts is that kept forgetting to take pictures of my husband's socks once they were finished. Then they were in and out of the wash, on his feet, in the drawer, ... and I whenever I thought of it I couldn't find them all and then put it off again. The other day, after a big yarn washing day, I grabbed them all and simply took pictures of them spread out like this. I prefer photographing them on feet but I didn't want to put it off again... 

This is pair #225. The yarn is Schoppel Crazy Zauberball "Jacke wie Hose" 2250. Mojo socks again. 

This is pair #226. The yarn was in my March '20 Opal box. I finished them almost exactly one year ago and have worn them a lot since. The picture somehow doesn't do the colours justice. I've only just noticed. It's hard to describe the odd shade of green that's almost grey. It's the sort of colour that changes depending on what's next to/around it. I guess that's why they looks so different: the weathered wood of my deck makes the look more grey than green. 
The pattern is Tennarisukka, one of my favourites and go-to patterns if I want quick results as it's rather addictive and grows quickly. 

"There is an art even to mis-matching socks." (by me - haha!) 
But seriously: I'm rather amazed at how well I managed to make the yellow stripes match up while offsetting the blue and purple. 
This is pair #227 and I gave it to my sister for her birthday last year along with a pair of shoes from a brand I'm totally in love with. 
The pattern is Tennarisukka again and the yarn was from my December '19 Opal box but the colourway later came out with their 8-ply winter collection: "Schneeglöckchen x-large - Polarduft" 9882. 

Pair #228 was for my son T. again. His choice of yarn again and I have to make these longer already as well.
The yarn was from the December '21 Opal box.

This is pair #229 and it's for my not-so-little girl this time. I made a sneaker version of my junior mojo pattern with yarn she chose from my September '20 Opal box. It was later released with the "Memories" collection: "Meine 1. große Liebe" 11007. (For some reason I ended up owning 6 of the 8 colourways in this collection.)

Pair #230. Next pair of mojos for my husband. (He did get a lot of socks last year...)
The yarn was from the May '21 Opal box but the colourway was part of the "Black Dragon 2" collection: "Mystischer Wald" 11132. For the "Black Dragon" yarns they used a yarn that has a black strand plied in to make the whole design more muted. This bright version was a subscription box exclusive. 

Pair #231 is a very quick pair of sneaker socks. I love making these in between, especially out of yarn I like a lot because it means there's more left over and I can make a second pair either for myself at some point or for my daughter or to give away to someone special (like my mum or my sister or my aunt).
The yarn was in my December '21 Opal box.

Pair #232 is another pair of mojos for the man of the house. The yarn is by gründl - hot socks "Simila" 305, one of these perfect match yarns with a leader thread in a contrasting colour to make sure both socks are exactly the same. 

This is pair #233 and I made these socks for a dear family friend. I gave her a pair two or three years ago and I thought she deserved another one. The pattern is Tennarisukka again and I made them exactly the same as the first pair because I had forgotten to count the rounds for the length of the foot on the first one. But since I wrote down exactly how many pattern repeats I had done and where I had placed the heel within the pattern I could replicate them and make a note of how many rounds I need for her size. That way I can make other patterns for her in the future. (I know, I'm a nerd...)
The yarn was in my December '20 Opal box but came out with the "Paradise" 6-ply collection: "Fluss der Liebe" 11025. 

This is pair #234 and I made these for a friend. I really love this yarn, which was part of my December '21 Opal box. looking at the ball I didn't think I would like it much but knitted up I really do. The pattern is actually the same as #231 (three pictures up). It always amazes me how just changing the colours makes a stripy design look completely different. 

I made pair #235 for my sister's partner who has proven himself to be very knit-worthy; I really must make him some more... 
The pattern is my sneaker mojo and the yarn was from my December '20 Opal box. The design was part of the "Freche Freunde 2" collection: "Forever together" 9945. 

Pair #236 was made using the rest of a ball of Opal Hundertwasser - "Die Straße zum Sozialismus" 833 - which I had used for another pair of sneaker socks in 2019. Sometimes I can't bring myself to use up yarn I like right away... The solid orange is AKTIV 2404 by supergarne. I absolutely love their range of solid coloured sock yarn! (Sometimes they update a shade of colour, retire the number and give the new shade a new number but in the one case I've experienced so far the difference wasn't noticeable at all.)

Pair #237 is another pair of sneaker socks I made using yarn from my March '22 Opal box. I made these in high summer and they make me think of the sea, sandy beaches and stripy parasols. 

I was on a roll with the sneaker socks. This is another pair of sneaker mojos, #238. The yarn is by Atelier Zitron, Trekking XXL 686. I don't know if this is still available... I remember jumping at it when I saw it was stocked at an online store (sadly I don't have any good yarn stores anywhere close). I love the jewel toes of this yarn and it is very soft. 

Pair #239 is another pair for my friend (who received #234). I used Opal Herbstmelodie "Drachensteigen" 11127 and I made sneaker mojos again. (When I make big man socks I often "cheat" by making sneaker socks and/or using a pattern that grows quickly - big man socks are so boring!)

Usually there are previews of upcoming collections in the Opal boxes and sometimes, once I've knitted and identified them with the help of the preview page on the Opal website, I like them so much that I end up buying more colours of that collection once it came out (like I did with "Herbstmelodie" or "Memories".)

I have some more socks to show until I'm up to date with over a year's worth of socks but I think this post is long enough as it is. 

 

Lots of love! xxx

 

If you're wondering about the Opal boxes I keep mentioning: I get these as a gift from my wonderfully indulgent husband and I explain all about this subscription and how it works in this post.
I don't get paid or free products for mentioning them here. (That goes for all the other brands I mention as well. If I was sponsored I'd let you know.)

Fixing socks that are too short

In this picture you can see a sock that is clearly too short. I made this pair years ago - in 2016, it's pair #55! I didn't have all that much experience yet when it came to fitting socks well. (Also, I think my feet got bigger since then. Apparently your feet get bigger as you get older, even when you generally only grow sideways and not upwards any more...)

That blue wedge my needle is pointing at should actually be where the pink wedge is: 

This is how the sock should be and I gave it a really good pull to get it there. 

I think this is the problem: lots of people pull their socks up really hard, which makes them appear to fit well. But while knitted fabric is stretchy it would rather not be stretched and it will go back to its natural, relaxed state as soon as it can. That is usually once you have your shoes on and start walking. The movement also helps the knitted material to take its natural state and it will result in your heels slipping down to the sole of your foot if the foot of your sock is too short. 

I've started slowly going through all the socks I seem to instinctively avoid and trying them on. Why don't I wear them? Do I just not like the pattern or the colours any more or is the fit wrong?

In case it's both I ask my sister if she wants them - her feet are a little bit shorter than mine - but if they are just too short there's a fairly simple way to fix them: 

I look for the first toe decrease. Can you see that slightly slanted purple stitch my darning needle is pointing at? That's the first decrease. 
I take my needles and start picking up the stitches a row or two below the first decrease round. Stitches are always Vs - you have to pick up the right shank of the V in order to pick up the stitches correctly. 
If you don't feel confident using your needles for that you can always use a darning needle threaded with some waste yarn; I find a slick cotton yarn works best but a length of contrasting sock yarn will do just fine. 

Here I have all my stitches picked up. Take your time with this, count the stitches carefully to make sure you have them all. 
I prefer DPNs (double pointed needles) for that but I'm sure you can use circulars as well. With mini circulars it might get a bit tight though, I've never tried. 

Now comes the scary bit that's not actually that scary: take some scissors and cut the very tip off or snip through the grafting (depending on your method of closing your socks). 
Don't panic - your stitches are all safe on the needles/the waste yarn. 

Now start to unravel the toe of your sock. If it's been worn a bit there might be some snags and a bit of fluff and you might tear off a few ends or have tangles from darning (I always "overdarn" my toes and have to pull out a few double strands until I'm a few more rounds down). 

Frog the toe until you reach the needles. (Slip the stitches onto needles now if you've used waste yarn to secure them.)
If you've accidentally picked up a few of the stitches too high up or too far down, don't worry! Just go slowly, sort everything out and tink (= knit backwards; undoing knitting without pulling out the needles) back until you're certain it's all even. 

Here I've put the sock on, pulling the heel to where it should be, and then wiggled my foot and my toes a bit to make sure the knitting relaxes and there's no tension on it that could skew my measuring again. 
The sock reaches the base of my little toe. It should reach just about the top of my little toe. 
That's how much too short it was!

Use the rest of the yarn to knit up to where you would usually start the toe on a sock that fits well. 

Don't worry about the yarn being crinkly and wiggly. It will relax into its new shape once you give the socks with the new toes a wash. 
This is where I usually start the toe. You might start the toe at a different point on your foot. Most sock knitters have their own ways of measuring feet and they tend to know how long the toes of their socks are depending on their rhythm of decreases and how many stitches they leave for grafting. 

If you have some left overs of the yarn you originally used for the socks you can use that, but it might not be possible to match the join exactly and the pattern might be off. 
I like contrasting toes on my socks so I searched my stash of solid colours for shades that appear in my sock. When I do this I like to focus, if possible, on colours that don't show up in the sock a lot, (here that's the narrow stripes like the yellow, orange or pink). This doesn't make it that obvious if your contrasting colour doesn't match exactly.
If the majority of your self-patterning yarn is red, a solid toe in a different shade of red would be very visibly different. But if your self-patterning yarn has a few narrow stripes or speckles of yellow or pink in it, a slightly brighter pink or darker yellow won't be quite so crass because there's less to compare. Does that make sense?
I found a red and turquoise yarn that were pretty perfect matches; but since the last bit of sock I knitted in the stripy yarn was red, I didn't want to have a red toe. I also didn't want to use the turquoise because there is already quite a lot of it in the sock.
The mustard yellow yarn I had is a tad darker than the yellow stripes, but since the toe is a good bit away from the last yellow stripe I thought it was just fine. 

Here I've knitted a few rounds of toe already. I like to start the toe-decreases on the first round of using the contrasting colour. Don't forget that you have the stripy yarn still on the needles when you change colours; you have to knit a round before starting the decreases. 

The slanted stitches are the decreases. Don't worry about the re-knitted section below the new toe looking all wonky. As I've said already: the yarn will relax once it's washed and you won't notice any more.

Here's the right sock with the new toe. You can see it fits much better compared to the left one. 

To make sure both socks are the same length I rely on counting the rows more than on measuring with a tape or sock ruler. For counting the rows, look for an obvious starting point, like the first plain round after the last gusset decrease (if you did a heel flap and gusset). That's the last slanted stitch, you should be able to find it. With short row heels there's usually also a point where you can clearly see the stitches looking normal again, right below that "seam line" the short rows create. With an afterthought heel it's a little more tricky but I'm sure you'll manage. It very much depends on the pattern you used. Worst case is you have to count all the way from the cuff. Or you can count pattern repeats if you have a texture pattern in your sock. I have complete faith in your abilities!

I've decided to go for a red toe on the left sock. Since the stripy yarn ended on a pink stripe and the last red section was a little further away I thought that would be fun. 
I've been wearing these socks a lot since I re-did them and seeing them on my feet, odd toes and all, made me very happy and cheered me up a lot (given that we've had rather cold and gloomy weather for the season). 

I did the same thing with lots of socks I made for (or gave to) my son when he outgrew them within a few months. The socks were still perfectly fine and they weren't too tight either, his feet just got too long for them. You can also do this if you can't be bothered to darn holes in the toes (or the balls of the feet) if the rest of the sock is still fine. 

In case you're interested I also thought I'd give you my decrease rhythm for the toes of my socks. I know lots of patterns say to just decrease every second round but I've learned it this way from an old knitting book when I first taught myself to knit socks and I never had any issues with it. (Also, I find the decrease-every-second-round method makes the toes look rather like roof-tops and in lots of photos they don't look like they fit very well, but that's just my personal opinion.)

• [decrease 1 round - knit 3 rounds] x1
• [decrease 1 round - knit 2 rounds] x2
• [decrease 1 round - knit 1 round] x3
• decrease every round until 28, 24 or 20 stitches remain, depending on how pointy you want your toe to be; try the sock at intervals to check if it's long enough. Not every sock is the same...

I hope this is helpful to you and gives you the confidence to alter finished socks. I can see that this might be a bit more difficult if your sock has an intricate pattern. In that case I cannot really help you, I'm afraid, as I've never done that. The maximum of intricacy my socks reach are texture patterns made of knit and purl stitches and those usually have a plain knit round somewhere to pick up the stitches. 

Please let me know if you find any issues with these instructions. I'm sure there are other knitters who have talked about this as well, I just wanted to share how I do things.

 

Lots of love! xxx

socks #30

This is pair #217. I've used yarn from the September 2019 Opal box but the colourway was part of the "Lifestyle" collection: Die Modebewusste 9873. The pattern I used is called "Tennarisukka" which is a free ravelry download. It's actually for short sneaker socks but you can do as many pattern repeats on the leg as you like to make them longer. This has to be one of my favourite patters yet. It's very easy to make - just a combination of knit and purl stitches to create the texture, it's fairly addictive and therefore grows quickly - just one more repeat! - and the socks feel particularly cozy and fluffy. 

Pair #218 is a pair of super thick slipper socks for my mum. She got really excited about the custom order slipper socks I made in November 2021 so I made her a pair. They are too big for me which is why they look a little odd. These are made using two strands of 4-ply sock yarn held together on 3,5mm needles and they are great to use up left overs or colourways and designs you're not that fond of. 

This is pair #219 using Aktiv 4872 by supergarne. T chose this yarn, another surprise choice I have to admit. 
For now I can model T's socks myself as we currently wear roughly the same size. 

This is #220 in a fabulous rainbow. I love this yarn! It's Meilenweit Soja Ministripes 324 by Lana Grossa. It has a soy fiber content, is very soft and lovely to knit with. I used my caterpillar sock pattern and an afterthought heel. A half finished sock had been sitting in the naughty corner for a while because I wasn't happy with the fit of the heel even though I'd made it before and it was fine then. I started searching for a way to fix it and found this wonderful tutorial to insert a mini gusset before starting the actual heel. 

This evergreen blue crescent of knitting in the above picture is the mini gusset. It's created by working a few short rows that get increasingly longer, depending on how big you want the mini gusset to be. You do that on both sides, below the ankles, before following your afterthought heel pattern of choice. It really worked wonderfully - the fit was so much better!

I have only one criticism to make about the yarn - which is a problem most rainbow yarns have in my opinion: there needs to be another, darker shade of yellow to ease the transition between yellow and orange! This yarn has two shades of green, a turquoise to blend blue and green, two shades of red to go between orange and red and a magenta to blend red and purple. While the yarn is clearly striped the section from orange through red and purple to blue and green looks almost blended because the stripes are so narrow and the colours are fairly close together; when you get to yellow, which goes well with the bright, light green before, there's a very harsh break between yellow and orange. There is obviously a colour missing and it would have been so easy to put in a stripe in a nice egg yolk yellow to smooth it out a little. 
But I'm being nit-picky here - it is one of the best rainbow stripes I've seen yet. 

Pair #221 is another one with a half solid - half patterned heel like I've already shown in my previous sock post (3^rd pair; you will find a link to my inspiration there). The yarn I used is Aktiv 2530 by supergarne (the red solid) and Opal Comedy 9837. 

I really like these, I think they look kinda cheeky. The only negative I would find is that the German short row heel isn't the best fitting of heels but it's the only option to achieve exactly that look. I guess I could take the trouble of increasing a few stitches on top of the sock to create a roomier instep without distorting the look of it. It's also very important to make the foot long enough - most socks with short row heels I see photos of jump out to me because the foot is too short and the turn of the heel doesn't sit exactly at the heel of the foot but below that, which is actually the sole already and means the sock is too short. 
I sometimes see people complaining about their socks slipping in their shoes; this is probably the reason why. It doesn't matter if they're store bought or hand knitted, if the foot is too short it might slip down or generally be uncomfortable to wear. I have realized recently that I have socks I never reach for, even though the yarn is really nice and there's nothing wrong with them. But I've been instinctively avoiding them because they are just a little bit too short for my feet and the heel won't stay where it's supposed to. 
There's an easy way to fix that and I'll talk about that more in my next post. 

 

Lots of love! xxx

 

If you're wondering about the Opal boxes I keep mentioning: I get these as a gift from my wonderfully indulgent husband and I explain all about this subscription and how it works in this post.
I don't get paid or free products for mentioning them here.

 

P.S.: I had this post in my drafts for roughly nine months now and never finished it. All of these socks are at least one year old already and I have lots more to show until I'm up to date. I'll really try to catch up! 

 

Opal box September 2022, December 2022 and March 2023

I really don't know why it's so hard for me to keep posting here... It's really not like I don't have anything to post about or no time to do it. 

Anyway, here's a catch-up on my Opal subscription boxes:

This is the September 2022 box. 

There was a good mix of bright and soft colours in this one. 

I've already knitted a pair of socks with the left one of these. The right one is lined up to be gifted. These designs and colourways will be part of Opal's "Knuddelbande" 6-ply collection to be released in September '23. 

I've also used the left one of these already. My husband usually doesn't go for the "boring man sock colours" which is probably why he did...
Both of these will be part of the "Regenwald 19" collection, available in July '23.

I'm not sure about the peachy one to be honest because I'm usually not one to go for pastels but I like the green one. It goes well with my collection of green yarns that will at some point be turned into a jumper/sweater. 

The ball bands for the subscription box yarns changes every September. I particularly love this year's design! Aren't these rainbow mandala cats just wonderful?

This was the December '22 box. As usual it came with an extra one as a Christmas present. 

Lots of lovely colours in this one. My two big ones immediately called dibs on one each. (I've already done both pairs.)

The left one became a pair of socks for T. (I was surprised by his choice yet again.) The right one reminds me a lot of a colourway from Opal's "Hundertwasser" designs; "Winterbild Polyp Wintergeist" in case you'd like to look it up. 

Both of these are very lovely! I've used the left one to make a pair of socks for my daughter (and since her feet aren't that big yet I'll still get a pair of ankle socks out of the rest of the ball for myself), the right one is beautifully autumnal. These will be part of the "Schafpate 15" collection, available by early September '23. 

I'm pretty sure that the right one will be part of the "Laubgeflüster" collection, available by the end of September '23, but while I'm also pretty sure the blue one will create the same pattern the exact same colours aren't in the collection pre-view. 
Since many of the colours and designs in these boxes are exclusive however that's totally possible. I could also just be wrong about the pattern... it's often hard to tell.

Here's the Christmas present ball. It came as a surprise to me that I really like it as I'm normally not that drawn to pale blues and turquoise. But the softness of these colours is really lovely. They don't appear pastelly but rather dusky and vintage (if that's the right word for what I mean?). They have a slight grunge to them... 
This design was part of a previous Opal collection: "Memories". 

This is the March '23 box.

It arrived only last week, at the start of the Easter holidays. There's a good mix of colours in this one again. 
I can't tell you how excited I get when I open these! It's always like Christmas... 

I'm pretty sure these are the same design and I love them both. The orange one for being orange combined with purple and lilac and the green one for being green and looking like a day in a spring meadow. 

These might just be the same design as well but with the colours being so different and the pattern so... aah... undefined? ...it's really hard to tell. 

I love the hot pink-red-magenta one! Not so sure about the speckly white one... Maybe I'll make a little jumper for my baby niece... 

That's it for now with the yarn porn... I hope I'm not boring you to death and I really hope I'm not just making you miserable about things I have and you don't (if that should be the case). I'm really not writing these posts to brag about what I have! 
I like to keep track of my yarn and sock knitting. (You should see the filing system I have for all the photos I take... or maybe better not.)
I also get a lot of pleasure out of looking at the yarn when the boxes arrive, matching up the patterns as best as I can and trying to find out if they are previews of upcoming Opal collections or exclusive box designs. Since you only get a few months preview on the Opal website it's not always easy but I do my best. Sometimes I find matches for patterns and designs from previous boxes.
Maybe that kind of pleasure is weird I don't really care. It's harmless and there are far weirder things to take pleasure in I guess... 

 

If you don't know what the above pictures are about, I've explained about the Opal subscription box in this post and you can find all the posts I've written about my boxes so far in the relevant category. 
As always I'd like to mention that this is not a sponsored post - I don't get paid or receive free products for writing this.