I remember clearly casting on for my first pair of socks. I was sitting on a sofa at Get Knitted, on a meet-up with a group of knitters from all over the UK, on a morning in January 2008. I worked through that first sock, but it never got a pair as I knitted the first so tightly it wouldn't fit my foot! Since then I have made countless pairs, gradually understanding the construction in more detail, and now I can happily pick up needles and yarn and set off on a sock adventure without requiring a pattern. It is my hope that working through the heel turn tutorial on this month's pattern will set you off on that same adventure.

Without further ado, here are this month's design: Antirrhinum by the fantabulous Rachel Coopey.

Rachel's patterns are full of fun. She often incorporates a number of different colours, or stitch patterns, and she's well known for her fraternal designs where the second sock isn't the same as the first. A great antidote to second sock syndrome! Our Antirrhinum socks feature a simple lace rib pattern - just enough to be interesting, but not so much that you can't focus on the key technique of turning the heel.

My love of socks is well documented in the pages of this blog, as is my delight at Rachel's innovative patterns, so she was the obvious choice to showcase this handy sock technique.

Have fun choosing shades for your contrast toes - will they be sensible or shockingly bright? The choice is yours! If you're using Rachel's Socks Yeah! yarn, you will find that the colours work brilliantly together, thanks to having background shades in common.

Perfect for summer knitting, these socks are named Antirrhinum for the genus of plants commonly known as Snapdragons. They come in a riot of colours at this time of year (that's a subtle white one at the bottom of the photo above, but they are often pinks, yellows, oranges and more!) and are endlessly amusing to squeeze.

At this time of year socks are the perfect project - small enough to pop in your handbag, and generally easy to pick up and put down with the flow of conversation. I'm off camping this weekend, and I'm hoping to finish my Antirrhinums off. I knitted to the heel flap for the photo tutorial, and I have since cast on my second sock and got it to the same place. I really like working on the two socks at the same time, although I use 2 sets of needles rather than working two-at-a-time. With just the feet to go, I'm hoping to have time this month to also finish a pair of Alonzos (also by Rachel Coopey) that I've had on the go for a few months. Completing two pairs in a month should be manageable, shouldn't it?!

Head over to Mason-Dixon Knitting to watch the video tutorial on turning the heel, along with picking up the stitches for your gusset. There is a knitalong thread over in our kind and supportive Ravelry group, and you can also chat away about all things heel related in the thread on The Lounge.

I'll be back soon to reveal the winner of the Romi Hill giveaway from last week, as well as doing a "State of the WIPs" knitting update (I hope!). This time of year is always something of a sprint to the end of term, with so much going on! Happy knitting wherever you are!