Toning Down Bright Colors

Here's the second pair of socks I made using the slip stitch pattern from the Judy at the knitter. I was so happy with the first pair that I immediately cast on for another pair, but I thought I'd try using just one yarn for each color. They are both variegated. The pink yarn came from Elann and was much brighter than I expected. I used a blue/black Opal yarn as the contrast color and successfully (I think) toned down the hot pink yarn. I also used the slip stitch design on the foot of the sock. This helps with wear and gauge, as well as fitting and looking better, even off the foot. I used a two color eye of partridge stitch on the heel. The toes are plain hot pink. I'm still working on ways to account for the changing number of stitches in the gusset area in the slip stitch design. The most recent pair of socks I finished are the most successful to date at handling this problem.