Netherlands Vacation Socks
Started: October 2022
Finished: October 2022
Pattern: Plain Old Socks (my pattern)
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Lightweight in “Mill Ends”
Needle: US 1.5 / 2.5 mm
Notes: I started these on a trip to the Netherlands in October, but apparently didn’t write down the start or finish date, though I did note that I finished them just after returning. Usually I bring a project to work on during flights and while relaxing in the evenings, but apparently I didn’t get a chance to finish these while on vacation which is fine too! The colors are really fun together, and a quick peek on Ravelry says I got these at Rhinebeck in 2009, so, yikes, definitely time to use that yarn!
Category: Socks
Fall Market Socks
Fall Market Socks
Started: 8 September 2022
Finished: 27 September 2022
Pattern: Plain Old Socks (my pattern)
Yarn: West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 ply in colorway “Autumn Leaves”
Needle: US 1.5 / 2.5 mm
Notes: Yet another pair of plain old socks using yarn I picked up while visiting the husband in the UK. This yarn also came from Seeded in Portsmouth, UK, and I absolutely LOVED the colors. These were also brought with me to keep me busy during lulls while selling honey at farmers markets and I love how they knitted up! I used my usual trick to preserve the striping pattern and switched to the other end of the yarn cake to work the heel. As usual, these are fraternal twins since I like each sock to begin and end wherever the yarn falls rather than waste yarn to get a perfectly matching pair.
Market Socks
Market Socks
Started: June 2022
Finished: 01 Sep 2022
Pattern: Plain Old Socks (my pattern)
Yarn: West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 ply in colorway “Blue Lagoon”
Needle: US 1.5 / 2.5 mm
Notes: I picked up this yarn at Seeded while visiting my husband in the UK. Any good knitter will go ahead and look for local yarn stores while on vacation because it’s always fun to find something new and now the memory of this trip comes to mind whenever I wear these socks which is pretty great! There’s something fun about buying a craft/art supply somewhere, creating something with it, and then having the finished object be something functional and also a memory of the vacation. Anyway, these are my “Market Socks” because I knit these mostly at farmers markets over the summer. Markets are longer in the summer and there’s usually a little bit of down time between customers or after getting set up, so I always had this project with me to keep me busy. Triple memory here maybe? Either way, love the color, the yarn is great, sturdy and yet soft stuff, and I hope I get years upon years of wear out of these!
Black Forest Socks
Black Forest Socks
Started: 22 March 2022
Finished: 29 March 2022
Pattern: Plain Old Socks (my pattern)
Yarn: Sheepy Time Knits Ewe Know Who in colorway, “Black Forest”
Needle: US 1.5 / 2.5 mm
Notes: Basic socks in a really neat green/black color that is absolutely named perfectly. Knit up in only a week!
Sparkly Socks
Sparkly Socks
Started: 09 Feb 2022
Finished: 01 Mar 2022
Pattern: Plain Old Socks (my pattern)
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Super Sparkle in colorway “Supreme Black Dalek”
Needle: US 1.5 / 2.5 mm
Notes: I have written down that I knit these on the plane to and from going to visit my husband while he was stationed in the UK, and interestingly enough, I wore them back to the UK for this last trip just a few months ago. Yes, late posting is late. Every year I swear I’m going to get on top of things and post on a regular schedule and then beekeeping season happens, and well, blogging isn’t as important. Anyway, I absolutely love the color and the sparkle in these, and BMFA yarn has always been a huge favorite.
Beekeeper Socks
Beekeeper Socks
Started: 18 Feb 2021
Finished: 3 March 2021
Pattern: “His Last Bow” by Lotta Groeger
Yarn: Haldecraft Yarns Andre in colorway, “None of your Beeswax” (80% SW Merino, 20% Nylon)
Needle: US 1.5 / 2.5 mm
Notes: You know that a beekeeper who is also a knitter is contractually obligated to knit these, right? Read the fine print, it’s in there. These are toe-up socks which is something I try to avoid since I find the cast on fussy and, really, I’m just way more comfortable with cuff down. The little bee detail in some of the cells means they really do need to be knit toe-up, and they’re bees (!!!) so it was 100% worth forging ahead with a method that isn’t my favorite but produces a beautiful set of socks. As is usual with toe-up socks, I can never seem to gauge where to start the heel, so the foot is just a tiny bit too long. Then I got overzealous and knit the leg a bit too long, so it’s a little tight near the cuff. In hindsight, I could’ve added a few extra stitches around to accommodate my calves, but by the time one was done, I wasn’t going back to fix it since it wasn’t too-too bad. Can we appreciate though, the beauty of lining up the sock pattern and the yarn color and colorway name here? I’m absolutely delighted with how these came out and obviously am going to bee wearing them a bunch!
Sock Knitting Catch-up – Part 4
Blue & Purple Speckle Socks
Started: ??
Finished: 26 Jul 2021
Yarn: Skein band missing, though I think it’s from Mountain Laurel Yarns
Needle: US 1.5 / 2.5 mm
Notes: I absolutely love the colors of this yarn. I think I had originally bought it to make a hat, but it makes a mighty fine pair of pretty socks.
Dutch Vacation Socks
Started: Sep 2021
Finished: Oct 2021
Yarn: Malabrigo Sock yarn in colorway, “Indiecita”
Needle: US 1.5 / 2.5 mm
Notes: Started these on the plain on the way home from a brief vacation to the Netherlands while the husband was actually home, before he left for the UK for 2 years (that’s a whole ‘nother story) and while there was a lull in Coronavirus cases. Yep, pandemic vacation socks.
Plain Old Socks
Started: Oct 2021
Finished: 23 Oct 2021
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy in colorway “Good Luck Jade”
Needle: US 1.5 / 2.5 mm
Notes: This is one of those yarns that looked really heavy variegated in the skein but actually knit up in a pretty even set of color values (light/dark) and probably could’ve handled a simple pattern pretty well.
Purple Storm Socks
Started: 29 Oct 2021
Finished: 4 Nov 2021
Yarn: Wullenstudio Superwash Sock in colorway “Wooly Bully”
Needle: US 1.5 / 2.5 mm
Notes: I picked up this yarn at the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival in 2009, so it’s definitely on the older end of the stash spectrum. I really dug the purple and grey together and they pooled up every so slightly around the leg in wide stripes.
That wraps up the plain old socks catch-up! There’s one more that I need to post, but it deserves its own post since it’s actually a really neat design. There are other knits to post too that aren’t socks, so I’ll be busy getting caught up for the rest of the year probably!
Sock Knitting Catch-up – Part 3
Continuing on with the sock knitting catch-up posts, but at least we’re into 2021 now! This is some peak winter pandemic knitting, just basic plain stockinette socks, but honestly it was all my brain had space for at the time.
Fall-ish Socks
Started: 25 Dec 2020
Finished: 2 Jan 2021
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight, Mill Ends
Needle: US 1.5 / 2.5 mm
Notes: Mill Ends are the not-quite-perfect runs of sock yarn that are still plenty good, but not perfect. Ravelry says I picked this up at the Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool festival in 2009, so wow was it due to be used finally. This yarn is an absolute delight – it’s SO squishy and comfortable to wear even if a little thicker than most sock yarns, and what a pretty colorway.
Day at the Beach Socks
Started: 2 Jan 2021
Finished: 11 Jan 2021
Yarn: Spindle City Yarns Handpainted Sock in colorway, “Day at the Beach”
Needle: US 1.5 / 2.5 mm
Notes: It’s my best friends, blue and brown again! Ravelry says I bought this in 2008, so this was one of my first few sock yarn purchases ever. Pretty wild how a few skeins of sock yarn became bins of yarn, enough to keep me warm for an eternity. This project marks my transfer from keeping records on Ravelry to keeping records in a notebook because of Ravelry’s site redesign and refusal to add basic code for accommodating those who found the new site intolerable or harmful to use. I even noted on the project page, “Last FO on Ravelry. Going to notebook logging or posting on the blog. BYE RAVELRY.” Part of the reason I got back to blogging was to keep better track of Finished Objects, so, here we are.
Stormy Night Socks
Started: 6 Jan 2021
Finished: 11 Jan 2021
Yarn: June Pryce Fiber Arts Plum Panda sock in colorway “Stormy Night”
Needle: US 1.5 / 2.5 mm
Notes: Oooh aren’t these pretty?! The yarn was picked up at the Pennsylvania Fall Fiber Arts Festival in 2015 so it didn’t wait too long to become socks. My notes on this say that I left the leg longer than I usually do to preserve the color transition. I even alternated and used the other end of the ball for the heel since the yarn was supposed to transition all the way back to the dark green again.
Bacon Socks
Started: 14 Jan 2021
Finished: 23 Jan 2021
Yarn: Holiday Yarns Flock Sock in colorway “Bacon”
Needle: US 1.5 / 2.5 mm
Notes: Plain old sock! The yarn was acquired at Rhinebeck in 2010, and how can you possibly resist a colorway called “bacon” which pools up like streaky bacon?! I mean it really is pretty great.