Socks

Well, it’s been too long, but I finally have another knitting finish. Remember this picture I posted in January?

That’s the Mind The Gap yarn by Trailing Clouds and I’ve finally finished knitting the socks that belong to it. The yarn is so named because the colors in the yarn are supposed to match the colors of the tube lines on the London Underground map.

They were a fun knit, but I felt like they took me a lot longer than normal (whatever that is LOL). Usually, I don’t care if the stripes match up on stripey socks, but I really wanted these socks to match. I couldn’t see how to do that using my normal two-socks-on-one-circ method, so I reverted back to one-at-a-time sock knitting on dpns. It was a nice change of pace, but it seemed to take longer.

{Ummm. Excuse Me Paul. I’m trying to take pictures here.}

I’ve been thinking about the UK a lot. I’m right at 2 years since my last trip and I’m homesick LOL. I NEED a trip! I’m thinking I NEED to plan one for next year.

Sounds like a 2018 plan to Me! Have a great week — I’ll be dreaming of UK travel LOL.

XOXO,
Anna

And just like that, January is almost over. Time is flying by here in ThimbleannaLand, and it hasn’t been very exciting this month LOL. I’m still working on the hand quilting for the baby quilt now and then — boy, is that ever slow work! I’ve also finished a pair of stripey socks — progress mostly due to a little travel during the Christmas break.

I seem to have lost the yarn band, but I think the yarn is an Opal sock yarn. I’m trying to use up the yarn that I have in my little stash and this yarn has been hiding there for quite awhile.

I used my standard sock recipe with no pattern on the legs — it’s nice to just sit back and let the yarn do all the work.

I like the colors in this yarn — particularly the blue which goes so well with my jeans.  Here’s what they look like with my shoes — I like that the stripes don’t match.  ;-D

I’ve started a new pair of socks now. I definitely prefer to knit two socks at once on a long circular needle, but for this yarn, I want to try and make the striping match on both socks. We’ll see how that works out LOL. Do you seasoned knitters recognize this yarn?

Ok, off to watch Victoria. Are you watching? MeMum and I are loving it!

Have a good week!
XOXO,
Anna

Thank you so much for all your sweet comments on my Aunts’ Quilt — it’s always fun to have a quilt finish!  I’ve pressed The Aunts’ (or rather, the back of the Aunts’) into service again to show off my latest sock finish:

I worked on these little socks randomly here and there, and just whenever, and finally they’re done.  I started knitting the Drunken Bees pattern (which I can’t seem to find now) out of this yarn, but quickly discovered that I’d really have to be drunk to successfully execute that pattern (I knit waaaay too tightly for that pattern to work for me).  Just as I was pondering new options, Bekah posted a new sock pattern that she’s offering for free.  So, I used my standard sock knitting method and used the “stripe-y” technique from her pattern for the stripes.  I’ve already worn them and they’re super cozy!  Thanks Bekah!

Lean to the Left …

Lean to the Right …

there’s a punch line here somewhere, but I can’t remember what it is.  Oh well … (btw, all the wood in the background came from yet another tree that we’ve lost on our lot — at this rate, our lot will be naked in 10 years {Sigh}).

I actually took these pictures last week, but somehow I just can’t seem to get back here during the week to write a post.  I’m either at Mom’s or, when I get home, I make a hurried dinner and then bury myself in the hand quilting on the baby’s quilt.  It’s slow going though — I’m guessing I’m about 1/3 of the way done.  I was hoping for a finish by Halloween, but now I’m hoping for Christmas ;-D.

And now … it’s the weekend. Yipee! Have a Good One — and if you’re in the southeast, I hope you’re staying high and dry and that “normal” will soon return.

XOXO,
Anna

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Awww, thanks for all your sweet comments about BigDaddy.  You are all so kind and it’s very much appreciated.  We’re trying hard to find our new normal, although, we’ve been so busy, we’re not even close to being there yet.  TheManoftheHouse had been scheduled for a knee replacement surgery right around the time that BigDaddy passed away, and it had to be postponed.  He was put on a cancellation list, and they called him in two weeks ago.  Everything has gone very well (but what an uhhhgly surgery that is — lots of pain and rehab!) and he came home from the rehab hospital a few days ago.  I think it’s safe to say, I’ve had my fill of hospitals for this year!

As you might imagine, all that hospital time allowed for lots of time for handwork.  I finished a pair of socks.

I’m officially naming these the Fugly Socks.  Oh the FUGLY.  I seem to have a penchant for picking yarns that have somewhat pretty colors, but then they knit up to become butt. ugly.  (It’s happened before.)  See?  Look.  These colors — blue, green, gold, pink, and purple.  Is that sooo bad?

Apparently yes, because … Fugly.  Experienced knitters can probably tell me right away who made this yarn.  Here’s a hint:  Notice the pooling.  When the colors pool together, it’s just not pretty.  The yarn is Lorna’s Laces and although I think they’ve solved the pooling problem (these were ok) in their more recent yarns, apparently I have some of their older yarns still in my stash .

Once again, I used my old favorite Mockery Socks pattern (free Ravelry download here) with an eye of the partridge heel.  It’s so easy and I needed easy knitting this time around.  I have quite a few pairs of Mockery Socks by now — I really need to be a little more adventurous with the pattern next time.

It’s nice to have a finish. I’m working on a few other projects, but I can’t really show them yet — they’re surprises!

XOXO,
Anna

Hi There!  Did you have a good weekend?  Mine went way too fast.  It was a good one though.  Lots of sewing time, although, I had to call a halt to my little project.  I’ve been having fun with my maker fabric, but I decided I didn’t like the zippers I bought, so I’ll have to wait for some to arrive in the mail.

I did finish some socks this past week though.  Spotty Socks.  Or Dottie Socks.

I saw some socks similar to these in a Mollie Makes issue a few years ago.  They were for slouchy socks though and I’m not really a slouchy sock wearer, so I just used my old tried and true sock knitting method.  I did add the spots and the little band of colored trim at the top of the socks — just like the originals.

When I first saw the Mollie Makes socks, I thought the dots were knit into the actual sock, but I was surprised to find out that they are little knots.  I debated using a french knot, but in the end, I opted for a colonial knot.  My french knots often fall out.

These dots might not last long either.  They certainly aren’t practical.  Want to place bets on how long they’ll last?  At least if they start to fall apart, they’re pretty easy to remove.  I found that out the hard way — when I was half-way done with the second sock, I realized their spacing was too different from the first sock, so I took them out and tried again.

Anyway, hopefully they’ll be fun to wear — at least for a little while!

I hope you have a good week — March is whizzing by, isn’t it???
XOXO,
Anna