Two and a half
That’s how many pairs of socks I knit while writing/testing this pattern! You’ve already seen the green and gray pair I knit for my Hogwarts secret pal last year. Here’s a better picture of the stitch pattern that I didn’t show you at that time. Amelia’s socks were size Medium.
I used the leftovers (Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in Pewter) to test the Wide size. What you don’t see in this picture is that I ran out of yarn. No surprise there, since I didn’t have an entire skein to work with. Only the toe needed to be completed, so I had my Mom try them on, and they fit very well. more »
Goldilocks
When I started putting away the few colors of left over Wool-Ease I had pulled from stash for the Gansey Watch Cap, it occurred to me that I could make my own marled yarn by mixing and holding different color strands together as one yarn.
But what to make? Hats! I needed to add a couple more to my packet for Cornerstone.
Treasure Hunting
This past weekend was the Second Annual “Tools of the Trade Twin Cities LYS Shop Hop.” Because I didn’t go last year, I decided to go on Saturday and asked Mom to go with me.
What I really liked about the Hop is that I got to visit five new-to-me stores. The metro area is so big and sprawling, it’s a bit of a drive to go to most places. We started at Zandy’s Yarn in Burnsville, went up to Needlework Unlimited in Minneapolis/Edina, west to Coldwater Collaborative in Excelsior, then north again to Amazing Threads (but we got a bit lost trying to find this shop), east to Sheepy Yarn Shoppe, and south to The Yarnery in St. Paul, and finally 3 Kittens Needle Arts in Mendota Heights. We left the house at about 9:30 AM and got home just after 4 PM! (Christy of Purling Away made a Google map that shows the shop locations.) Of these 7 stores, I’ve visited only The Yarnery and 3 Kittens previously.
I think Needlework Unlimited was my favorite; there was a TON of patterns, and we spent about 20 minutes there browsing. Amazing Threads was smaller than I expected. Coldwater Collaborative was crowded (bad timing on our part). But overall, all the stores were very nice with a varied selection. (The most common overlap I noticed were the new Marie Mayhew felted kits. The Yarnery recently opened their online shop and have them available for anyone interested who doesn’t live in the area. NAYY; I think they’re pretty cute!)
To prepare for the Hop, I researched each store’s website to see if I could find certain brands or items that interested me and might generally not be found at the other shops. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money or buy a ton of yarn, so I made a shopping list. I managed to stick to it pretty well; I found about half the items on my list, plus a few extra patterns. I set myself a budget and didn’t go over, so in all it was a successful excursion.
Return of the Sock Monkey
Thank you to everyone who has entered Contest #3, and for your compliments! : ) There’s still time left (deadline is October 21); leave a comment here for a chance to win some yummy sock yarn. more »
