One of the themes for Sock Knitters Anonymous’s January challenge was floral-or-fauna-themed socks. I had a very cute pattern in my library as well as some floral-themed yarn in my stash that was perfect. Pink and sparkly – two of my favorite things.
The pattern is Hearts and Flowers Socks by Wendy Johnson and the yarn is Knit Picks new sparkly sock yarn Glimmer in the colorway Carnation. I really like the Glimmer. It’s similar to Stroll, which seems to wear pretty well in my limited experience thus far.
This is the first pair I’ve done a picot cuff on and it’s absolutely perfect for the hearts and flowers theme.
There was also a mystery sock knit-along this month called Bláthnat (Little Flower). I was in the mood for sparkles so I used another new-to-me yarn this month, Red Heart’s Stardust in Green. Stardust seems like a nice, sturdy yarn. The socks hold their shape well, and the color is very pretty (although I have the hardest time photographing greens). However, the yarn has a nasty smell. Maybe that’ll go away after a good wash.
The pattern was released in four parts. There was a lot of beautiful lacework in these socks.
Clue one had the cuff.
Clue two was the leg.
Clue three had the heel and instep. The first picture is from the completed sock, but illustrates the heel pattern.
And the last clue had the foot and toe.
This month I also finished a pair of socks I started in November. I really didn’t like the pattern so it was hard to sit down and work. But they did turn out pretty nicely.
The pattern is actually a mash-up of Lucky Socks by Debbie Stoller and Baseball Socks by Meredith Wills. I really wish I had just done the whole thing using Meredith’s pattern. Debbie’s pattern had a seam right across the front for no apparent reason and then a series of color changes across the top of the foot. To top it off I wasn’t using sock yarn so I don’t think they’ll last very long. I just hope they make it til baseball season so my husband can wear them while watching at least one game!
I’m at the point now where I’ve run out of room in my sock drawer for my hand-made socks. I need to come up with a new plan because I don’t want to stop knitting socks.