Once Upon a Sock: May (not a lotta socks!)

In all honesty, I haven't done much (if any) sock knitting over the last few months.  I haven't forgotten to post for the last couple of months - I just didn't have any real sock progress to share.

In March, I took my sock with me to London to knit on - so that I had something to write about.  The sock was in the same bag as a water bottle which leaked.  On one hand, sock yarn is great at soaking up the liquid.  On the other hand, I can't knit with soggy sock yarn.

You may not be able to see from the photo - but this sock was soaking wet

The dark patch at the bottom, shows the extent of the water leak

In April, I even went as far as taking some photos.  However, we were a couple of days before a flat inspection, and cleaning and clearing up took priority over knitting and blogging.

Instead of knitting, over the last couple of months, I've been sewing badges on to a blanket.  Withing Guiding and Scouting, there is a tradition that old badges get sewn on to a blanket, which then gets taken to camp.  I have an old grey blanket with all my Brownie, Guide and Ranger badges - as well as badges relating to places I've visited and events I've been to.  This year, I've been working on a blanket which is dedicated to all the foreign travel I've been lucky enough to do.

Slovenia/Croatia in 2016 and Iceland in 2017

Some of the badges from Japan in 2015

Badges to be sew on, after my trip to the US this summer

There has been such joy in watching the project grow, accompanied with a lovely feeling of accomplishment.  I keep think that I'm close to sewing on the last badge - and then I find one or two more that need to be added on!  

However, I'm at the point of getting a but bored of sewing, so I've reverted back to knitting!  The current socks that I want to get finished are the ones for Mr Knitty's Christmas present, then Valentine's Day present, then wedding anniversary present. Given that our anniversary was ten days ago, I'm not doing very well at this wifely business! 

Vanilla toe-up socks, with Fish Lips Kiss heels

The front is ribbed; the back isn't.  I've made that decision, partly to stop the socks being too loose and baggy, and partly because plain stocking stitch is much quicker to do than ribbing.  If I'd really thought about it, I'd have done a 4 x 4 rib, rather than an irregular rib pattern. 

Yarn is West Yorkshire Spinners; can't remember which company did the contrast yarn

Hopefully, this is going to give me the push I need to get some more socks finished, which will give me something to post about next month.  I'm off with friends for lunch on Saturday, which will give me some knitting time.  My aim is to get them finished by the end of the Bank Holiday weekend, and to get at least one more pair finished, before I cast on something new.  That's the plan.....

If you're a sock knitter, or sock crochet-er, you're more than welcome to join us in blogging about socks on the first Thursday of each month.  Paula from Spin a Yarn hosts a link each month.  All you need to do is pop over to Paula's blog, add your blog post to the link and join in.  I've made new internet friends, and found more people who love knitting as much as I do.  There's always room for more people to join the party!