First I just want to say that I am in LOVE with these socks! Absolutely everything about these socks are amazing! The pattern is called 'By the Seine River' written by Dona Knits and was a free Ravelry download. They are knit with GnomeAcres yarn in the Bertie Bott's colorway on the bungalow gnome base, which is 75% merino and 25% nylon. If you have never used GnomeAcres' yarn I HIGHLY suggest that you buy at least a mini skein grab bag to test it out. I can guarantee you will fall head over heels for it. I first came across GnomeAcres yarn through a phat fiber box I purchased two years ago, she had a mini skein of her 'Hulk Smash' colorway (gorgeous) and I have been a fan ever since. Amanda's colorways are so fun. They have great names and the colors are bright and lively. The yarn itself is lovely, super soft and squishy. I'm completely addicted. So far I have made socks using her 'Franklin' and 'Bertie Bott's' colorways. The colors in Bertie bott's are stunning! I wish I had a better picture of my socks that really captured the richness of the dyes, but unfortunately I don't. You are just going to have to buy a skein yourself and see what I mean. I promise you will be thanking me later!
Alright back to my socks....I finished these a couple weeks again and have been wearing them around the house pretty much everyday. They are a little loose around my foot and heel but the length is perfect and they aren't too loose to bother me. With each pair of socks I finish I am getting a better grasp on construction and size. The next pair I make with have a shorter heel and I think I should stick to a cast on of around 64 stitches. I do prefer a snug sock but I'm not super picky so long as they are soft and keep my feet warm and these socks most certainly do! To top it off they are just stunning to look at! I love how the feather and fan pattern worked up with the colors in the yarn and I really enjoyed knitting them. The pattern was simple and easy to remember, it was my go to project while trying to catch up on my tv series. I would definitely knit them again and would recommend them for everyone, they are also a great starter sock!
With all that said, it's time to confess to another addiction...Socks! I know it's a huge shock considering I haven't mention sock knitting at all in this blog, but yep there you have it. I'm hooked and see a future stash with just sock yarns, the majority of which will be from GnomeAcres, seriously check them out! I've been on several shopping sprees lately and even destashed in order to justify these purchases. More likely than not I will have to destash again to justify even more. Don't look at me like I've just gone mad, I just can't help myself! It still amazes me that it took me so long to get into sock knitting. For the longest time I let myself be intimidated by socks. I had knit a couple baby booties and wee baby socks here and there but the thought of actually knitting a pair of adult sized socks made my eyes bulge. I avoided fingering weight yarn at all costs, got migraines from all the sock talk (Heels, Gussets, and Toes oh my!), and hid under the covers at the slightest mention of the horrific 'second sock' syndrome. Okay fine, I may be exaggerating a little there but you can't tell me that all the stories you've heard about the 'second sock' syndrome didn't drive you away as well. I mean come on, why would anyone in their right mind spend so much time and energy knitting one sock when they knew they were destined to shove it away in the back of a draw or at the bottom of a project back to never cast-on the twin. That's just a cruel form of punishment to yourself and to that poor sock waiting longingly for it's other half. But guess what, you don't have to use fingering weight if you don't want to, and sock talk isn't so scary once you understand the construction and different parts of a sock. Don't believe me? Then you really need to watch Kelley's sock class videos! They make socks incredibly knitter friendly! Once you watch that video, you will be addicted too!
Enough sock talk, that's all I have for you today, next blog will be all about the projects I'm about to cast-on. Also I want to apologize for that lack of pictures in this post but I am currently between projects and don't have anything to show right now. However to make it up to you, how about some yarn goodness straight from the GnomeAcres shop!? Here are some of my favorite colorways:
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