new year, new socks

Don't worry, my New Years Resolution wasn't to abandon my blog. We've just been busy with things that aren't very fun to share (like the stomach flu). Instead, I'll share a little project I finished late last year: my first pair of knit socks! I was super intimidated by the thought of knitting socks, even though I've worked trickier projects in the past. Thankfully, these were much less difficult than I anticipated!

The yarn is the hand-dyed skein I bought from Neeley's Knits at the Kentucky Wool Festival last autumn. The colorway is called Chocolate Frog, and it even came with a mini-skein of silver to make a contrasting heel and toe. I feel like I'm in nerd stealth-mode with these, since they so perfectly capture the colors of an iconic Harry Potter prop (the Chocolate Frog packaging), but aren't quite as obvious as, say, Gryffindor socks.

I used the Wicked Simple Socks pattern and the Fish Lips Kiss heel. They are just a smidge big so I might use 60 instead of 64 stitches for my next pair. I am elated that my first socks turned out so well! Project details on my Ravelry page.

Another little project that I worked on over the holidays was this car seat blanket for Mae. It has a little hood and flaps to keep her warm on chilly winter mornings. I loosely followed a tutorial from Imperfect Homemaking, with a few modifications. In the back is a large, oval-shaped cut-out to reduce bulk and allow the car seat straps to be pulled snug. I also hand stitched the edge with embroidery floss instead of using my sewing machine. Stay toasty, Mae!