Knitting Along . . .

Yup, picked up those socks again.  You know the ones--which were started back in 2013!  Seriously?!  Three years?  Okay, I started them in December 2013, so technically it was 2 years for a pair of socks. Still, isn't 2 years too long?  Craziness!

Two socks, side by each

Over the summer, I had picked them up again and even finished the first sock, but gift knitting got in the way.  So after the holidays, I went gangbusters on that second sock.

First sock.  Wonky toe?

I must confess that I wasn't too happy with how the toe looked on the first one.  And honestly I can't fault the pattern 'cuz I'm not sure if I followed it or made some minor modifications (yeah, I've made bad, bad notes during the construction of this project--as in not enough notes.  Ugh!).

Two different toes for the same socks

Once I got to the heels, I followed the basics as per Vogue's Basic Ribbed socks (my go-to pattern for basic socks). Naturally the second sock looks a wee bit different than the first one.  I prefer the look of the second toe area (sock on the right if you're looking at the photo above), but I prefer the fit of the first sock's heel.

Current sock stash

Regardless of my sock woes, I have to say that overall Aquaphobia Socks is a great pattern for yarn that pools.  I think, though, that next time I attempt this pattern, I will be brave enough to attempt the cables.  And yes, there's still quite a bit of sock yarn in the stash.  This means more socks in my future. Yay! :)

Winter? Bah!

Seriously Mother Nature?  We just had a storm on Wednesday and now you hammer us with an even bigger storm?  Why?  Weekends were meant for relaxing or catching up with loved one and knitting--not for shoveling.

Buried world

Mother Nature, did you have to dump so much?  See that photo above.  There's a car buried under there in the background.  It took three hours to get it all cleaned up . . . whew!!

Car freed from the snow

Thankfully I had help from my boys.  So much muscle power!  Yay for muscles!

Helper No 1

And in case you thought I was exaggerating, check out the huge snow piles.  By the end, we were struggling to find places to put the white stuff.

Helper No 2

Here's hoping there's a break from shovelling for a little while . . . Now maybe I can get back to my knitting. ;)
 

Looking Back . . .

I wish I had been more productive in 2015, but with two courses on my plate coupled with full time work and family life, my time was limited. Still I managed to finish off a few small projects. The year began with a collection of baby gifts, some of which were made at the end of 2014 and some at the start of 2015.

Baby Collection

As it turns out, my selection of yarn colour was less than ideal.  The baby born was a boy and maybe there weren't enough traditional "masculine" colours.  Nevertheless, I did like the individual items (although I wish I had made more than one bib).

My proudest moment was finishing my Bernat Crochet-Along Afghan.  That one had been in the WIP pile for years.  And I was very happy to make my first real grown-up shawl with lace edging.  There's some lovely yarn in my stash that's waiting for a more complicated lace pattern.  Here's hoping I can work on that during the year.

Some 2015 projects

The year marked my return to hand-crafted Christmas gifts.  I had decided to make gifts for all my nieces and nephews.  I started off gang-busters and then lost some of my steam along the way.  The result: some manic last-to-the-minute knitting, but I did manage to finish on time.  Sadly I wasn't able to photograph one little gift (I should really get my SIL to snap a photo for me).

Gifts for Christmas 2015

All in all, I had a decent year.  Bonus: only a few items in my WIP pile.  Hopefully these will get done in the not-too-distant future (I'm looking at you, lonely sock and almost-done scarf).

WIP pile left over form 2015

How was your year?  Did you get lots done?  Here's hoping there's lots of crafty goodness for all of us. :)

Happy New Year!

Photo credit: don2g via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

Here's hoping the New Year brings happiness, joy and lots of laughter!  And of course lots of fibre and crafty goodness. :)

Cheers!