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So it is still cold here, I still have snow on my lawn, and they are calling for flurries this week but it is the first day of spring! I am dreaming of the warm days to come, the garden beds I want to plant, and adventures to have with the kids.
I am currently knitting away on a few sock projects trying to clear up my needles for new things. This weekend I finished the first sock below. I used the Winter mini kit by Red Sock Blue Sock Yarn and just love the results these socks are knit cuff down with an afterthought heel. I will try and get this pattern written up and shared with you all here on the blog in the coming weeks.
This weekend the kids and I started our seeds for the garden. They check them daily looking for growth, the anticipation of spring is palpable in our house. I am hoping to start a vegetable garden this year and plan to grow tomatoes, some cucumbers, peppers, and maybe strawberries. Do you garden? I'll take tips if you have them.
The kids and I also sprouted a seed from a mandarin orange. We are very hopeful that a small tree will start to grow and produce us some little oranges. I will keep you all apprised of this adventure. So far the seed was kept in a moist towel in a dark cupboard, it has sprouted a root, and it's now in a nice little pot of soil. I have very strong memories of visiting my Nona as a child and she had an orange tree in her apartment. It was such a treat to go there and pick an orange off for snack.
In other news our family adopted a small kitten from the local animal shelter last month and she is amazing and we love her lots. After we had to rehome our blue heelers it was evident that I needed an animal in the house and so we got a cat. She is the perfect furry addition; sweet, cuddly, very quiet, and a pleasure to have around. My husband was shocked to find out he is a cat person but is coming to terms. He even built her a wall playground.
On the design front I released the Sweet things socks, a great spring sock. Please check it out. These socks are knit cuff down with a heel flap and gusset. They feature stripes of mohair and the toes have mohair held double with the fingering for extra cozyness. The yarn used was wistful and weekend sock by Red Sock Blue Sock Yarn.
At the end of this month the second volume of the 52 weeks of socks collection will be published (you can preorder here) and I was honoured to design a sock pattern for Laine.
My sock pattern is the Elise Socks which you can view on Ravelry now. These socks were knit from the toe up and feature an afterthought heel. The yarn used was Comfort Sock by Red Sock Blue Sock Yarn in the colourway Seascape.
So it's been a busy end to winter and I am looking forward to what will come this spring.
I'm off to go make a cup of tea and cast on my second striped sock.
Happy making
Xo