Join Me in a FREE Sock Knit-Along!

There's no better time than now to knit a pair of cozy socks, and that's why I flipped out when I saw the new free sock knit-along on Craftsy. Good timing.

The knit-along comes with three different patterns, and Lucy Neatby -- isn't her hair the coolest? --guides you through the tricky parts. It's perfect if you're making socks for the first time. I want to knit the pair on the left for Alex and the pair on the right for me. In fact, I think I already have the yarn for both. Woohoo!

Enroll in the knit-along here for free, and join me in knitting some toasty socks!

6 Patterns to Sew in 2016

I have a lot of sewing patterns and a lot of fabric. They look sad and lonely in storage, so this year I'd like to put them to work in my wardrobe.

This list was inspired by my recent purchase of a new serger -- Alex's birthday gift to me from December. The serger will be here sometime next week, so in preparation I'm cutting out a lot of patterns (mostly skirts so far) so that I can finish those seams when the serger comes.

All of these sewing patterns are dresses except for one lonely shirt. Dresses seem to be what I sew the most, and also what I wear the most. The crazy part is that I own all of these sewing patterns except for one, and I even have fabric for most of them. Here's my wishlist for what I'd like to sew this year:

Clockwise from top left: B6284: A vintage-inspired dress from Gertie; Colette Moneta: I have a nice plum knit fabric that would be perfect for this!; M7086: A pattern from circa 1963. I bought fabric for this one at Blackberg Creative Studios during a holiday sale; V2903: I've procrastinated on this one because it requires about 7 yards of fabric. But look at that beautiful skirt!; Fancy Tiger Crafts Sailor Top: I have a nice Liberty of London print that I've been hoarding for years that will work nicely for this one; M6886: This one's from a Craftsy kit I bought last year. The serger will be awesome for this!

What's on your to-sew list for this year?

Tadpole Knit Socks for Mom

The parade of Christmas gifts continues! In 2014, I knitted socks for my dad and my mom was clearly jealous. So I knew that for 2015, I was going to make a pair for her. (Please excuse my blinding white legs in the photo.)

I actually made these socks before any of the other Christmas gifts. I finished these in August, you guys. AUGUST. Of course, that doesn't mean that I finished other gifts on time. but I was proud to get started so early. Baby steps.

Pattern: Tadpole Socks (FREE pattern on Craftsy!)

Yarn: Mustard Seed Yarn Lab Hand-Dyed Fingering Weight in Seaweed

New Crafts for the New Year + Top Instagram of 2015

My top nine Instagram photos from 2015

Funny. My most popular Instagram posts in 2015 also happen to be some of my favorites from last year. (Well except for one. You don't even want to know what happened with that sweater in the bottom middle. More on that when I stop crying.)

Every year I make the same crafty resolutions: 1) I will not buy any new craft supplies until I use up most of what is in my stash. 2) I will not begin a new project until I finish the UFOs.

This never happens. Example: 

January 1, 2016. Me: I will finish these UFOs before I begin a new project.

January 4, 2016: Me: Oops, I started a new project.

Carson's Crochet Shark Blanket

I'm still in awe over how many projects I managed to finish for Christmas. Today I'm featuring the crochet shark blanket that I stitched for my 7 year-old nephew, Carson.

Pattern: Eaten by a Shark (FREE pattern from Off the Hook)

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Gray, plus scraps of red and white

The red yarn is supposed to be blood, but Alex says it looks like the shark's gums instead. He's no fun.

See that weird stripe near the fin of the shark? That's where I used an extra skein of Red Heart Soft that I had left over from another project. It looked like it matched the Simply Soft, but I guess I was wrong.