Welcome back everyone! It’s the middle of March and we have some good news and some bad news.

Bad news first: after a gentle, cool spring, it is officially shorts weather. My personal rule is no shorts until March and last year I was hard pressed to make it this long. An extra two weeks was a lovely boon but augh now it’s really and properly hot.

Good news: the Handmade: Slow Fashion Inspired by Arizona’s 5 Cs Make-a-Long has begun! In keeping with the slow fashion theme, this make along runs until the end of June, so you have plenty of time to join in and make my Superlite Top or any of the 16 other gorgeous projects in the book. There will be prizes for projects logged on social media, and Zoom craft nights featuring designers from the book! To sign up visit Traveling Yarn on Instagram!

I will be knitting the Citrus Sunrise socks because my sock drawer is looking kind of sorry and I have been having a hard time with socks.

I used to looove making socks and I was pretty good at it too! I knew my sock size and my socks always fit well. I even made several pairs as gifts. And then, I cast on for a new pair of socks and they went all wrong.

These socks, lovely, seemingly speedy. short socks:

The pattern was nice and clear, and I adored the fun scalloped edge detail. But learning to tension the yarn in my left hand on such tiny needles was not working with the hairy, sticky yarn I was using, and they took me a year and a half to finish.

And after all that? I had worked the tubular cast on too tight and couldn’t get my foot into them, *sob*. I tried cutting out the cast on and kitchenering it back together loosely, but to no avail. The entire cuff will have to be reknit. *more sobs*

I’m determined to figure short socks out, though. Mid-calf socks really aren’t a pressing need in Phoenix, and I so want to reclaim the joy of sock knitting!

Does anyone out there have a fail proof sock pattern or technique? I’d love to hear about it!