Winwick Mum Sockalong 2nd birthday

Do you know what day it is today?  It's the Sockalong's 2nd birthday!  Wow!  

Nobody is more surprised than me to be sitting here writing this post and telling you that two years after the first Sockalong post was published, the tutorials are still the most popular posts on my blog - but what a lovely surprise!  The Sockalong started out as three weeks' worth of tutorials to help people understand how a sock was constructed and (what I hoped) was an easy way to knit one so that they could go off and explore more patterns.  I had no real of idea of what would happen to it after those first three weeks other than I hoped that I'd be able to share my passion for knitting socks and some people might find it useful.  

"Some people" has turned out to be rather a lot!  The Winwick Mum Sockalong Facebook group now has over 8,000 members, there's a lot of pattern, recipe, pet picture-sharing and general hilarity in the Winwick Mum Knit n Natter group and the Sockalong itself is still helping people every day to knit a pair of socks for themselves.  I am more than delighted with how it's developed a life of it's own; I love being able to see socks that have been knitted, to help to switch on the electricity for those lightbulb moments and more than anything, I love being part of the community that has developed around it.   

To celebrate the Sockalong's 2nd birthday, I'm really thrilled to tell you that I'm going to have a birthday giveaway again with some really lovely prizes that have been gifted by friends from the Sockalong community.  I am very blessed to be part of such a creative and generous community, and I am very happy to be able to share their talents with you.

I've got two prizes this year, both of which are fantastically fabulous and if I can't tempt you with them, I'm very happy to give them a home! J

In this prize is a signed copy of Super Socks, a project bag, DPN case and notions holder, a ball of Opal yarn, and a set of stitch markers:

In this prize is a signed copy of Super Socks, a unique Sockalong project notebook, a packet of Addi Colibri coloured DPNs, a ball of West Yorkshire Spinners yarn and two sets of stitch markers:

They're lovely treats, aren't they?  Would you like to take a closer look?  

This prize was gifted by Christine of Woolrich Crafts.  Her project bags and accessories are gorgeous, created from quality fabrics and beautifully made.  The set consists of a project bag which is just right for socks, a DPN case to stop your needles sliding out of your work if you have to leave them mid-project and a notions case for stitch markers, safety pins, tape measures - whatever you need to carry about for your project.  There's a dinky bird charm as a zipper pull too, which matches the theme perfectly.

Eleanor from Knit Nottingham has gifted this ball of yarn so that you can start a new pair of socks straight away.  It's a ball of Opal in shade Fresh & Juicy erntefrische Paprika (fresh and juicy pepper) which actually looks more like watermelons to me - a perfect yarn for summer socks I would think, and I'd really love to see what this looks like when it's knitted up, so if you win then don't forget to show me!  If you've never knitted with Opal before, you're going to love it - it's definitely a catnip type of yarn!  Knit Nottingham is a bricks and mortar shop in Nottingham (as you'd expect!) which offers workshops as well as a wide range of yarns and accessories so if you live in the area, do pop in - and if you don't live nearby, there's an online shop too!

You'll be needing some new stitch markers to put in your new notions case and these lovely shimmery ones from Rachel at Demelza's Delights are just the thing.  These are just right for the smaller gauge needles that you use for socks and shawls, and with so many in the set, they'll also be ideal for other projects that need more markers (lace, for example) so you've no excuse for not branching out!

Anne from AnnieOB Textiles has created this special notebook for the Sockalong birthday giveaway - isn't it fabulous?  She's got a real talent for machine embroidery and creates lovely little books which are perfect for crafters.  This notebook has blank pages for you to fill with your own sock notes and project information.

More catnip yarn!  This is the one that I couldn't put down a few weeks ago; West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4ply in Pink Flamingo which was gifted by Lucy from Magnolia Tree Crafts in Poynton, Cheshire.  If you're ever anywhere nearby, this lovely shop is well worth a visit.  Lucy sells yarns, fabrics and all kinds of accessories for crafters as well as hosting workshops and you can also order through her online shop as well.

There are two sets of stitch markers in this prize, both created by Rachel from Demelza's Delights. She manages to source some really lovely charms for her markers and these two sets are no exception.  On the right are a set of enamel flowers with a jewelled centre, and on the left are "mermaid scales" which shine beautifully as the light catches them.  You'll have such stylish knitting with these!

There is also a set of Addi DPNs gifted by Eleanor at Knit Nottingham with this prize.  They are Addi Colibri coloured DPNs - which should mean that they don't get lost as quickly as non-coloured ones because you can see them when you drop them! 

I'm sure you'll agree, these are amazing prizes and I'd like to thank Christine, Eleanor, Rachel, Anne and Lucy for their generosity in contributing them.  I'd also like to thank you for being part of all this too, because without you the Sockalong would just be tutorials on a blog.  This feels like a very special 2nd birthday!  So ... the next question is ... would you like to know how you can be in with a chance to win one of these prizes?  It's really easy, I promise!  

Last year, I asked you how many pairs of socks you had knitted since the Sockalong started.  I wanted to see if we could get an idea of just how many pairs of Sockalong socks were out there - after all, I do keep telling people that we're taking over the world one sock at a time! J  - and after adding up the numbers on the blog and in the Facebook group, the total came to 3,500 pairs which is just amazing!  It's a good job I was sitting down when I worked that out!

This year, I'm going to ask the same question because I'd love to know how many pairs have been made this year.  It's not a competition with how many were made last year; I'd just like to know, because I like the idea that every new pair has brought some more happiness into the world when they were being made and also when they were being worn.

To enter the giveaway, please comment with how many pairs of Sockalong socks you've made since May 2016.  Don't worry if you're still making your first pair or are about to cast on, just write that information and your comment will count too J

The giveaway will be drawn on Sunday 7 May 2017 as close to 8pm BST as possible.  I am happy to post the prizes anywhere in the world so don't feel that you can't be part of this because you don't live in the UK.  Don't worry if you don't have a Google or blog account to leave a comment, you can leave it as "anonymous" but don't forget to put your name in the comment so that when I post the winners I'll be able to identify you so that you can get in touch for your prize!  Oh, and also don't worry that your comment doesn't show straight away - the comments are set for me to check them before they upload to the blog to make sure that no spam gets through so they are all safely stored in my blog messages until I've seen them.  I'll make sure they're all uploaded on time! J

Happy birthday, Sockalong, I really didn't expect that you would have developed such a life of your own - but I'm very glad that you have!



Edit: the giveaway has now closed and the winners have been drawn.  You can see the results post and find out how many pairs of socks were knitted this year here.  Thank you to everyone who entered! xx