The Weasleys go to Canada

And the 14th pair for 2011 are done - these are going to my colleague Jo, who is having a really rough time at the moment, and spending 3-4 nights a week in a hotel - hopefully these will help bring a little 'home' comfort to her.....

Pattern: Weasley Homestead by Erica Lueder
Yarn: Claudia Handpainted in Maple Leaf (do you get it now? LOL!)

Hallelujah!

No, I haven't come over all religious - but I HAVE finally finished the *insert expletive* Rhombus socks:

Don't get me wrong: I love the colour and the yarn was delightful to work with. But it was such a slog to keep going with these - lots of twisted stitches, cross-over cables and picking up new stitches - just doing 6 rows (or less) was enough to give me a headache. And to cap it all, I'm not actually convinced about the final product....... In fact, I'm thinking of giving them away - but that would require finding some who a) has the same size feet as me and b) would appreciate the amount of work that has gone into them.

So maybe I should just put them in the sock drawer and hope I like them once autumn comes around again?

Famous?

As you know, I have a bit of a passionate love affair with Hazel Knits yarn - I've made three (or is it four?) pairs of socks with Artisan Sock now. And of course, I've joined the HK club for the last 3 shipments, so I have plenty more to play with :-)

Anyway, I recently got a message from Viki, who 'runs' the Hazel Knits blog, asking if she could feature my Mona socks.....once I'd picked myself up off the floor, I said yes (of course!).

So my lovely blue socks are now reaching a wider audience! Check it out here

P.S. I haven't been ignoring the blog - I've just been super busy. And......I've been scrapping again! More details soon, I promise!

Not green!

Cast on: 1 March 2011
Cast off: 23 March 2011
Pattern: Oviatt by Melissa Goodale
Yarn: Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in Hoppy Blonde
Needles: 2.5mm Magic Loop

Well, I did say that the next pair of socks shouldn't/couldn't be green didn't I?

To be honest, there were times this month when I seriously wondered if I would actually finish a pair of socks this month.

In addition to Oviatt (which was amazingly easy to do, by the way), I also started a pair of Thelonious in Dream in Color Smooshy in Some Summer Sky. I got to the bottom of the leg and they were faaaaar too tight, so that attempt got frogged.

I then used the same yarn to start a pair of Rick socks - only to be reminded exactly why I've never been really enamoured of that pattern (I don't like all the holes).

Third time around, I started another pair of Thelonious using some Juno Fibre Arts Buffy Sock in a lovely mix of purples - nope, that pattern has definitely got me licked.

Sometimes, Cookie A. patterns work a treat, other times they are just completely beyond my already over-loaded cerebral capacity......however, I still very much want to make a pair of Thelonious, so keep watching :-)

THREE pairs!

I have managed to finish not one, not two, but THREE pairs of socks since I last posted - not bad, given that I've also been very busy with family stuff (more on that later) and getting my head round some fairly major changes at work.....but enough of that uninteresting, work-related stuff, let's get to the pictures!

First up, I finally finished the Gentian socks for the Hazel Knits KAL. I was given this particular skein of yarn (Artisan sock in Sagebrush) last summer by the awesome Christine - I wonder if she realised just how addicted to it I would become? (Actually, given how much of this stuff she has, I think she probably did - naughty girl!)

Pattern: Gentian by Lisa Stichweh

Yarn: Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in Sagebrush

Start Date: 1 January 2011

End Date: 13 February 2011

It's a wondefully squishy, bouncy and quite thick yarn - it knits up with beautiful stitch definition and makes for a pair of very warm, snuggly socks. As a result of Christine's machinations, I have since acquired two more skeins of Artisan - Hoppy Blonde and Cloudy Day (this last one was the Club yarn from December 2010, which I was lucky to get my hands on through a trade with a fellow Ravelry member)

I also ordered the February/March sock club yarn - an amazing deal, as you get TWO skeins of 'surprise' yarn for a really good price. It's currently on it's way over the ocean (hurry up, Mr. Postman!), but I took a sneaky peek at the Hazel Knits blog - and almost fainted.....

Good Morning and Pick Me:

SWOOON!!

Next up, we have the Monkey socks from the Knit.Sock.Love February KAL - these were made using Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight in Quinault Canopy. Another nice, thickish, squishy pair of socks - and I love the way the colours twisted themselves around the leg...

Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A. (Knit.Sock.Love)

Yarn: Socks that Rock Lightweight in Quinault Canopy

Start Date: 1 February 2011

End Date: 23 February 2011

The reason these socks took just over three weeks was because I was also knitting another pair for a colleague who's in bad need of some serious cheering up. She's going in for back surgery next week and is just a little nervous to say the least. Hopefully, these will cheer her up nicely while she's on her back for 3 weeks afterwards:

Pattern: Diagonal Rib Socks by Ann Budd (I inverted the cables on the 2nd sock)
Yarn: Lana Grossa Meilenweit Sunset 100 in shade 8701

Start Date: 5 February 2011

End Date: 25 February 2011

Next up on my list is Thelonious, which is the Knit.Sock.Love pattern for March - looks pretty complicated and has required the creation of some special stitch markers so I don't lose my way. I'm also planning on turning the Artisan in Hoppy Blonde (the first yellow picture above) into a pair of Oviatt socks by Melissa Goodale - her description says it all:

"Echoing the grand Art Deco glass of Los Angeles' Oviatt Building, this sock's slip-stitch pattern creates an eye-catching geometry. Ribbing feeds into the window-pane design - much like the period by which it is inspired, Oviatt is functional, elegant and modern". Can't wait...

This post is now quite long enough - I will keep the big family news for the next one!

Plodding along.....

I finished the Hedera socks for the January Knit.Sock.Love KAL - not too sure I understand why people rave about / enjoy this pattern so much. I found it quite boring, and had to really push myself to finish them. They are now in the hands of Royal Mail, heading off to Scotland - hopefully they will bring a touch of spring to my best friend's feet :-)


Pattern: Hedera by Cookie A.
Yarn: Buffy Sock by Juno Fibre Arts in Stargazer colourway
Start date: 15 January 2011
Finish date: 4 February 2011


I'm still soldiering on with the Hazel Knits mystery socks - I've reached the final clue on both socks, so hopefully I will have a new, finished pair to show you shortly. I've enjoyed knitting these - mainly because I know completely understand why people rave so wildly about this yarn. However, they have been slow-going and I will be glad to get them off the needles and onto my feet. The yarn is super squishy and bouncy - and these socks will be very warm and cozy - perfect!


I've also started a pair of Monkey socks for the February Knit.Sock.Love KAL. I'm using some Socks That Rock Lightweight in the Quinault Canopy colourway. I've always drooled over this yarn when I've seen it on Ravelry - so I treated myself to four skeins for my 40th last year. This is the first one to be knitted up - and I LOVE it....the squishiness, the colours, the excitement of seeing how the colours come out and they way in which they pool together in different, mysterious ways......happy sigh! Here's the first sock (are you impressed with the photographic composition?)

I've also started another Mystery Sock (I know, I'm powerless to resist!) in the Barking Dog Yarns group. I've only recently discovered these yarns, and I'm looking forward to knitting with the skein of Sirius that I recently purchased. However, I'm not using that yarn for this project, as my swift has had to be sadly retired to knitting heaven and I am therefore forced to only use yarns that I have already wound into cakes until I can find a replacement.

I started out using a rather interesting yarn I had traded last summer with another Knitting Goddess - it's composed of 50% wool, 50% yak (of all things!). I love the colours and it was coming out quite pretty:

Unfortunately, it feels very stiff and scratchy. It's also unbelievably fragile - in the space of one single row, it broke THREE times. So, I have frogged my progress so far - I think I'll use hold it double and use it for something that won't get intensive wear, like a hat or scarf. We'll see......

I'm now going to be using this:

Zitron Trekking XXL in a lovely grey that is shot through with red, orange and brown. I've had this for ages, so it's definitely time it got used! I've only managed the cast on so far, but I reckon I should make good progress in the next few days.

That's it for today - now must get off and finish those HK socks!

Peacock Feathers

At last! Started back in October, I really don't know why this pattern (Passerine by Cookie A) was such a struggle.....and given that I was knitting them in the softest, smooshiest, squishiest merino/cashmere mix, you'd have thought they would wizz by.

Still, I'm really happy with how they have come out - and I love the 'feather' pattern that goes down the leg and long the foot....

I also managed to finish this little baby jacket for my friend Jessica, who had her second baby boy the week before Christmas - I'm also giving her the Oxblood Mystery socks that I finished back in October - I had enough left of the brown wool to make a little hat, so both Mummy and baby will be snuggly warm :-)

First pair of 2011

Yipee! The Cauchy socks are done - and I'm pretty pleased with them to be honest. I like the way the various purl and knit stitches combine to create an almost optical illusion. The Koigu was lovely to knit with (quite similar to Claudia Handpainted in terms of weight and 'bounce') - it makes for a nice snuggly pair of socks, without being overly warm, which is always nice!

Now to finish the Passerines that I started back in October......

Knitting Totals 2010

Well, I made it up to 17 pairs of socks in the end! Here are the final two pairs:

- the first for Mum using Angels & Elephants BFL Sock in Tamar and my own cable design:



They fit her perfectly and she loves them - result!

The second pair were done on a bit of a whim. I've joined the Knit.Sock.Love KAL group on Ravelry, where we will be doing each of the socks in the books over the next year and a bit. In December, they organised a warm-up KAL where you had to use a Cookie pattern that was not in KSL - I decided to make a pair of Wanidas, partly because I loved the pattern the first time around and partly because I wanted/needed a pair of plum-coloured socks to replace a pair that have mysteriously disappeared - I swear, I've hunted everywhere and just can't find them. I'm most unhappy, as they were last year's Socktober mystery socks knitted in Dream in Color Smooshy that I finished on New Year's Eve 2009. So here are the replacement pair, also finished on New Year's Eve, but one year later (obviously!):



These were made using the Knitting Goddess's Merino/Bamboo. It was originally a very bright mix of yellow, pink and orange - really not my thing. So I overdyed it with some Dylon in Violet - and absolutely love the result - a mix of plum, purple and russet brown. I re-named it Forest Fruits as it reminded me of autumnal walks and blackberry picking :-)

In terms of other knitting totals, I managed the following:

8 baby jackets (all in crochet - love how speedily it grows!)
12 hats of various kinds / sizes
6 shawls and scarves
95 crochet squares - either for my own baby blankets or for the Knit-A-Square charity
2 pairs of gloves

Not bad going really........

On that note, I wish you all a Happy New Year - may 2011 be filled with all you wish for and lots of creative inspiration!

15 pairs!

Back in January of this year, I set myself the goal of knitting a pair of socks a month for 2010. It's not quite December yet, and I've already blown the target out of the water :-)


I give you the 15th pair in all it's glory:

They are the Sock Knitters Anonymous November Mystery socks (such a long name, the designer is currently running a poll to find a good name for them), made using YarnAddicts Yarns BFL in Dusty Lilac. They are also eligible for this month's KAL in the Solid Socks group, which was knitting on an 'air' theme - these make me thing of those frosty morning, when your breath puffs out in clouds and things crunch underfoot - very appropriate given the freezing temperatures we are currently enduring. I've christened them Frosted Lilacs

I am sooo in love with these - they look really complicated with all the twisted stitches and cables, but they really weren't that bad. Maybe that's because the knitting was split into clues...I don't know. I finished them on Thursday night and they fit like a dream. And that yarn is sooo soft - have never known BFL (Blue Faced Leicester to you - 100% British sheep!) as soft as this. A pity the dyer doesn't seem to sell this particular yarn any more....

And, just because I can, here is the 'Sock Gallery 2010' - big smile!

Of course, socks are not the only thing I've made this year - will be back soon with the totals in all other categories....

Wooosh!

Yep, that's what happened to October - it just went whizzing right past my eyes...no idea what happened to it, but I was shocked on Monday to realise that it was already November.

Progress on the two pairs of October socks has been slow to say the least - but I have turned the heel on all four socks and the 1st sock of the pink Through The Loops socks is almost done. Just to prove it, here's a picture of what they looked like at the end of Clue 2:

Passerine (the green ones) has been a little painful, due to all the twisted stitches - so much so, that I have decided to knit the foot in a simple ribbing stitch to save my wrists.

Despite the lack of 'sock mojo', I did manage a few other things:

A couple of little bits of cuteness for imminent arrivals (they will get hats and little shoes to match)

And some hats - the two pink ones were intended for me, but came out too small, so will be gifted to various little/young people for Christmas.

In the meantime, it's the start of another month, which of course, means new socks (yes, I know the last two aren't finished - but you know what? I don't care!). Both the SolidSocks and SockKnittersAnonymous groups on Ravelry have mystery patterns this month - and I'm such a sucker for those.......

Here's the start of the SolidSocks one:

I have started the SKA Mock, but haven't made enough progress to show you any pictures. Soon, I promise! P.S. It has twisted stitches - will I never learn?

August / September Socks

It's been a while since I posted about anything knitting-related - but that doesn't mean I haven't been playing with 'string and pointy sticks' :-)

First up, a pair that I started back in June, but which got a little stalled as I got bored with the pattern. Having said that, I'm pleased with how they came out - particulary as the yarn was one of the first skeins of Knitting Goddess goodness that I bought last summer, so I'm pleased to have found a use for it at last!

Yarn: Knitting Goddess BFL Superwash in Copper Desert
Pattern: Dragonfly socks by Jocelyn Sertich
Started: 1 June 2010
Finished: 25 August 2010
Destination: Alex B's Xmas pressie

Next, another yarn that was purchased almost a year ago, and which did not prove very cooperative. I tried knitting a lacy scarf with this, as well as two other sock patterns, and was almost ready to throw it out before giving it one last try.

This was the Solid Socks September/October mystery sock by the amazing Himawari (aka Claudia Eisenkolb). I loved the pattern - with all the leaves, perfect for autumn - but I'm still not sure it's the perfect pairing of pattern and yarn. We live and learn I guess....

Yarn: Madeleine Tosh ToshSock in Oxblood
Pattern: Mystery socks by Claudia Eisenkolb
Started: 5 September 2010
Finished: 29 September 2010
Destination: going to Jessica when she has baby #2 in a few weeks time

July's socks

Some of you might remember that, a few months back, I decided to follow the Yarn Harlot and set up my own personal monthly 'project club' - I set up a bag containing various smaller bags with the yarn and pattern already paired together. The theory was that, each time I finished a project, I would pull another one from 'the bag' at random....I will be honest and admit that the contents have been 'tampered with' a little - I've switched some patterns around. This is partly because my focus has switched slightly from socks to shawls - must be thoughts of Christmas being not that far away now.....

One of the projects that got 'substituted' was this pair of socks:

I'm really, really chuffed with these - for several reasons:

a) they only took 2.5 weeks, which when you think that they were mainly knit on the bus to / from work, is really not bad going

b) point a is even more amazing when you consider that they are made from a Cookie A pattern (Angee to be precise) - while I love Cookie's patterns, they are definitely not 'easy' socks and often require a lot of concentration (and some swearing at various points!)

c) I don't think the photos are doing them complete justice, but the colour is just gawgeous - the yarn is Colinette Jitterbug and the colourway is Morello Mash - says it all really! I had popped into my local yarn store (Loop, in Islington) to check out their new premises - and had been completely powerless to resist this gorgeous bit of squishyness - I cast on only two days later, which is unheard of in my world lol!

This is definitely one of my favourite colours - in fact, when I went to put the finished pair into my sock drawer (yes, I now have drawer specifically for handknit socks!) I realised that I had already made two pairs in a similar colour - predictable, me?

P.S. Update on the Knit-a-Square crochet-thon - 25 squares shipped off to South Africa this morning! Wonder if I can do better in August?

A busy life......

.....leaves very little time for blogging! No seriously, I can't apologise enough. Life really is very full these days.

A quick snapshot of the last six weeks or so:

- the new job is going well and looks set to last until at least September

- Miss A is enjoying spending more time with her Granny (who picks her up from nursery these days, as I can't any longer), but is still refusing to sleep in her own bed....

- Mr A and I took ourselves off to Spain for a week in mid-June (without Miss A who was looked after by my parents). Total bliss - long lie-ins, good food & wine, lots of sunbathing and book-reading - just what we needed. No photos I'm afraid as I deliberately didn't take my camera!

- we've all be suffering a little in the recent heatwave. I personally wouldn't mind it, if only I didn't have to sit in a hot, sticky bus for an hour each evening.......bleurgh!

- Miss A has just acquired her first pair of ballet shoes and leotard:

Can't wait to see what happens during her first class next Saturday.

- Mr A and I are in the throes of planning our joint 40th birthday party this weekend. We've discovered FOURTEEN bottles of champagne in the cellar......raspberry belinis anyone?

On the crafting front, the heat has pretty much scuppered most attempts at playing with wool, but I have managed a few things. While on holiday, I finally managed to make some progress on the Solid Socks May Mystery socks - those cables almost did my head in.....but I'm very, very pleased with the result:

I have also once again been completely taken over by the crochet bug - I can't express how much I love this particular craft. It's portable, doesn't require as much concentration as my knitting, and gives super quick results. I whipped up this little beauty in just under a week:

Partly due to the heat, and partly due to a recent urgent call by Knit-A-Square for over 55,000 squares by September, I'm devoting most of my free time to making granny squares:

These are just a few of the 35+ squares that I've managed to whip since the beginning of July. I'm hoping to send several large bags before the autumn. And it's a great way of using up scraps / spare wool! Talking of leftovers, I happened to mentioned this little 'project' to a colleague of mine and she mentioned that she had starting making a crochet blanket a few months ago, but got bored. So yesterday, I took delivery of this:

70 part-completed squares
and 15 very large balls of wool

Should keep me quiet for a while, no?

New job!

I went for two interviews this week - one was a bit of a disaster as I strangely got very nervous. Thankfully, the 2nd one went well - and I heard today that they want me to start on Monday! Whee! Now don't get too excited - it's a temporary role, so far only guaranteed until the end of June. Having said that, it's a proper marketing role and it's with a professional services firm, so I shall be back where I belong in every sense of the word. I'm really looking forward to it - and even better, guess what I get to see out of the office window?

Yep! The Tower of London! And look where I get to spend my lunch break

St. Katherine's Dock - let's just hope there's lots of nice weather in the next few weeks.

One good thing about all the travelling I've done to and from interviews? I've finished a pair of socks - of course, they don't quite match.....

On the left, we have some rather gorgeous Koigu made up using the Charade pattern - I've christened these my Sugar Plum Fairy socks as I think the colours reflect what she would have worn (yes, I'm prone to girly flights of fancy occasionally). On the left, we have the Knitting Goddess's April sock yarn club using a cloverleaf and double eyelet rib. April's sock yarn also coincided with Easter - so the colourway was Speckled Egg - for that particular month, I got the luxury option (80% superwash merino, 10% cashmere, 10% nylon). Amazingly soft and a dream to knit with.....

I'm also solidering on with May 2010 Mystery sock by Cynthia Levy - cables, cables and more cables. This is possibly the most complicated pattern I have attempted so far - and I can only do about four rows at a time before my shoulder/wrist starts hurting. Still, I am enjoying it (in a slightly masochistic way) - and I'm really happy that I have finally found a suitable pattern for this gorgeous merino/tencel that I hand-dyed last summer - about time too! The picture shows the first sock done to the end of Clue 2 - but Clue 3 comes out tomorrow, which means I'm already a week behind...

All the fun of the fair!

So, in my last post I forgot to mention that the multi-coloured yarn I was using for my (ever so slightly) psychedelic socks was called Funfair.......and here they are finished (and already worn!) in all their glory:

Such a pity the dyer who created this no longer seems to be trading - sigh!

Oh, and before I forget, I got bitten by the 'shawl bug' on Good Friday - and managed to get this knitted, washed and blocked by midday on Easter Monday - phew! Hopefully my friend Jessica (for whom it is destined as a late birthday present) will like it.....

The pattern is 198 Yards of Heaven, using Lang Yarns Jawoll Magic in the Viola colourway

Finished / On the Go

I've been a bit slack about posting recently, so I thought it was time for a quick update!

First, the cabled fingerless gloves have been finished for quite a while and have been keeping my hands nice and cosy in this recent bout of unseasonably cold weather that is gripping the country (it's Easter for goodness sake! Spring should most definitely be here by now....):

As I said before, this yarn (from Juno Fibre Arts) is just divine - if you can get your hands on some, then do so - you won't be disappointed!
As you can see, I also had enough of the original skein left over to make some matching mittens for Miss A - she loves them and is particularly thrilled at being 'twins' with Mummy :-)

I've also finished my Faux Cable socks (these were made using Araucania Ranco Multy in a rather scrummy mix of teal blue, eggplant and dusky rose).

Very simple, very quick (or they would have been if I didn't keep getting distracted by other projects) and very snuggly.
So that means that I am now back on track with my '12 pairs of socks in 2010' project - wheee! But that doesn't mean I've been slacking - oh no! I currently have four (yes, four!) other pairs of socks on the needles.

The first are a pair of 'Plain Jane' vanilla socks, using the amazing rainbow-coloured yarn I bought last summer from Spindlefrog. Not only is it super soft and squishy, but the colours are the most saturated I've ever found - there is just about every colour that I can think of in here and the very short colour runs mean that the stripes are very, very cool:

I'm actually much more advanced now than the picture shows - sock #1 is done and I'm about to turn the gusset on sock #2. I just haven't been home at times when the light has been good recently.....





Pair #2 is a pair of Charades using the most gorgeous pink, purple and brown gorgeousness in Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino (or KPPPM in 'knit speak') - I've christened them my Sugar Plum Fairy socks as I think these are the colours she would wear....


















Pair #3 and #4 are a bit of a new departure for me - they are both being made using the 'two-at-a-time' technique. This technique definitely requires me to use my brain in a different way but the results (i.e. no Second Sock Syndrome) should be worth it.

The first pair will be for Miss A, using this gorgeous limited colourway - Perfect Beach - by Joy of The Knitting Goddess. She was very busy during the month of March, dyeing a new colourway every single day, with part of the proceeds going to Macmillan Cancer care - it was a bit of a feeding frenzy each night, which is why I only managed to get my hands on this one. I think they'll look just great on a little person. I've only managed the cuffs so far, so you'll just have to have a picture of the skein before it was wound up..

The final pair were not exactly planned....but then yesterday I received my April sock club yarn from the afore-mentioned Goddess. This month's colour is called Speckled Egg and is the most gorgeous mix of duck-egg blue and chocolate brown with small white specks here and there. I opted to receive the 'mixed' club, which meant this month's selection was a skein of luxury sock yarn (cashmere & merino with a bit of nylon for strength). As soon a I opened it, I knew it had to be started then and there - I've only done the cuff(s) so far but it is just so soft and is knitting up beautifully. Pictures soon - I promise!