Busy, busy

I've been flat out busy for the last couple of months. I went straight from London to panto and onto Wales for my current job. We have opened now and I, at last, have some time to myself. I did get some knitting finished as 2 shows a day over panto gave me a fair bit of mindless knitting time.

Firstly, the tube socks got finished.

(I mistakenly deleted the picture I had taken before I started wearing them, they are looking a bit loved now!)

I cast on 56 stitches for these rather than 60 as before to try for a snugger fit. I like the way the fewer stitches has made the colour pool into wedges that stack on top of each other. However, it has also made the cast on a bit tight. I think that I need to cast on and rib 60 stitches and decrease 4 stitches over my first knit round. A different cast on method may help too as I'm still using the knitted cast on.

I moved onto another sock in this yarn.


I liked the colours in the ball. It looked like I'd get small stripes of lots of colours. But, I needed to look more closely at the yarn as the changes of colour were much smaller than I thought. It knit up like this

which I hate. I also tried a 2 needle cast on which I managed to knit very neatly and tightly, so that I can't actually get it on! For these reasons this sock will forever remain a singleton, a sock full of fail. I have no idea what to do with the other ball of yarn. I might try a beret with it, the longer rounds may make the colours sit together better. Or maybe just destash through Ravelry.

This sock came next, in Schoppel Wolle, Adrmiral Flakes.

At the moment it is a singleton, but this one I shall be knitting a mate. I like the colours on this, it's like ice cream. Vanilla with mint and chocolate swirls. I did the 2 needle cast on I used for the fail sock but this time used a larger needle than for the body of the sock. I did a K2 P1 rib over 60 stitches decreasing 4 over my first knit round and it worked really well. I'm also happier with the heel on this one as I managed to get neater decreases. I'm having to fudge them as I have less stitches than in my pattern. The only thing I don't like about this sock is the way that the colour pools in blobs on the rib, but as I never wear skirts, only trousers this will always be hidden.

Other non-sock knitting was also achieved, but that can wait for another day.