New Socks

The colour is truest in this photo.

These socks were started in 2009 I think. I tried to make Pomatomus. And 3 times I messed up - a combination of gauge and stitch errors - and ripped it out and started again. After the third frogging I decided to reunited them in my vanilla sock pattern as I really liked the yarn and didn't want to totally spoil it with all the ripping back. So here they are the 8 year socks!

Yarn is Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino in the colourway Tropical Storm.

Pattern is my usual variations on Sue Morgan's Simple Sock Pattern.

Needles are 2.5mm dpn's. 

Giving Back/Giving Away

With all the projects I have with me what I really needed was another one! I popped home for the weekend and whilst I didn't have time to go through and catalogue things properly I did have time to open the box with unfinished things in. 

I grabbed this fabric (dyed in a dying class and pieced in a class about curves and points. I took a lot of QU classes about 10/12 years ago) and a scrap of wadding. I'm hand quilting it in lines that echo the shibori dying. This will then be trimmed to 12 1/2" (I've marked the area I will be cutting so I can keep my stitches inside and won't cut them when I trim the block) and be the first that will head to little island quilting for her Soy Amado quilts. You can read more on her blog. I'm planning to get a good few blocks done to send this way. It will be a good way to clear out blocks for quilts that I just don't feel the love for anymore and that I know I won't end up finishing.

Getting back in the saddle

I've got 12 partly done projects with me at the moment and 2 weeks left on this contract.  Let's see how many I can get done by the end of the month.

Yellow and orange BSJ - this needs seaming and buttons sewing on.

Purple and blue BSJ - this needs ends weaving, seaming, buttons buying, button holes making (for some reason I didn't make the button holes whilst I was knitting it) and buttons sewing on.

A white scarf which I was given as a kit for Christmas 4 years ago. I'm around halfway and it's an easy knit which would be good to get finished.

Baby Norgi.  I started this for my niece before she was born (so about 3 years ago) it has been ripped out once as I had the yarn dominance wrong for the colourwork.  When I restarted I went with a bigger size but if I don't get on with it then it will be too small. I'm partway through the pattern section across the chest and this has steeking which may take me a while to brave.

Katrinkles Christmas decorations. These have been finished they just need felt glueing to the back to hide the ends.

Needle felted Christmas decorations. These will be an ongoing project but for this month I'm aiming to get the 5 partly done ones finished.

Sea socks. These are my current work project and are ticking along slowly but surely.

Crochet hexagons. These are going to be a table runner and placemats for my house. They've been kicking about for over 10 years. The original plan had been a blanket but when I picked up the project again most of the colours had been discontinued hence the redesign. All of the hexies for the runner are completed and I think I'm down to the last 2 placemats. I need to get things blocked and then joined together.

More hexies, EPP this time. I bought the fabric over 10 years ago to make a quilt for my cousin's new born. I was so overwhelmed with the design possibilities that I couldn't even decide upon size. All I knew was that I wanted to use hexagons. When I moved into my flat in 2015 I started going through my fabric stash that had been in hiding for a while and pulled out these fabrics. I doodled about and picked a size of hexies that meant I would get a number in each fabric (I had fat 1/8's) and that wouldn't be too small. All of the hexies have been basted and I've made a start on sewing them together. I'm aiming for random. I have a recipient in mind (unless it takes me another 10 years!) and backing fabric picked out.

Goats hat and mitts. These are for a friend and have had slow progress made on them, they've been on the go for around a year and I'm almost done on he first mitt. It's stranded colourwork and I think it's currently too loose which is why it's in timeout. I think I need to finish the mitt, then work on the hat and then reassess mitt...

Barcelona Snood. This is a fairly new project with some yarn I got in a giveaway. It's growing slowly as it's 5 rows of purl then 1 row with lots of short row action. I think I'm around halfway through the yarn.

Then finally spinning. I have a grey single that needs plying and the skeins I've spun over Christmas and new year need a bath.

Phew. In February I'll be at home for a couple of weeks and can put together a list of things there that need finishing too.

Knitting Olympics 2014

The winter Olympics in Sochi kick off this afternoon and I have a little knitting planned. Baby Norgi, this has been in my queue for several years now and I think it's finally time to tackle it. It's colourwork again, but this time I'm upping the stakes as this pattern features steeking!

I've been stash raiding for the yarn for this and have come up with Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Lightweight in Sweet Pea and Pining 4 Ewe and Malabrigo Sock in Lettuce.

Having a closer look at the pattern I noticed that I'm short of the Sweet Pea that I need for the background. So, I'm going to cast on and keep my fingers crossed that someone on Ravelry will be destashing a skein!

I'm off to look for some needles as I've got just over an hour and a half until the opening ceremony starts. (As you can see I'm SO prepared for this)

When Life Gives You Lemons.....

make lemonade. Or when you accidentally felt your new hand knit socks that you only got to wear twice .....

make a sock monkey!

This little fellow will be off to his new home next week. I hope they like him.

Antipodean February Baby Sweater

Pattern: February Baby Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmerman

Yarn: Sundara sock yarn in Charcoal over Blue Lagoon

Needles: 3.75mm circular

Cast on: February 2012

Cast off: March 2012

A friend saw the green February baby sweater that I made and was disappointed to find out that it had gone to someone else. I had did a lot of travelling this year and as this is a perfect travel knit I decided to make another.

This was cast on on the runway at Heathrow and cast off in Paihia, New Zealand.

The little buttons came from the button jar at home, and quite possibly from something I wore as a child.

I think if I make this again I might try a different lace pattern just to mix it up a bit. 

Baby Yours

Look some one made me a cardi!

Pattern: Baby Yours by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Yarn: Socks that Rock mediumweight in Ghillie Dhu

Needles: 3.5mm bamboo 

Cast On: July 2011

Cast Off: December 2011

This is the companion pattern to Baby Mine. Where as the Baby Mine has delicate lacy detail on the sleeves and body - perfect for a little girl - Baby Yours has chunky cables and lovely off centre buttons.

Hey, look at me, aren't I cute in my cardi?

When my friend announced that she was expecting I knew this was the perfect knit for her. And with a Scottish dad the yarn - Ghillie Dhu - that I had purchased with the pattern was perfect too. Ghillie Dhu is an off white, it has the lightest hint of green to it in a delicately variegated yarn.

The pattern is really sweet. A nice boxy little boy cardigan with a great cable on the front and moss stitch borders and sleeves. I love the interest of the a-symetric buttons allowing for the wide cable motif on the front.

Look, here's my man an C & A pose.

I went for nice chunky wooden buttons for this knit. Again, these were from John Lewis and chosen for this cardigan.

Dude, enough with the photos already. I know I'm cute but seriously!

Mmm, cosy cardi xx