F.O. Friday

I have three FO's this week. The Monkey Socks:

The Vincent Van Gogh Sunflowers socks:

And finally a Mini Sock from a pattern by Stacey Trock from Fresh Stitches:

The sock phase continues, I still have one pair on the needles. But I have started a top! I know! Shocking!

The Joy of Socks

I on a bit of a sock binge at the moment. I have finished the Monkey socks which are a fantastic pattern to make. Have yet to block them and take pictures. I have blocked the Snicket socks:

I really like the cuff on these where you knit through the back of the stitch to make a raised column. The lattice pattern can be a bit fiddly to do but looks really good so is worth it. I used King Cole Zig Zag which felt a bit rough but then really softened up after washing and blocking.
And yes I have cast on more socks. Two pairs in fact. I was only intending to start one, but then I watched The Knit Girllls podcast and they happened to say that the Opal Vincent Van Gogh sock yarn is being discontinued. I have been meaning to make a pair of sock out of this yarn for ages, so of course I quickly went and brought some in the Sunflowers colourway. I am just doing a plain vanilla sock toe-up and with an afterthought heel.
While waiting for the Opal yarn to arrive I cast on for a pair of  Business Casual socks by Tanis Lavallee. I am using Woolcraft Superwash Sock Yarn in a mottled brown and black colourway.
I also had to buy a new 2.25mm circular needle as the plastic tubing broke just where it connects to the bamboo needle on my old ones. I prefer using bamboo needles as I get quite a bit of pain in my hands and metal needles seem to make it worse. So I looked for something a bit stronger than bamboo but not metal and came up with Knit Pro Karbonz. So I ordered one and so far seem to be getting on ok with it. They are bit more expensive than other similar products but are well made and I am happy with them. The join between the cable and the needle does catch a bit, but the cable is very flexible with no memory and the metal points make it easy to see dark coloured stitches. This is why I didn't go for the wooden Symfonie needles. I brought a set of Symfonie dpns and found it really hard to see the stitches against the coloured wood. And it's difficult to find the small sizes in plain wooden circulars. I may have to get some metal needles for doing lace though as the points need to be sharper and I haven't seen any pointy needles that aren't metal. I shall stick to socks for now.

Not so lazy!

I finally finished spinning the merino for my partner's mother's birthday on my drop spindle. It's take a while! I split it in two and and now starting to ply the two together. Again on my drop spindle! I was hoping to have the spinning wheel ready by now, but it still needs some work on the wheel shaft. The bobbins came though!!! They are brilliant, and I really must thank Joan and Clive Jones from Woodland Turnery for the excellent job they did. They even managed to repair the broken one I sent as a template for free! Can't wait to use them.

To help with the plying I made my own Lazy Kate. It's just three old knitting needles pushed through the basket I use to store my fibre in.

I also got around to making a drawstring bag this week. I have had the material for ages, and have been meaning to make it for ages! Even though I hand stitched it, it made up pretty quick.

Knitting-wise I have finished the knitting part of the new kitchen clock, but then found that the clock mechanism I got for it does not have a long enough shaft to go through it! So have had to buy a new one, and will have to wait till next week to finish the project.
As I had finished the Snicket socks I decided to start on another pair of socks. I wanted to try out doing an afterthought heel. So I watched the afterthought heel tutorial by The Knit Girlls on YouTube and then cast on for a pair of Monkey Socks by Cookie A. I have done one sock and am half way through the other. The afterthought heel is brilliant. Very easy and fits my heel well. Much nicer than picking up stitches for a gusset. The Monkey sock pattern is very quick to knit up too, and looks much more complicated than it is. Will have to decide what to knit next sooner than I thought I would!



My first lace shawl!

Have finished my first ever lace pattern shawl! Yay! It's the Ashton Shawlette by Dee O'Keefe and is a chart pattern written for those new to working form a chart. It takes you step by step through the chart, and helps you understand how to read the chart. I found it very helpful as I had not really worked from a chart only pattern before. The pattern itself is not difficult and very pretty, I really enjoyed making this. I did make a couple of mistakes and had to frog back, but that was because I was tired and not concentrating properly. I hadn't made a shawl that needed pinning out to block it  so needed to invest in blocking mats. I really needed blocking wires as well, but one thing at a time. I found some reasonable children's interlocking play mats on E-bay which work brilliantly.

I used a ball of cotton yarn that I had plied to 4ply from a large lace weight cone and dyed with Dylon in Antique Grey. It's lovely and soft, and the stitch definition is great.

I seem to be on a bit of a shawl kick at the moment, and socks too. I have also gotten around to blocking the Trilobite Socks. I really loved making these. I learnt four new techniques in one project so am really chuffed with myself. I learnt the Turkish cast on, using the magic loop method, toe-up socks and Jenny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off  (which was surprisingly stretchy!) I used King Cole Zig Zag self-stripping, which doesn't really show the pattern to the best advantage, but I love the colours so am very happy with it. Will be doing this pattern again anyway so will go with a plain yarn next time.

Hope you like these FO's. Head on over to Tami's Amis to check out more FO's. x

FO Friday

I have two finished projects today. My toe-socks by Abigail Grasso.  I am not really fond of making separate toes, it's the same with gloves and fingers, but am glad I made the effort. Very pleased with them.

Secondly I have a shawlette, the Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief by Orange Flower. It's a simple DK  stockinette stitch with bands of yarnovers. It knits up really quickly, so am going to make a lot for gifts this year.

Going to go and look at other peoples FO's over on Tami's Amis now. x

WIP Wednesday

I have three pairs of socks on the go at the moment. First the Basic Toe Sock Pattern by Abigail Grasso. I have finished the first sock and and working on the toes of the second. I am using King Cole Zig Zag.  That's Lenoir standing guard next to them, waiting for the chance to play with the yarn.

The next is the Simple Sock Pattern by Sue Morgan. This came with the ball of Katia Ole Socks which mum brought with the intention of knitting socks for my step-dad. She managed to get to the heel of the first sock (with my help) then gave up. So I thought I'd better finish them if my step-dad ever wants to wear them!

And finally the Trilobite Socks by Wendy D. Johnson. I have wanted to try toe-up socks for ages and couldn't wait to finish the first two pairs of socks to give it a go. I was a bit worried about the Turkish cast-on , but found it really easy and a brilliant seamless cast on. I probably should have used a plain yarn for this pattern, but am really liking the striping so am not that bothered. Will definitely be doing these socks again anyway.