A cosy spot, knitting socks for Ivo, sheep spotting at The Forum and baking bread…..

Goodness, and where has the time gone…..it really doesn’t seem like 5 minutes ago I was thinking about what we were going to eat over the Winter holidays and now all of a sudden the front room windows are open, the apple trees in the garden are in blossom and I can hear fat bees buzzing about for pollen filled flowers to tumble around in….and if you’re wondering about Bernard, well he’s taken refuge today behind the sofa, while he seems to get on for the most part with the little cat from next door, he also knows when he’s had enough of her playful ways and then it’s tappety tap tap at the cat flap (yes, he can let himself in but he likes us to open the door to him…and now said little cat from next door does it too, not that we let her in but we often hear a tap tap noise only to see her face through the cat glass…)

So I hope you’ve put the kettle on and have a cup of tea as this is quite a bit of a catch up and round down of what I’ve been up to of late, and you know by now how I do go on…..I know my blog posts have been a bit sparse these past months and I’ve had a couple of worried emails asking if I had stopped writing it, so many thank yous for those..we’re all okay but I just needed a little time to me….so come on in,  sit down….the cushions have just been plumped, and I know there are some tunnock biscuits in the cupboard……

As a lot of you will know I finally got round to gettitng a new phone, one with a camera and so I’ve been able to share pictures over on Instagram, and back in February there was a daily photo challenge called “yarn love challenge”…and while it was centered more on knitting and crochet it really made me think a whole lot about my other crafting and making…from sewing and patchwork to cooking in the evening and baking bread….one of the prompts was “where I craft” and while for the most part I do all my sewing, embroidery, patchwork (anything where pins and needles might drop and lurk, waiting for the boyfriend to come home and stand on them) upstairs in my work room, I love tucking myself into this corner to do my knitting……there’s a little coffee table just out of shot where I can have a pot of tea, and most days Bernard jumps up alongside me, sprawls all out, has a wash then a little nap…..it’s a nice cosy spot nd it just feels good to have squishy hand made cushions all around me……(you’ll probably recognize these cushions from when I wrote about making them the other Summer)….the side lamp was a charity shop buy, it had a very boring wicker shade on it but I cut that all off and covered the wire frame with vintage Sanderson prints…..and on the wall are some of my tapestry pictures which have been picked up from all over……..

Quite a lot of my time this year has been spent trying to catch up with Christmas/ birthday presents (I know, I’m terrible but I just ran out of time in December)… I always forget how long a handmade gift takes to make, it’s never the cheap or fast option is it, and I probbaly take longer making things as a gift than I would if it was someting for me, I want it to look just right, be as perfect as I can get it….anyway, a whole lot of gift knitting went on because we got to see some friends who live in Norway, this was the first time we’ve seen them in just over 3 years so it was really exciting, we all met up in Cambridge and had a really lovely day out there (I definitely want to try and pop back for the day at some point this year)…sadly one of their children had to stay with granny for the day as she’d come down with chickenpox (the little girl, not granny) and I haven’t had it so ….. but we sent back lots of hugs and kisses for her…..one of the gifts I made was this little pair of socks for “baby” Ivo….he’s not a baby anymore and is actually 3 in about a weeks time….the yarn was some that I bought from Meadowyarn which is a really nice on-line shop which is based very close to the village where I grew up, so buying from them most certainly feels like I’m shopping local (for Christmas my boyfriend’s family bought me a beautiful swift to wind yarn on that was made by Mister Meadowyarn so that always feels very special to use)…the yarn for the socks was quite plump, it’s almost an Aran weight so these are lovely and squishy, a bounce with every step…..I used this pattern (it’s a free one) and my making notes are just here in case you are interested……it’s a very easy to follow pattern, and has a nice range of sock sizes from baby all the way through to 8 years old….

Along with the socks for Ivo I knitted his mum a big shawl (I used the Open Sky shawl pattern by Andrea Mowry as this was the shawl pattern that made me fall in love with knitting) the notes for Goska’s shawl are all here…and for the two girls I knitted each of them cowls which I pretty much designed myself….that sounds way more fancy than what I actually did….this was the cowl for Saski with the notes here..and this is the one for Hanja…..and the notes are here...

The yarn was Hjertegarn Lima and it’s a Danish all wool yarn, I wanted to use the same yarn for all the projects and then with what is left over I thought I would knit something for myself and then whenever I wear it they’d be in my thoughts in an instant……

There’s also been some other knitting going on for friends and family who live much closer but I’ll share that for another day…..

I’ve also been baking lots of bread again, our stove has been playing up for a long time and we’re just waiting to buy a new one, in the meantime we have a smaller one which isn’t really as good but with a bit of experimenting with dough and cooking times I feel reasonably happy with the loaves I’m able to bake in it…..mostly it’s just a very simple loaf made with a natural starter/leaven….and then a dribble of honey, good bread flour from Shipton Mill, some oats, sesame seeds, oil and salt……it’s best to take your time making it, not rushing the proving times, but there’s lots you can be getting on with while the bread is resting under a floury cloth…..

I’ve also taken part in “Lentenwipdown” which Hanna from Patch Aesthetic writes about here …basically it’s all about finishing off those wips (works in progress) that are laying around, or are lurking in the back of cupboards before you start any new projects….gift knitting or making is still allowed though….I like not doing things for Lent even though I’m not Christian, it makes me really appreciate it when I start doing them again….and while I seem to have spent most of the “wipdown” gift knitting, I have managed to finish one of my crochet blankets which really does deserve it’s own blog post……I actuallly finished it last Sunday and was so pleased…..being made of acrylic the colour combinations are certainly on the gaudy side, and it’s already been plucked half to death by Bernard (I find acrylic yarn is a devil at plucking, whereas wool yarns seem able to resist his attentions much better)…

Other fun and exciting things, The Forum in Norwich was once again home to Maker’s Month in February, and one of the highlights for me was seeing these beautiful Whitefaced Woodland sheep…….it’s actually a breed I’d not heard of before and is on the “vulnerable” listing by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust , oh but aren’t they sweet…..Their colouring was lovely, a really creamy white fleece, with beautiful milky faces and legs with the pinkiest of rose petal noses…..Their horns are quite small and were the prettiest fawn colour….if you’re at all interested in their yarn then I believe you can buy it from www.blackbat.com…after seeing them it’s certainly made me want to knit with some.

The other really fun thing for me during Maker’s Month was getting to do an afternoon workshop with Jen Monahan (she’s Fibreworkshop on instagram and she also has a very interesting blog and sells beautiful hand spun yarn and fibre in her etsy shop)….I met Jen last year at the Maker’s Month, the fibre she’d spun was breathtaking and she kindly showed me how to use a drop spindle…so I felt I really needed a refresher and booked in for a workshop this year, and have come away feeling much more confident with my spindle using…..this has actually set some “wheels” in motion…more of which another time……if you get the chance I wholeheartedly recommend her classes, she’s very patient and is very good at demonstrating what it is you need your hands to do……

Phew…I think after all that we both need another cup of tea, now who’s going to put the kettle on…..

 

 

 

 

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Woolly ripples and rose pink stitches…

Over the weekend I shared a wee peep of these beautiful socks I managed to finally cast off over the Winter holidays, they weren’t a fast knit for me by any means as they took just over 3 months to knit (though, as always, I was making other things at the same time) but I can say I am very proud to look down and see these pink poppets on my toes….

I’d bought the lovely rose pink sock yarn from Meadowyarn in the Spring last year, it’s the Exmoor sock yarn by John Arbon and the colourway is blossom.  I liked how it looked just the same rosy pink as my Nanny’s face powder (it’s actually her old compact in the above photo)….and like Mooch in the Mutts comic strip, I’m very much a fan of little pink socks

The pattern is called Lunar Tides and it’s by Louise Tilbrook..it blends a series of different stitches into a beautiful flowing and very natural feeling design… with lacework and cables and moss stitch, it really echoes the pattern left by waves along the shoreline …… incredibly the pattern is written both top down and cuff down (I still find it amazing that Louise writes most of her sock patterns this way, she’s definitely a knitting wizard in my eyes) and even more awesomely…this is one of her free patterns.

The advantage to starting a sock at the toes rather than the cuff, is that you have somewhat better control over how much of your yarn you’re then using for the leg…if you want to use up all your skein then you don’t have to worry that you might run out like when you knit cuff down socks….I really wanted these socks to be a fancy luxourious pair that used up as much of the skein as possible and I ended up working quite a lot of repeats to create that lovely leg length….(I’ve not actually washed and blocked these yet, I’m too busy enjoying having them on my feet for any of that)

The wonderfully kind Isla from Brit Yarn gifted me a sock shop amount of assorted dpns last year and I thought it would be a good opportunity to try out the Knit pro ones…as a rule I don’t really like their patterned wood needles, they make me feel a bit nauseous, like I’m on a rollercoaster…but actually these weren’t too swirly at all and were wonderfully sleek, the woolly stitches slid over them a treat, not so slippy as a metal needle, not quite so sticky as a regular wooden one…a real mummy bear of a needle….

I’ve not yet attempted magic loop or any proper two at a time knitting ( if you’re not a knitter I’ll try and explain magic loop a little….it’s when you knit something on a pair of needles that have a big loop of cable between the needle tips…some incredibly amazing kntters who I feel should all be in the Magic Circle with their “that’s magic” skills, can knit two socks at a time using this method…and I’ve even seen pictures of people …possibly wizards…knitting 2 pairs…that’s 4 socks at a time….however I know I can be a bit muddley with things like this so am happy to knit one sock at a time on little wooden pointy sticks)…..so instead I just did what made sense to me…..I had a set of Brittany wooden needles the same size as the Knit Pro ones so I mixed up both pairs so I’d have enough needles and worked a bit on one sock, and then a bit on the other…..just because the last pair of socks I’d made came out rather different in tension and I thought this would keep me on more of an even keel……actually I ended up liking the Knit Pro needles so much I bought a pair so I could knit both socks on those.

The only thing I would change about the pattern is that next time I knit these (and there will be a next time as I really liked the pattern) is to make the toe a little softer, just because I have very round toes and I find this suits my feet better….but that’s a very small change.

Working the increases around the heel and gusset of the sock was proably the hardest part of the sock for me, I’ve only knit one pair of toe up socks before and that pattern was very different in the heel construction, I’m more familiar with cuff downs and so everything here seems like it is being worked backwards….there was lots of ripping out and doing it again on both socks as I kept making silly mistakes but I got a real bee in my bonnet and kept on until that wonderful moment where the sun comes out and you understand exactly what you need to be doing…..it doesn’t matter what I’m doing, knitting socks, making creme brulee or baking bread, that moment where the cream starts thickening and resisting the spoon (it’s ready to cool and set for tonight’s pudding) the kneaded dough cools and becomes silky (it’s ready to leave it be so it can prove)…tiny happenings where understanding just dawns and a smile beams across your face.

I probably need to now knit another pair of toe up socks, no fancy pattern just basic plain vanilla socks, so I can go over this process again then I’ll have it fixed in my mind a little better….perhaps a pair of really tiny baby socks (no….not dropping cryptic hints about storks arriving, but I’ve seen other knitters do this to learn a technique)

There were a couple of other little mishaps while knitting…not the patterns fault but knitting on the bus in fingerless gloves using dpns is possibly not the best idea when the driver of said bus is a lumpy and brake screechy driver…..at one point the needle caught n my gloves and before I knew it….a section of live stitches were all exposed….I had to just sit still and wait til I was off the bus and then was able to pick them all up…..but it was hairy scary for a minute though….

And the tah dah moment when I cast off the second sock to show my boyfriend and we both did a Cary Grant double take at the socks…..one was somewhat longer than the other…. I had some how managed to knit different lengths even though I was sort of knitting them at the same time together….anyway, we ended up laughing as there’s not much more you can do at times like this, and then after trying them both on I felt the shorter sock fitted better, so I just chopped off the very top edge of the longer sock, ripped it back to where I needed the new rib cuff to start and picked up the stitches……

However….after many weeks of picking up and putting down my socks were finally finished….the yarn is lovely, there’s a soft gentle haze over the stitches, my toes feel warm and and the socks are wearing well…I’ve saved a little yarn back for darning (I’m quite heavy on my socks) just in case…..

If you’d like to know a bit more about Louise then there is a great interview with her just here on the Shiny Bees podcast, or you can pop over just here to her website.

If you’re on Ravelry then more sock notes and waffles are over on my project page.

And I totally appreciate this will sound like I’m showing off, I’m just so super chuffed and excited about it…..I had a little message from Louise asking if my picture of the finished socks could go on the pattern’s Ravelry page….

 

 

 

A year of cats and knitting, frosty mornings and Summer strolls, handbaked bread and foraged fruits part two…….

July was really glorious this year, early sunshine filled my work room and many was morning where I found myself  waking around 5 and with a pot of tea would settle down on the back door step or at a table on teh patio and have a few quiet moments knitting…..

We’ve got a big laurel tree at the bottom of the garden and I can always hear when the wood pidgeons are in there, shufling about and sounding all the world like someone fussing with their umbrella….even though the house and neighbourhood is still sound asleep the garden seems a hive of activity in those early hours…… the rosemary gets the first of the sunshine and by 8 the garden is filled with a nose tingle of fragrant herbs, the air almost shimmers with it’s oily aroma…..I like to pick the delicate blue blossoms to scatter over goats cheese and salad…….

July was also the month of the Karise shawl…..I’d asked on ravely if anyone could suggest a nice easy shawl pattern that I could knit for my boyfriend’s mum and lots of people suggested looking at Karie Westerman’s patterns….I ended up choosing Karise and even though the lace work was charted which made me have a bit of a panic at first, within stitches I found the chart much easier to keep track of what I was doing…… I’ve ended up knitting 4 of these shawls now, 2 were knitted in the Tamar yarn from Blacker Yarns (I’d won one of the skeins a month or so earlier) and this yarn loved lace work so much……I still can’t really believe I made these…almost as soon as I cast off the gift shawl I started knitting a Karise for me, all pollen hued and sheep kissy….and the others were knitted using the yarn I’d un-ravelled in June….I found I did need to use stitch markers as I was a bit nervous in case I made a mistake and wouldn’t be able to correct it….I’d already made stitch markers in the Winter from some vintage glass beads but this time I made some more using beads which I’d been given by my friend who’d died in the Spring……I use the markers a lot and can’t see or touch them without thinking of happier times with her…..

And I also picked up some rather excellent vintage sewing and knitting books along with vintage haberdashery notions….zips, binding s and threads…., none of them cost very much and the quality is superb….

 

 

I finishd my third Karise shawl in August, this was using the yarn I’d ripped out, washed and re-skeined earlier in the Summer…..this was a gift for my sister Rachie and I think it was a nice surprise for her to receive in the post as the last time I’d sent her a hand knit it had been a dish cloth……and I also knitted my first Ishbel shawl…this was a really big deal for me as I’d bought a skein to knit this with 5 years before, back then it was just a “one day when I can knit” dream so actually being able to wear the finished shawl was more than a little special……

On nice days we try head out for walks over the marshes and while there had been some wet days for the most part the marshes and surrounding pastures are dry enough to walk from what seem like meadows of wild flowers….the Rosebay Willowherb and Purple Loosestrife grow shoulder height and higher,there are  smudges of vetch and swaithes of meadowsweet wherever you look…..this time of  year the colours are now fading though. Look close at any blossom and you’re bound to see bees tumbling around and getting covered in dusty pollen……the blackberries seem a bit small again this year but we’re able to pick enough for some jam and junkets…..

Another rather special knit was knitting a pair of socks for my friend Anne and also making her a needle wrap from an old coat that had belonged to her mum… I embroidered on the fabric and used some vintage thonging to keep the wrap closed……and decided to make some wraps for my Folksy shop…..

We also got to experience the naughtiness that is the cat next door…we soon find out that she is a knitting needle thief and will happily rip out and play with any knitting that gets put down even for 5 minutes……

September was a real Indian Summer, the days were still hot and full of sunshine, the hedgerows fair teeming with fruits but the nights soon felt they were drawing on in and on more than one occasion a huge hairy spider is spied scuttling across the living room carpet (you should see me move, legs up off the floor and tucked underneath me on the sofa)…… the huge copper jam pan is un-packed once more and seems to live on the stove as I simmer hedgerow fruits into panty jams and jellies…..the joys of a pan of bubbling blackberries fills every sense with pleasure….

Towards the end of the month I realise it’s now been about a year that I’ve been knitting, at first it’s just been wobbly practise stitches, knitting up tiny swatches and then slowly gaining in confidence…..

I had a lovely email from Blacker Yarns asking if I’d be interested in having a play with a couple of new yarns they had coming out, the answer is “yes please” and I’m in for such a treat….firstly it’s Cornish Tin II which is all full of bounce and plumpness, so stuffed full of goodness like a Christmas pudding…..and then I’m sent a wee skein of St Kilda laceweight, hand-dyed by Joy of The Knitting Goddess…the swatch card is as bright and vibrant as the can can dancers in Baz Luhrmann’s Moulon Rouge…..

And finally himself gets a day out on the bus to the vets for annual vacinations but this is when he finally gets the all clear with his cancer….I’m so thankful that my vet was suspicious about the lump and advised getting it removed before any further tests and what not, without her I don’t think we’d have our boy today…. (currently sitting alongside me having a right good wash)…so huge huge thank yous to Chantelle at Chapelfield Vets….we think you’re awesome.

Right at the start of October my boyfriend felt rather unwell and when he went to the doctors was told it was shingles….as he doesn’t have the best of health this was a bit of a worry and so the month passed rather quietly….I went out for a few marshy meanders and did some foraging but a lot of days were spent at home where I was able to potter in the kitchen making more syrups and jellies and apple falvoured vodka when the cat wasn’t napping in the jam pan……

Even though this is the second year the blackberries here haven’t come to much, the other wild fruits have been amazing, the leaves seem really slow to turn and the lane is beautifully lit with sunlight glowing through vivid green leaves, illuminating acorns like tiny lamps….

I finished another needlewrap for Anne again using the fabric from her mum’s coat and made a project/workshop bag to go with it…..

The yellow socks were actually knit during August and Spetmeber but it’s been so mild I just tucked them away…the pattern is called Hermione’s everyday socks but I don’t know what happened but the tension is rather different between the two and so one is a bit bigger than the other….it looks like Hermione’s been at the butterbeer….

I also knit two more Ishbel shawls but as my boyfriend is poorly it’ll be a good few weeks yet before I can get them properly photographed…..one is knit using the Cornish TIn II I’d had a sample of…the yarn is a bit greedy soon gets all gobbled up and only the kindness of Montymouse on ravelry means I have enough for my shawl….the other is knit with yarn that I’d previously crocheted into a scarf but hadn’t worn for ages…..

November was for me all about the knitting, all the wonders of wool, local yarn and celebrating all the people who create beautiful yarns for me to knit with…..

Last year I’d not been knitting for all that long when I found out about Wovember, but reading all those woolly, sheep praising  posts was what made me really fall in love with what was on my needles…. Anyone who has been a reader of my blog knows I love using vintage haberdasheries, vintage fabrcs that friends and family have passed on to me, fabric that has a bt of a story to it, needles that came from a friend’s mum’s workbox…. over the years I’ve really struggled to find that same connection with my knitting but thinking about the different breeds the yarn comes from, who’s spun it, where the sheep live, how local to me they might be has fare captured my heart and swept me good and proper right off my feet…I love story, I love a good yarn (whether it’s a yarn on my needle or a right good chatty catch up) but hadn’t ever thought that that might be the way I would fall in love with what a pair of pointy sticks could do……

This past year I’ve knit with yarn that comes from sheep 15 or so miles away, I’ve bought beautiful handspun yarn from a sheep called Delilah…..I’ve been sent hand spun yarn from a complete stranger, I’ve knit with yarn from sheep that graze on seaweed, and fallen in love with yarn that feels like old worn velvet……most precious is the yarn I’ve bought because someone believed in her dad, and felt his sheeps fleece should be valued……

 

The best part of December was that my boyfriend was finally feeling a bit better, we took a couple of leisurely ambles across squishy meadows and marshes, and were even able to take some pictures of my two Ishbel shawls I’d finished back in October…(and yarn has already been tucked abway for Ishbel 4 but that will be a 2017 knit now)…..the shawls are rather chalk and cheese, one is small and rather plump and the other is like a waterfall of soft stitches…..both equally beautiful.

Another smiles and heart warming knit was knitting a pair of socks for my boyfriend’s dad’s birthday….wish so much I’d have been knittingn while my own dad was alive but Phil is lovely and very knitworthy so it was a pleasure to make these, and seeing him wiggle his toes as soon as he tried them on felt more than a bit special……

I’ve got a bit of chocolate and cheese head confusion as I clear forgot to mention that one of my wee little stockings was featured in the December issue of Country Living magazine and felt proud as punch at seeing my work in such a high quality publication….

The needle wraps I’ve made have been selling well, and I love that by knitting and finding out about interchangable needles that I’ve thought to make these wraps…..and I’m hoping to make some project bags that compliment them in the coming months….

It’s been lovely to look back and review my year….I hadn’t realized there’d been quite so much knitting, sadly not so much sewing this year which I hope to ammend rather in 2017 as I have bolts of fabric for new frocks, and a stack of resting patchworks that really need to get made up into quilts,many thank yous to people who’ve bought from my shop or requested commisions, and lastly thank you to you for reading my blog this past year…..but for now lets raise a toast, whether it’s a glass of something cheering, or a cup of tea, and wish each other health and happiness, peace and kindness for 2017…..

 

Socks and shawls and the humbug from next door……

I really need Bernard here so I could give him a squeeze to do a trumpety trump trump fanfare as I’ve finally finished one of the shawls I’ve been knitting over the past few months (though my nose might well regret it)….no fancy pictures yet as it’s not blocked (it’s currently taking up half the living room all pinned out on mats) but hopefully there’ll be some to show next week.  The shawl is another Ishbel by Ysolda Teague and while I’ve been knitting mine, ButtercupandBee in Canada has been knitting hers.  It’s been lovely to encourage each other with our knitting in what has seemed like the world’s smallest kal….Alida has used the most gorgeous gothicky yarn for hers and I can’t wait to see it all blocked out.

I got a bit carried away while knitting, the yarn is some that has been re-used, I was encouraged to do this by lovely Louise Hunt from The Caithness Craft Collective.  She ran a un-knit a long in the Spring and un-ravelling the scarf this originally was, was so not the easiest thing in the world, in part because it had been washed a couple of times so the stitches had started to felt.  However I’m so glad I stuck with it because the yarn is really fudgy and nice to work with, and it knits up a dream.  (the original scarf was crocheted and wasn’t doing the yarn any favours)….. I knew I wanted to knit a nice big shawl, one that I could wrap myself up in but which wasn’t so heavy I’d be all afeared I was having a hot flush, and thought this would be perfect.

The yarn is by Shilasdair and was bought about 5 years ago on a day trip to London with my friend Debbie and since then the yarn base has changed a little, however I was lucky enough to see that Tangled Yarn still had some left of the original blend so I bought a skein from there and then used that in alternate rows along some of the lace work…… initally I thought to make a shawl and wrist warmers but after making the shawl several times larger than the first Ishbel I made, I’m left with about 20g so think I may need to buy some more and finally try out some colourwork knitting.  It’s not woolly but I’ve found this much nicer to use than the Artesano alpaca/silk blend, which I really loved last year but I think a year of knitting with some really sheepy yarns has made me properly reconsider what I use on my needles…..

My poor karise number 4…… so neglected……I’m trying to finish this at the moment and after knitting the Ishbel shawl pattern a few times, I’m now feeling confident enough to leave off all the stitch markers, and read my knitting instead.  I know this was something that Alida was doing and I thought “but what if you lose your place” but actually as long as I don’t try and go crazy fast it’s fine, and this is such a nice pattern that you can see what the stitches below want to become on the row above….I love this shawl pattern and I’m trying to love the yarn again but I’m afraid it really doesn’t make my heart feel so happy and skippy as the woolier yarns do.

And while I’m talking about woolly yarns that make my heart fair skip …… I bought a skein of the Cornish Tin II from Blacker Yarns…I reviewed this yarn a couple of weeks back and proper lost my heart to it…..choosing which colour to buy was so dificult as I only had the money for the one skein but after lots of hmmming and ahhing I choose the Wheal Rose Red which is such a gorgeous magenta hued red…if you’ve ever made blackberry jam, it’s very much like when the berries all start a bubbling and they turn from blue/black into red…just glorious. … the pattern is once again Ishbel and it’s knitted up really quickly. It’s already all blocked and the stitch definiton is so good…we’re just waiting to take some photos….actually I ran out of yarn before I finished casting off, luckily Ravelry is full of kind and generous people so when I explained my predicament lovely MontyMouse posted me some yarn so I could finish the shawl without tears or strops.

I know I’ve already mentioned these socks a couple of weeks ago but I’m so pleased with them…the bright and sunshiny yellow is very welcome now the weather is so rainy and dark……the pattern is called Hermione’s Everyday socks and it’s a free to download pattern on Ravelry by the awesome Erica Leuder…..if you are a fan of sock knititng you might like to read this little interview with her on Olann and.  And you might recognize one of the sock pictures listed in the project gallery at the bottom of the page.

This is such a nice sock pattern, I used a pair of mini circular needles for these as I find them nice for knitting patterned socks (thank you so much Claire for the suggestion, I really love them and no achy hands here)…the pretty pattern is nice and simple to remember so I was able to knit these on the bus…(and was asked by a lady at the bus stop when I was due as she thought I was knitting baby socks as my cuffs looked so tiny and wee….yeah, my face looked just like you’re imagining…)

Now I’m not sure what happened with my socks but as you can see one is more than a smidge larger than the other….hmmm oh, well, they fit fine and I tend to like my socks sort of scrunched down a bit so you can’t see they are different….I wasn’t at the butterbeer or anything, I guess I was just holding my needles tighter for the second sock.

I’m currently knitting another pair of socks, this time as part of the Brit Yarn sock kal on Ravelry… one of the things I like about this kal is seeing all the amazing  socks other people are knitting, it’s a great way to find new patterns..one of my favourites at the moment is called Longing for Gotland, and my friend Claire in Edinburgh has knitted a beautiful pair in Tamar  from Blacker Yarns and I properly “ooohed” when I saw these beautiful sheepy socks, the pattern is called Droving and I’m thinking I’d like to knit these in some natural undyed shades and that way I’d feel like I had my very own flock of baa-lambs…..as this sock kal has been organized by Isla from Brit Yarn the focus is all about using British Yarn so it’s really interesting to see some of the different yarns that people are using…

After knitting a few pairs now  in WYS sock yarn I’m knitting these ones in some John Arbon sock yarn that I bought in the Spring from Meadow Yarn…..the colour is a dusty rose pink and reminds me more than a little of the pink face powder that Nanny C used to wear…in fact I regularly keep sniffing the yarn as I expect it to smell of Yardley scent…..this sock yarn is lovely to knit with, it’s soft with a nice wispy halo….the pattern is called Lunar Tides and is by Louise Tilbrook….amazingly it’s not only free but is written both cuff down or  toe up.  I’m trying out the toe up version as I want to get better at toe up socks, also I plan on using as much of the skein as I can as I rather like nice long socks and that will be easier to do working the socks from the toe up.

 

So I’m trying to finish up some of my Summer knitting projects then my needles will be all clean and clear, ready to knit up a Winter cardigan and some small gifts for Christmas…..nothing big as I know that will only make me feel all stressed out and under pressure, but fun things that will use up little scraps of tapestry yarn that forever seem to appear from under cushions or in the bottom of work boxes…..  I really liked Amelia’s little circus nuggets she made for her daughter (the story behind them is so sweet and me me laugh)…she used the bunny nuggets pattern by Rebecca Danger and I believe we know several little people who might like to find a couple of these in their Christmas stockings.

Someone who shouldn’t hold out for toys or treats is the humbug from next door…… she’s generally waiting out on the back door step when Bernard goes out first thing, the pair of them are so sneaky that Bernard will pat at the cat flap until we open the back door, and then little miss tries to slip in besides Bernard and run on through into the other rooms … she’s not to be trusted around any knitting and is a kntting needle thief…goodbye nice new posh Knitpro dpn’s….. annoyingly when she’s been all naughty she lays on her back and wriggles and mews until she gets a tummy tickle which she seems to love second only to dancing around the garden with Bernard.

 

 

A year of knitting and losing my heart to pointy sticks and yarn…..

 

For the past week or so it’s slowly dawned on me that it must be coming up to a year ago that I cast on those first handful of stitches that become my Open Sky Shawl by Andrea Mowry….since making those rather hesitant and rather wobbly stitches I think I’ve knitted almost every day and can honestly say I’ve well and truly fell down the rabbit hole of knitting.

While I had had various dabbles with knitting growing up, I’d never really felt particulalry comfortable, I struggled to tell the difference between my stitches and as for reading my knitting….I’d have had more joy trying to translate a page of Latin.  Over the past some years I’d just about managed a couple of very simple garter stitch and rib scarves, some don’t look too closey at them wrist warmers and about half a dozen rather bright and gaudy coathanger cosies but doing anything more was a distant dream…..

I also knitted some dishcloths which I was rather pleased by, though these too took forever and I’d have to whisper knit,purl,knit,purl to keep up with what was on my needles…… Around about this time I met Anne, who is both an amazing friend and a wonderful knitter….she kindly gave me a few lessons but nothing seemed to stick and as soon as she’d go home I’d promptly forget what she had taught me though I did end up with the beginnings of a knitted tea cosy however I had a bit of a mishap with the gauge (which is putting it mildly) and so that’s still waiting in a cupboard upstairs to get finished…….but I hadn’t written knitting off….I’d pin beautiful knits on pinterest, I’d read knitting blogs, I’d hoarded a small libary of books which I’d flick through and sigh with wonder at the pictures more than anything else and I even purchased a fancy skein of yarn for ‘one day when’……

Then a couple of things happened….firstly I was nominated for a couple of blog awards which involved answering lots of questions and I even answered  one of the questions someone else had been asked …”what do you wish you could do/do better”…straight away I said “I wish I could knit”…and that got me thinking….this wasn’t something only a fairy godmother could bestow, it was something I could make happen if I really set my mind to it….. so I started practising…a little every day.  I started off with really simple stitches and made some swatches…and then I saw a shawl…..all soft blue stitches, ripples of squishy garter stitch which completely captivated me…..I couldn’t stop looking at it and while part of me thought “I wonder if Anne would knit that for me” another part of me said “just do it”…..

So I did it…. I bought the pattern and a pair of circular needles which I’d not used before, found up some Shetland woolly  yarn I’d had all tucked away and with the help of numerous youtube videos, slowly but surely began knitting the shawl….. and finally after all those years of false starts and forgetting what I was doing, the stitches began to make sense…I could actually tell the difference between knits and purls…. I was knitting 2 stitches together, slipping them and passing them over….. it all felt a bit like the first time I rode a bike down a hill without my dad holding the seat for me (though that ended up with me falling off at the bottom into a rather cow patty and muddy smelly crossing between two fields)…however the feeling of “whhhheeeee” was no less great.  I joined the Ravelry group for Andrea’s patterns and had loads of help and encouragement from other knitters and also from Andrea herself….no-one made me feel daft by some of the silly questions I asked and my confidence grew with each row.

My knitting wasn’t perfect, I had to un-knit rows and correct mistakes and slowly I began to see what needed to be corrected…there was a bit of an end of the world moment when I made a right bodge up about 2 rows before the end but then after a bit of a cry I managed to sort that out (watching this video by Stephen West made me laugh and that helped me to stop fetting) … then I cast off my wonderful wonderful first proper knitting attempt….and I half near strangled myself.  I’d made the shawl far too tight and ended up having to un-ravel the whole damn thing….but like falling off that bike when I got back on…. I began knitting it again after on a somewhat larger needle and this time when I cast it off…..such happy-ness (spelt like that for Eva)….

Since then I feel like I’ve been on a real journey of discovery with my knitting…around the time I started knitting my shawl (the first attempt) I read a post by Felix Ford which led me to discover the amazing Knit British podcast (I defy anyone to listen to this awesome podcast and not want to pick up a pair of pointy sticks and go grab a ball or skein of British yarn) and spent a very happy month immersing myself in the wonderful celebration of wool that is Wovember…..

I also began taking part in the Knit British Breed swatch kal on Ravelry where I started exploring the beautiful and different types of yarn that are made by using British Breed sheep… to which I must say a huge thank you to Isla at Brit yarn for stocking such a wonderful variety of yarn and also to the incredible team at Blacker Yarns…..luckily yarn is calorie free or I would now be as fat a mole from all the testing and sampling of your fine delights……the feel of a really sheepy yarn, one with a bit of character and the whole world of charm has this year made me feel like my heart will burst.

Something I’ve noticed time and time again this year are the happy serendipitous chances and coincidences that turn up with my knitting…I wanted to buy some knitting needles and to test out a few from different brands…I found Meadow Yarn which is a nice on-line company which stocked all the ones I wanted to try..when my parcel arrived I just glanced at the return address before doing a proper Cary Grant double take…they are based in Bramfield which is just one village over from where I grew up…and in emails since with Anj she’s told me how she walks her dogs over Blackheath and will sit on a bench with a little plaque on it to do her knitting…she’s often wondered who “Brian” was…..well he was my dad and the bench was put there after he died.

Another knit a long I took part in was the Nature’s Shades kal (organized by the lovely Louise and Isla) …this meant knitting something using just undyed British yarn….and one of the creamy woolly pips in the shawl I knitted for it came from Wensleydale sheep just a few miles down the road at Ilketshall.

I really don’t think I’d be where I am with my knitting if not for the wonderful and warm community of knitters I’ve met on Ravelry….I’ve had unfamiliar techniques explained or have been sent links to videos which show what to do, been encouraged by so many people and get cheery messages from people all over…. I’ve had different needles and yarn reccomended, patterns suggested or gifted….seeing Julia‘s gorgeous socks (she must have the warmest toes in Scotland)and Claire‘s shawls and cardigans,  Mazzy‘s beautiful knits using Blacker Classic yarn, and receiving Gail’s chats all the way from Nebraska (she creates the most breathtaking ceramics…the colours are incredible) ….have been really special and have really inspired me.

After I’d knitted my shawl, my lovely friend Anne showed over the course of a few weeks how to knit socks…on some little old double pointed needles, which sort of looked like cocktail sticks…at first it was a bit odd and felt more like trying to hold a very wrigglesome hedgehog…but then, something seemed to click and make sense….

I don’t think I’d ever thought I’d be able to knit using those pointy pointy, pokey at both ends needles, but thanks to Anne’s patience and a bit of practice….I now love using them.

Along with knitting 4 pairs of socks for myself I’ve also knitted a pair of socks for my boyfriend…just seeing him sit on the sofa and wriggle his toes in his new socks made me feel so proud and happy…. and possibly even better… after years of receiving gifts of beautiufl hand knitted socks from Anne for my birthday and Christmas, I knitted this pair of socks for her…there were a few tears as we’re both a bit daft like that….

And I even knitted a cardigan…it’s probably not the prettiest looking knit in the world but ooh, it’s so warm….the yarn was some I’ve had for years and was something like 10 pence a ball from a charity shop….it’s all wool yarn and it feels a bit tickly but I like how those dappled colours remind me of the pebbly beaches and the cold North sea of the beaches of my childhood….what was really interesting though and nice as a beginner was recognizing the same techniques I’d used to increase the first shawl, and then knitting the sleeves on double pounted needles like I’d do for socks….

In the Spring I won a gorgeous skein of Tamar from Isla at Brit Yarn, which is a rather fancy new yarn from Blacker Yarns, it’s a beautiful blend that is really luscious to the touch and lustrous to the eye….after lots of squishng and sighing, I decided to buy a couple of skeins of it to knit my boyfreinds’s mum a shawl, she used to knit herself but now has trouble with her hands so it’s not very easy for her to anything fiddly.  She’s wonderfully kind and I wanted to make something special for her…to be fair the yarn is so lovely and the pattern by Karie Westermann is so very well written and easy to follow that really the credit is all theirs….

Because I liked the shawl I made Kathy so much I then wanted to make one for me, actually I wanted to make one for me within a few stitches of casting on Kathy’s shawl…again I used the Tamar blend by Blacker Yarns…. the stitches seem to glow and the yarn was a real treat to knit with.

I think using a good woolly yarn to learn to knit with really does help, stitches (even the most wobbly ones) will still look a lot nicer than using anything that is all cheap and nasty…and it doesn’t squeek or seem to pull so tight…..and one of the reasons that I like Blacker Yarns so much is not only is their yarn all British, often being made from some rare and endangered breeds but that they have yarn that is suitable for every budget…. their Blacker Classic is nice and affordable and knits up so brilliantly….I used it for my strawberry ice-cream pink socks and they are so warm and toasty.

Along with using woolly yarns I’ve also tried knitting with some non woolly ones…I knitted this shawl (another Karise by Karies Westermann…I’m currently knitting my fourth one…the pattern is very easy to follow and the finished shawl is so pretty…I’d definitely reccommend it if you’d like to try your hand at lace knitting) ] for one of my sisters and the yarn is a blend of alpaca and silk…. I didn’t find it so easy to knit with as the Tamar, the yarn was a lot slippier on the needles and I found it a lot harder to see what my stitches were doing….however I loved the colour.

As I mentioned way back at the start of this post, I’d had tucked away a very special skein of yarn that I’d bought on a bit of a whim…it was so beautiful and proper charmed it’s way into my heart….for the past 5 years or so it’s been sleeping, just waiting to be woken up….. and this Summer I finally wound it up in to a ball (on the most un-glamourous looking old homemade nostepinne I think you’re likely to see) and cast on…. I first saw the pattern for Ishbel about the time I bought the skein and I don’t think I ever really thought I’d be able to knit it….. I don’t think I’ll ever quite get used to the amazing difference that a little soak in warm water and a couple of days being pinned out onto a board can do to any sort of knitting but especially to lace knitting…… I’m trying to keep the finished shawl for fancy, but I love it so much that I’m wearing it now almost every day.

My last finished knit from my first year of knitting are these bright and cheery Butterscotch socks…the pattern is called Hermione’s Everyday socks and is by Erica Leuder and it’s a free pattern on Ravelry (the generosity of knitters is just beyond words…. there are so many really nice patterns on there that people have taken the time to create and share for free which is really kind and just one example of knitters being lovely people.)…there is also an interview with Erica Leuder in the online magazine Olann and which should be published on or abouts the 27th of September.

Anyway, I wanted to say such a huge thank you to everyone who has either commented on my blog over the past year, either giving me encouragement with my knitting or just stopping by to say Hi to me and Bernard, to all the lovely people I’ve met on-line via Ravelry and also a huge thank you to Andrea Mowry for creating a shawl that made me pick up those pointy sticks and get knitting (I’m afraid my house doesn’t get hoovered now quite as often as it did before but I’m sitting here with a huge pile of brightly coloured knits so don’t mind a few dust bunnies)……

I wanted to send a little love Andrea’s way for being such an inspiration and also offer you the opportunity to try one of her beautiful patterns so, if you’d like the chance to win one of Andrea’s patterns then please pop over to her Ravelry store  and have a look at her beautiful knits, then leave a comment below telling me which of her patterns you’d like to cast on……  The draw will finish midnight Sunday October 2nd….if you aren’t on Ravelry then you can pop over to Andrea’s on-line store via the link and see the patterns there……

 

ETA  please feel free to still add a comment below if you like but the giveaway has now finished….

 

Twit ta woo….it’s birthday socks for Anne….

About 6 years ago I was lucky enough to meet a really amazing lady called Anne, we met by chance, pretty much hit it off straight away and have kept friends ever since…..she doesn’t live that far away, just up the road and when she comes over we’re straight into the kitchen to pop on the kettle while Bernard gets swept up into her arms and has little kitty melodies sung to him….as well as being an amazing knitter, dressmaker, home DIY-er Anne is also a fantastic singer and musician and has the best laugh ever…..she’s also incredibly kind and over the years she’s been gifting me the loveliest hand knits.  The first knitted gift was a pair of green socks which I’ve worn half to death and have happily spent many hours darning them when needed.

A few years back not long after we met Anne gave me a couple of knitting lessons but I couldn’t really take on board a lot of what she was telling me and found I’d remember something for a couple of days and then would fair right sorft and not know what to do again the following week so the lessons sort of tailed off…….

When I fell in love with the Open Sky Shawl last year I seriously considered asking Anne if she’d be able to knit it but then decided that no, I was going to try it myself….and I haven’t looked back since.

When I told Anne I was knitting she was so encouraging, and loved seeing what I doing, where she’d happily rip out a couple of rows if a mistake got made I’d have to un-knit stitch by stitch but it was nice to knit together…..our Christmas gifts got exchanged after rather than before the 25th, and along with a pair of hand knitted socks (she’d even knitted them in WYS British wool because she knows I’m trying to only knit British) she had bought me a ball of sock yarn (WYS), a wee set of wooden sock needles (because she knows I like Brittany wooden needles) and a vanilla sock pattern.  So the kettle went on, a pot of tea was made and then we sat down on the sofa and she showed me how to cast on and divide the stitches on the tiniest of needles to knit a pair of socks…..

She did look rather alarmed when she saw what a tight grip I had on both needle and yarn (not sure she’s ever seen quite such a tight knitter!) and at the end of that first afternoon I’d knitted my first ribbed cuff….over the following week I cast on another sock cuff to surprise her and then she showed me how to knit and turn a heel……seeing the heel bottom form and cup together is magic, and even now it makes me laugh…it’s so brilliant…..and then the week after we worked toe decreases and she let me kitchener stitch the toe of one of her socks together (I’m a lot slower knitting than Billy Whizz Anne)….actually even before that first pair were finished I’d cast on another couple of socks to practise the construction.

And as soon as that first pair were cast off I knew exactly what I was going to do for Anne’s birthday…..she’s not really one for bright colours prefering black and monochrome (though she’s knitted up some gorgeous Patrica Roberts pieces in the past and they were rather colourful)…anyway I decided black socks might be a bit beyond what my eyes could currently cope with) so after seeing the lovely socks that sock wizard Mazknitter had knitted on Ravelry I decided to knit her a pair in the WYS country bird colourway Owl.

I really wanted these to be a right surprise so sort of had to guess on Anne’s foot size, I knew she’s about the same as me, maybe half a size bigger so I decided to knit A nice ribbed sock (which was a free pattern on Ravelry)….the rib means there is plenty of stretch so nobody’s toes will get all squished up.  I was pretty pleased with how they came out  although I wasn’t over the moon happy with how the toe looked, it was a bit wedgey for me as my feet are really rounded and found it a bit hard to judge how they would fit Anne, so when I got about 2 inches from the toe on the second sock I just chopped the toe off the first sock (ouch) and then un-ravelled back a couple of inches and then knit them both using a formula to make a rounder toe…..

Anne’s birthday isn’t actually for another week or so but when she came round this week I was too excited to make her have to wait so she got one present a little bit early…I was a bit worried what she’d think of them as my knitting is no way near as neat as hers but when she un-wrapped them I’m sure people must have heard her laugh across the border over in Suffolk, and then she looked at me with rather teary eyes and said in a shakey little voice, “….but no-one’s ever knitted me socks before….” she tried them on, it’s her toes in the above picture and they look like they fit a treat…. stupidly I didn’t start the self stripey yarn in the same place so the socks don’t quite match up (I only actually noticed once I looked at the top photo) but I sort of like that.

I love that I’m finally able to gift Anne something knitted beyond a dishcloth, and to be able to repay her umpteen hours of sitting down and showing me how to work a short row, decrease toes, manage those multiple needles so it doesn’t feel like I’m juggling the tickliest of prickly hedgehogs….so many Happy Returns my dear, kind and wonderful friend and here’s to many more pairs of warm socks and wriggling toes.

 

 

 

 

 

Pretty in pink (and much nicer than that awful frock at the end of the movie)

Please don’t get too close, I’m full of cold again, all raspy voiced with a cough and a very runny nose…this is the 3rd or 4th cold I’ve had this year so I’m keeping my fingers crossed I’ve had all the years poorlinesss and won’t so much as sniff or sneeze til 2017…..I’ve been so glad I made all those hedgerow syrups in the Autumn, to be honest I really thought I’d made way too much but I’m now on my last bottle so I guess I made about right….what’s been nice is adding it to hot water to sip as a fruit tea….it’s felt so soothing….I don’t know about you but when I get a cold I go right off tea (even when it’s for me I like to make a big pot as one little cup is never enough) and I don’t really care too much for coffee either….so the foraged fruit syrups have been wonderful…..athe paler syrup was nicest as a tea, and the darker one was best to swallow off a dessert spoon (hot it tasted liked warm Ribena which I’ve never gone in for.)

Anyway, I like to think every cloud has a silver lining and so while I didn’t feel like much (apart from making sick beds on the sofa with blankets and cushions, and grabbing Bernard for cuddles whether he wanted them or not) I was able to finish these super Summery strawberry ice-cream coloured socks.

I’ve made them for Joeli’s no nylon sock kal over on Ravelry which has been really interesting to follow, partly for seeing all the different patterns but also reading about the different fibres people are knitting with.

At Christmas I took part in a small gestures pattern swop and my partner was Julia (she knits beautiful socks)…she gifted me Reason’s to be Cheerful……it’s a different sock pattern to what I’m used to (says the person who’s only knitted very vanilla style socks so basically anythng would be different!) and I was putting off using the pattern…but then I got to feeling a bit rubbish because it wasn’t my money I was wasting by not knitting it, it was Julia’s…and she’d also obviously thought I was up to the challenge of knititng them….so with a bit of help from Anne (she’s another awesome knitter) with understanding wrap and turn stitches…I finally cast them on….and promptly ran intot difficulties as I couldn’t see what I was doing so I had a bit of a practise on some dk weight yarn….and then once I’d got my head round what I was supposed to be doing I then cast on with the 4ply…..

 

So this was sock one…..yeah, I know it looks a bit peculiar to say the least….I did try it on…a lot….I tend to slip the stitches off onto spare yarn so they don’t go flying off the needles but I didn’t want to pull the socks up too tight as when I did the stiches sort of choked that spare yarn….I could see they looked odd and a bit long but put it down to me being a tight knitter….anyway, as I was about 4 or 5 stitches away from casting off (using the stretchiest bind off ever) and thought to just try them on one last time…..I gave the socks a good old hooph and found my heel was now halfway up my leg….so with a face like thunder (and a bottom lip to trip over) lots of unravelling then took place, but not before I marked where my heel really needed to start from……it was a bit annoying to rip out all that knitting, but this was such a nice pattern to work and I soon found I didn’t have to keep writing down which row I was on….I think this means I’m getting slowly getting better with my knitting.

As well as trying out new techinques to knit them (you start at the toes rather than at the ankles, and then you work a pattern over the top of the foot and it’s just stocking stitch underneath) I was also trying out some weeny sized circular needles…..I’d noticed Claire had been using these on Ravelry and she’d kindly gave me a bit of advice about her needles, so I bought a pair to see what they were like….now I’ve got quite long fingers, I never can find gloves to fit me as the finger is never long enough or when I pull them on my fingers pop at the ends…but I found these really nice to use…it took a little while to figure what to do with my fingers as they all stood up like a pinky finger with a china tea cup at first….

Claire said she sort of tucked her fingers inside the sock and once I had a few rows worked my fingers sort of naturally tucked themselves away…now while I appreciate these aren’t for everyone, I really liked them….I certainly didn’t find they made my fingers or wrists hurt, even when I’d knitted for some time (cough cough eight or nine hours in one stretch) ….I’ve read that some knitters don’t like them but then I think you can never please everybody.

What I particularly like about these teensy circular needles is I’ve got no ladders (air punch and yay)….I really like using the double pointy juggling with a wriggling and rolling around hedgehog needles but I do get tiny ladders with them, I’m slowly learning how to correct that (gently tug the yarn as you work the second stitch on the new needle…and then move the stitches around the needles every so often)…but as you are constantly knitting with the weensy needles, ladders just don’t seem to form.

I pretty much knew which yarn I was going to use, this is a beautiful strawberry ice-cream pink which I bought from Brit Yarn…it’s 100% British and is made by Blacker Yarns, it’s got some Bluefaced Leicester in there so it’s nice and soft, but there’s still a bit of character to the yarn so I think they’l wear okay….Mazzy has also used this yarn for socks in the past and she said hers are fine, very cosy which is what I wanted….)…sadly Blacker Yarns have discontinued the colour and although the new colours are really nice (their greens in particular…gorgeous….) I love this pink so much….I’ve actually bought a few more balls so I could make more socks if I wanted but I’d now quite like to try my hand at a tank top…I’ve also got some lovely pale turquoise from the same range which is sort of a pistaccio green colour….in my head it would look great combined with the pink but I’m not sure what I’d then wear it with….hmmm….

So spending a few days on the sofa under a pile of blankets, eating bowls of Heinz tomato soup (the only time I’ll eat it is when I’ll under the weather with a runny nose) and sipping fruity teas has meant I’m now the proud owner of these toasty warm socks…..Goodbye chilblains, goodbye….

Even though they’re warm and woolly, to me they seem to really sum up Summer…many years ago I had a couple of lovely holidays in Italy and Sicily, every day saw me and my friends pop into ice-cream parlours to sample all the different flavours……pretty much all of them served their desserts in the most beautiful little glass dishes, which were highly textured and nubbly on the outside….the soft ripples of garter stitch across the toes and heels remind me of the Mister Whippy ice-creams I used to pull before bunging in a flake on top when I worked in a sea side place as a teenager (mine always looked like something served up by contestants on The Generation Game….)…and that soft pink is the exact same shade as the ice creams/gelatos and semi-freddos I made last year with fat strawberries bought from the always smiling Mike and Debs on Norwich market…..

The pattern is called Reason’s to be Cheeerful and is by everyone’s favourite shepherd’s daughter Rachel Atkinson…looking down and seeing these on my toes and I can’t help but smile.

eta….if you’re interested, all my making notes can be found just here along with a few more pictures……

 

 

 

Bread, books, socks and swatches…….

I’m none too sure what’s happened to the past week, it’s pretty much flown by without me knowing and I don’t feel I’ve got all that much to show for it….mostly I’ve been poodling, drafting up new patterns, mostly reworkings of pieces to go into my Folksy shop (hopefully they’ll be ready next week) but also I’ve spent a few minutes tinkering with a pattern for a dress based on a dirndl skirt I cobbled together a couple of years ago from a mustardy floral pair of curtains I’d bought at a car boot…the fabric was a bit faded near the hem but I didn’t mind that, it’s one of those nice and comfy skirts that I’d wear everyday given half the chance.  I don’t have a whole lot of tops that really go with it though so I thought to make a dress version which is why I spent an afternoon in the bathroom pinning bits of pattern cutting paper to my thermals (I do have a dress makers dummy but sometimes I find just pinning to me a bit easier) before drafting out something that hopefully will be wearable and which I can stash bust with……

I’ve also been knitting more socks, well a sock…and if truth be told I don’t even have one of those properly finished to show as this was a test run to understand a new to me pattern….there is a sock knitting kal running over in the Joeli Creates group on Ravelry for knitting socks without nylon….my Shetland spindrift socks I made earlier in the year were knitted without nylon and are so warm that I really wanted to knit another pair of pure wool socks….though I didn’t want to just keep repeating the same pattern as I’d already made so I decided to try knit a pair of toe up socks…..lovely Julia (who knits truly beautiful socks) bought me this pattern for Christmas as part of a small gestures swop….Anne had already been round earlier in the year to explain short rows to me (I do seem to get on better with someone showing me and talking me slowly through a process then just reading about it)….anyway, this is my first attempt, the toe seemed a bit gapey at the sides so I un-ravelled it and had another go and second time it looked much better (not the fault of the pattern but me being a complete numpty and forgetting to wrap my stitches)….I used this yarn just as a tester “have a bit of a play” attempt, the real sock uses some beautiful homemade strawberry ice-cream pink Blacker Classsic woollen yarn I bought from Brit Yarn  (sadly this colour has now been discontinued but I’ve got enough for at least two pairs of socks)……it’s taking a few attempts as I keep turning the sock inside out as I knit it, I’m also finding it hard to start a section of pattern with a purl using dpns so I’ve unravelled again and am just waiting for a 9 inch circular needle to arrive in the post which hopefully will make knitting them a bit easier….

A couple of weeks ago I met up with my friend Debbie for a coffee and as I walked in to town quicker than I thought I would, I had a few minutes spare to have a browse in some charity shops I don’t tend to visit all that often, which I should really make the time to visit them as I nearly always find something of interest in them….I’ve mentioned my love of fairy tale and folk story books on here several times before so was very happy to find this one for a couple of pounds.  The illustrations are by a selection of artists…most of the pictures are quite small black and white drawings but there are also a handful of very pretty watercolours, a bit on the bright and gawdy side but I like them.

And I also bought this book which is such good reading…..it’s from the early seventies and all the things in the book have been made by Swiss children.  The pattern instructions are at times a bit sketchy and left up to you to decipher, so I think you’re supposed to have a certain mount of knitty know how…..but I just fell in love with those little blue booties and knitted pony on the front cover.

The illustrations inside are rather miserable black and white photos which don’t do any of the knits justice but you can get an idea of what things are supposed to look like…..dotted throughout the book are these little letters and notes made by the children who’ve knitted the pieces…it’s interesting to read how young some of these knitters are, and also their notes on pattern making.  I don’t think I’m up to making everything in here but there are a couple of sock patterns I’d certainly like to knit, and I need someone to have a baby so I can knit those booties.

More knitting news…..I’ve finished knitting the Unicorn shawl, which I made for Louise Hunt’s brilliant un-kal, it’s currently washed and blocking….I’d forgotten that tapestry wool is a bit rum smelling when it gets wet…it doesn’t smell anywhere near as nice as something sheepy and lanolin rich…..it’s had a couple of tentative pokes by Bernard but on the whole he’s leaving it alone, which is a good thing as the alpaca/silk wants to snag just looking at it.

I’m quite excited about what’s curently now on my needles though…my first ever cardigan….it’s the Ramona cardigan by Elizabeth Smith.  It’s knitted top down and has nice, clean and simple lines, nothing too fancy but enough to make me have to re-read the instructions and sigh little “pfhoo” noises when I’ve worked a row of increases and my number count of stitches is right…I’m not a quiet knitter and do seem to pfaff, pfhooo and rustle my pattern pages, scribble down notes and observations…tut and sigh as I realize I’ve made a right daft mistake…..initially I was planning to knit this in some beautiful Aran wool from Jamieson and Smith, and while I love the pattern and love the yarn, together….it wasn’t making my heart skip….but then I remembered the Shetland Heather wool I’d started to use for an Open Sky shawl……it’s a murky old grey brown, flecked with quite a cold, clear blue……doesn’t sound like much of a catch but when it’s knitted up in stocking stitch is very pretty….it makes me think of the sea when we used to go to Southwold or Dunwich…not for us the bright azure blue of the Mediterranean waters……there’s about two weeks in August where you can go to the beach without a cardigan or a jumper, the rest of the time, it’s a bit nippy and you need to wrap up, so I thought the pairing of the yarn with this pattern would be perfect.

I’ve learnt my lesson about not making a swatch so knitted up this big boy (just over 10 inches wide) and I couldn’t quite believe it but my tenson gauge is spot on….I washed and blocked it, allowed it a few days to dry nicely…..perfect.  I’ve had it pinned inside a dress and it’s not particulary scratchy, I know it’s there but it wasn’t unpleasant so now it’s all systems go.

Weather wise the past week has been proper rubbish…the odd day or even hour of sunshine, and then just as we pull on boots and a coat to go for a walk, the heavens open and it pours down…sometimes rain, yesterday hail.  Loads needs doing in the garden but everywhere is muddy and wet……the birds for the most part are busy gathering up bits of what we call “garden fluff” (this is often bought into the house by Bernard, he rolls around and his fur hoovers up all sorts of muck which he then proceeds to drop all over the carpet and up the stairs)….I keep making trips out with handfuls of fleece* for the birds, I stick it in an old fat ball feeder which has a littel roof so it keeps pretty dry inside, and then go and sit and watch the tits pull it about for nesting.  It’s so much fun as they seem like they’re pulling the fibres ready to spin it…..they gather up huge beakfuls til they look like tiny Amish farmers and then they go flying off with their woolly beards.

When the sun does actually make an appearance Bernard goes trotting down the path to find a patch of sunshine for some outdoors wriggling….often he mews until I go over and rub his tummy and depending on his mood (mischievious or tarty) he’ll purr and purr fit to burst or suddenly grab hold of my hand and fingers, holding on tight with his claws and teeth……

He’s really showing off his very own Nature’s Shades here as he exposes his tummy….such a mass of Weetabix scented** fluffiness…..I love those splotches of lichen on the pathway underneath him, silver sage and mustard, white and gold……I’m really hoping at some point to use those soft subtle greys of Bernard as a starting point for some stranded knitting….what a great kal that would be….match the colours of your cat’s coat.

*I bought a load of fleece years ago or needle felting but figure the birds seem to make better use of it.

**I’m not sure why but his tummy really smells of Weetabix, but figure that’s way better to when he’s windy and musical of bottom.

Mister juniper toes…socks for my sweetie.

While I was still knitting my first pair of socks under the eye of my dear friend Anne, I decided that I very much wanted to knit a pair for my boyfriend, this was back in January, and I thought oh I’d easily have them made by the time his birthday came round….well the best laid schemes of mice and men as they say….

One of the hardest parts was in choosing a yarn and pattern, after looking at a few new styles to what I’d already attempted for myself I thought it might be easier at this stage to knit a larger version of something I felt familiar with, and that’s pretty much how I chose the yarn as well….I was already using the West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4ply yarn for my own socks so decided to go with that for his nibs…..and while I did hum and hah a tad on the Country Birds colourway (especially so after seeing these beautiful ones by my friend Anne (these are what she made me for Christmas) and these stunners by Mazknitter on Ravelry….(I’m thinking to get some of the Owl colourway for my boyfriends’s dad as he’s not one for bright colours either but think he’d quite like these.)

I was a bit unsure about which blue though so I emailed Isla at Brit Yarn who I’d just like to say went above and beyond in answering my 101 questions regarding sock yarn, and kindly gave me 101 and then some answers, and she kindly took a picture with all the blues together so I could see which looked best.  I ended up choosing Juniper as that wasn’t too bright as I know my boyfreind isn’t over crazy for anything too eye popping.

The socks started off fine, I cast on a slightly larger needle as my tension does get a bit tight, then slipped those stitches off onto a 2.5 mm set of needles and though progress was steady it has been a wee bit slow….

Having a real stinker of a cold didn’t help as I kept making daft old mistakes so had to have a few days away from them, and then I had to work out the maths for the heels which I wasn’t 100% sure about, I was really pleased how the back of the heels came out though, the purl a row, slip,knit,slip, knit etc row looks really nice and neat, but turning the heel did give me a few problems so I had more than one attempt then I found this handy little table and that sort of set me right…..I like how it gives the calculations for different types of heels including a rounder edged heel which I didn’t know had a name but was thinking in my head it should be possible……

I found it a lot easier to keep track of my rows using the plain colour, even though I try to tick off each row as I knit it, sometimes I forget, but I could really see my stitches much cleared than when I’d used the patterned yarn, however because the yarn was plain and very flat in colour it did make for a bit of a boring knit…if I use the plain yarn again then I’m going to try a fancier pattern but I know I needed to try these out in something simple first while I made sure they would fit the boyfriend’s feet…I think I’d have cried if I’d done cables and then be told they were too tight…

So these are the finished socks in all their glory…….I’m really pleased with how they came out even if one is about 1/2 a cm longer in both the leg and foot (stitch row is the same in both so I can only think it’s my tension slowly getting looser) but the beloved one has assured me they both fit fine and maybe it’s only me that notices the difference.

I’ve wrote up my notes over on Ravelry and there’s a couple of other pictures on there too.

I haven’t used any sock blockers, just gave the finished socks a little bath in Eucalan and then rolled them in a towel to squeeze out the extra water, and then shaped them so they’d dry flat on blocking mats.  Looking at the pictures I’m particularly pleased with the decreases over the ankles as the sock shapes around the foot (I decreased an extra two stitches either side so I wouldn’t get those tiny holes at the start of the decrease slope) and the toes have a nice rounded shape which makes me smile, but really all what counts is that they fit and himself is happy….

Once again a huge thank you to awesome Anne for her patience at times when I “faired so sorft” and to lovely Isla for all her yarny suggestions.