Cosy's and Elephants

I have made no progress on the SSS knitting whilst I have been knitting up this Tea Cosy for my Ravelry swap pal -it looks just stunning in the red, black and white but is quite simple to pull together. Simple, that is, if you are not watching an election at the sametime.

I had to undo three stripes due to a dropped stitch on Sunday morning (it was in a black stripe) as well as joining in the wrong colour at least three times and having to undo it on Saturday night. But eventually it finished up quickly.


The Toy Bag, however has completed nicely, at least the main piece. The colours look fab - especially the Light Teal (aqua blue), Marine (dark blue) and Mango (orange). I am now weaving in ends and sewing up the main part of the bag.

I also need to knit up 2 x 100cm icords which shouldn't take long in the heather (pink). It looks very very cute and I can't wait to see it all made up.

On other knitting news I have ordered more yarn. I can feel th shock now! I finally succumbed to the Raven series from Blue Moon Fiber Arts - but included some silk for a shawl. It isn't just sock yarn (I did get some of that too though). The delivery is taking it's time due to the huge order that they recieved.

Clearing the Head and Getting Knitting Again.

Well obviously all i needed to get back on track was a change of project type.

The Toy Bag is now about 55% complete and looking very colourful. The Bendigo Cotton is easy to knit with and lovely on the hands with the end result being very soft.

The biggest challenge is keeping O's hands off it when they are grubby.

Frogs and Elephants

I have now frogged the Vine Socks 3 times and have conceded the pattern wasn't for me.

Sizing was almost impossible and regardless of how beautiful they looked I just couldn't find a sizing comination that fit my ankles and didn't fall down my legs.

So now they are a plain stocking stitch pair that I have parked at the cuff stage.

Friday was a joyous day because right as I was heading to work the postman arrived with much yarny goodness. Wool and Cotton from Bendigo in a set of colours to complete the Ravelry Tea Cosy Swap...oh yeah and a special Rowan gift for my partner. In amongst the cotton was six magic colours for the Toy Bag for a friends impending baby.

It is always a joy to knit with and I am loving the colour combo.

Can't wait to finish it!!! (Oh and the elephant - the pattern on the toy bag has an elephant_

Sea Breeze and Vine

I have cast on Vine Lace Socks from Socks Socks Socks!

I wanted to knit something lacy and summery perhaps as a way of banishing some of the wet weather we have had in Sydney this week.

I am feeling a little blah so hopefully this will pick me up just a little. The initial cast on cuff is ending up with a purple spiral stripe through it.

I am hoping this will be quick, pretty and satisfying.

I am also waiting on a lot of cotton and some other items for a friends baby present and my Ravelry Tea Cosy Swap (Shhhh!!!)

We were all Yellow

The Socks for O are now done. The lovely mock wave cable gives a nice pattern up the leg.

I have now realised that O has adult sized feet lengthwise!
Socks for her are now going to be much more work than previously for her - small women's is now the size we will be starting with.

The pattern was easy to memorise and looks so much like sunshine in this colour.
O is in love with the colour of the socks as Yellow is her favourite colour so all in all the hand-dyed hand knitted has been a success.

SSS Sock Meme

1. What’s your favorite sock yarn? (please note that the word “yarn” is singular. Just pick one. I know it’s hard.) Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock
2. What’s your favorite type and brand of sock needle? Knit Picks Classic Circulars (with the longer tips)
3. Do you knit your socks toe up, cuff down or sideways? Generally cuff down, but I have been branching out recently
4. Do you knit both socks at once or just one at a time? One at a time. I tried 2 and got hopelessly tangled. I've decided i need to try it when I am on holiday and a little more relaxed and patient.
5. What’s your favorite toe and why? A pretty standard reduce at either side of the toe. Because my family have sensitive feet and complain about any other style.
6. Favorite heel? Heel Flap for the family, short row for me
7. Do you prefer plain or patterned socks? I like variety to knit and wear.
8. Who do you knit the most socks for? Dh and my stepdaughter O, them me and the grandparents.
9. Do you darn your socks? Technically yes, although the pile in my repair basket probably means I should say No right now (as it is turning into a tower).
10. If not, what do you do with them? Build a tower out of them in my repair basket
11. Do you only wear handknit socks? As much as I would like to say yes (for the whole family) the answer is not quite. Though dh treats his as good socks for work.
12. Bonus Question: What pattern, if any, is your basic “I-just-need-a-pair-of-socks” sock pattern based on? Do you keep it written down or memorized? I have a pattern I got from The Wool Shack with my first ball of sock-yarn. It is easy to follow and all the books i have looked at use the same principle (stocking stitch) with slight variation. I have it written down and folded into quarters in my accessories pack (which is see through). I usually only refer to it for stitch counts at certain points.

Yellow for O

I started a sock in the yellow hand-dyed yesterday for O.

Yellow is her favourite colour and when offered five hand-dyed skeins to choose from it was no surprise that she picked the yellow. She then flicked through 25 Favourite socks to pick a pattern.

After serious deliberation she came up with Mock Wave Cable Socks. They have knit up quite fast and the colour is showing up beautifully.

She hasn't seen them yet, that is a treat for this afternoon!

FO Hand Dyed Hand Knitted

Finished the hand-dyed hand knitted in plain stocking stitch for dh.

He loves the colorway (which he picked from the batch of hand-dyed yarns.

I began to be concerned I would not have enought yarn to complete the socks about half-way through the first sock and knitted the second sock slowly (I think in attempt to make the yarn go further - not consciously!).

Anyway I have about 75cm of the yarn left after extending the second sock by about 4 rows to ensure that it wasn't as tight as the first on dh foot. I then unravelled the toe of the first sock and reknit the extra few rows and the toe.

The colourway has knitted up beautifully!!

I also cast on,knit 12 rows, and completely frogged a yellow hand-dyed pair of mock cable socks for O (Again picked colourway from the hand-dyed and picked pattern from the 25 Favourite socks).

Southern Summer of Socks - October Total

End Week 1: 1 Pair +

0.25 x 1 Sock

End Week 2: 1 Pair +

0.25 x 3 Socks (Different pairs)

End Week 3: 2 Pair +

1 Sock +

0.25 x 2 Socks

End Week 4: 2 Pair +

1 Sock +

0.25 x 3 Socks

TOTAL OCTOBER: 2 Pair +

1 Sock +

0.80 x 1 Sock +

0.5 x 2 Socks

November 1 : 3 Pair +

0.5 x 2 Socks