Brighton Knitting Safari

Come and see me at the Brighton Knitting Safari on 8 November - I'll be selling sock blanks (hand dyed and undyed), stitch markers and maybe some other knitterly surprises:

Sock blanks in the UK

I was fascinated with the idea of sock blanks - sock yarn knit into a fabric that you can dye yourself. I couldn't find anyone in the UK producing these, so I'm making them myself!



You can get them from my Etsy shop.

You can see how I got on dyeing my first sock blank here.

Bella Paquita?

Bella Paquita has been on my wish list to knit since I first saw it on Ravelry last summer.

I knew I wanted to make it in Karabella Aurora 8, but once again I'd fallen for a yarn that you can't blimmin' get in the UK! How often do I do that? Oh, about every project...

Anyway, I found an online shop in the US that would ship to me (don't ask how much the postage was, it's embarrassing). Now I had the colour dilemma - here's my shortlist:

Let's have a poll on which colour I should go for...

I'm a Bad Blogger

Oops, I've forgotten to post about some finished projects.

In no particular order, here they are:

Sirdar Denim Ultra Sweater
I started this in March 2007 and finished in October. It sat around waiting to be sewn up for ages. It came out okay, a little short in the body, but I wear it quite a lot.


Debbie Bliss Not-Hooded Striped Top
I started this in September 2006 (yup) and finished in January 2008 (yup). Again, it sat around for ages waiting to be sewn up. It's a miracle it still fits - just goes to show DB's sizing is generous! It's hoodless, because otherwise it wouldn't have been finished forever... I love Baby Cashmerino. DD likes it, she always says "Mummy made this for me" whenever she sees it. Awww...

Sunday Market Shawl
Made from two balls of Noro Cash Iroha, I love it! Free online pattern, thanks Knitfish.

Queen of the Waves

by Ilga Leja

Woo hoo! Finally blocked and ready to photograph.

She took seven months (on and off), three needle changes, some swearing (when I discovered I hadn't picked up all the errata - you can't tell unless you look really closely) and 767 yards (700 m) of Fiddlesticks Country Silk yarn (in colour Lagoon).

I started with Denise interchangeables but it was virtually impossible to slide the yarn overs across, so I bought a long bamboo fixed circular and that was better. Then I got some Knit Picks Options from Get Knitted at Ally Pally last year and they were so much easier. Things flew along after that. And the stitch count was a lot less by then, so I guess that helped too!

I was going to get a photo by the sea but it's too darn cold, you won't catch me in Brighton on a cold, windy, winters day...

Mum's Christmas Socks

You have noticed a theme here I think...

For some now unremembered reason, my family traditionally give each other socks and pants for Christmas. Dad even went so far one year to make a small washing line, pin some socks and pants to it, wrap it up and present it to us on Christmas morning. One of my favourite Christmas memories, I laughed so much over that!

Anyway, onto these socks... They are Opal 4 ply in colourway Streifen blau-sand-braun. I used 2.5 mm needles, magic loop method. The pattern is Blue Horizon socks by Darlene M. Thompson.

Daddy's Socks

Dad's Christmas socks.

They are Regia Jacquard Color 6-ply in colourway Polar. I used 3.5 mm needles, magic loop method. The pattern was from Ann Budd's Getting Started Knitting Socks; 6 stitches per inch basic sock. It's an adult medium.

The last Christmas date to New Zealand was fast approaching, so I had to make the second of these in one day. Phew!

Viva Las Vegas Socks

Socks for mum's birthday this time. They are colourful, yes?!

They are Regia Jacquard Color 6-ply in colourway Las Vegas. I used 3.5 mm needles, magic loop method. The pattern was from Ann Budd's Getting Started Knitting Socks; 6 stitches per inch basic sock. It's an adult small, and as mum's feet are only a bit bigger than mine it was easy enough to try them on and get the length right.

She's even worn them a few times. And it's summer over there... That's love for ya!

Jungle Socks

Another pair of socks for my brother, this time for Christmas.

They are Regia Crazy Color 6-ply in colourway Jungle. I used 3.5 mm needles, magic loop method. The pattern is Thuja from Knitty (Winter 2005). I was very very close to running out of yarn on these socks, with those big feet of his!

Tiger Socks

I made these socks for my brothers birthday in November, so haven't shown them until now just in case he dropped by the blog and the surprise was blown!

They are Opal Rainforest in colourway Tiger. I used 2.5 mm needles, magic loop method. The pattern was from Ann Budd's Getting Started Knitting Socks; 8 stitches per inch basic sock. It's an adult medium (he has size 10 feet). There was definately enough yarn left over to have made a larger size.

Christmas 2007

Mmm, Cake!

Happy Birthday Jasmine! My little girl is two today!

I'm a good mummy, I made cake. Well, I didn't actually make the cake, but I did make the icing. Well, I coloured the icing blue and pink and put it on the cake. In the shape of Iggle Piggle. Must be worth some bonus parent points I reckon.

Mmmalabrigo Knitting Mitts

These were so amazingly quick to make, they took two evenings (cos I am a slow knitter).

I wanted something to keep my hands warm when knitting in bed in the evening and these do the trick. They would also be good for avoiding mouse-hand!

30g of Malabrigo worsted, colour Orchid, using 4.5mm needles. I used magic loop for the first time and I love it!

The pattern is Web Surfing Mitts by Melissa McCurley.

I Made Some Socks!

Wow! I love these socks!

This was my first attempt at socks. I bought Getting Started Knitting Socks by Ann Budd. Following the step by step instructions made it so simple to do. I wonder why I didn't do it earlier.

It was not without it's hiccups though. The first sock I somehow rearranged the stitches on the three needles so that my toe decreases were completely messed up. Instead of having half the stitches on needle 2 and a quarter of the stitches on each of needles 1 and 3 - I had a third of the stitches on each needle. Anyway, frogged the toe and sorted that out.

The second problem I had was I did 12 rows of ribbing on the second sock, didn't notice it was too many until I'd turned the heel so frogged it back to the ribbing and did it properly with six rows.

Here's the first sock in progress:


Here they are in all their socky glory:



The yarn is Soup Dragon in colour Country Garden. It's lush - a Silk, Angora, Cashmere, Merino mix that is divine to knit with and even nicer to wear. I've looked and I can't find anymore for sale anywhere which is a real shame, I definately would have used it again. I used 2.5mm bamboo DPNs.

I have 50g of yarn left, so I think I'll make a pair of mini socks for Jasmine as she tried on mine and liked them.

Catch Up

I've been inspired to create a 'yarndex'. This is a folder with details and samples of all the yarn in my stash. I had a lot of it catalogued on the computer, but it's not the same as being able to fondle the actual yarn! Anyway, here's what it looks like:

The top three pages are things I always need to look up: needle conversions from US to metric; yarn weight conversions from US to UK; yarn weights including gauge ranges and needle size ranges. These are laminated because I know they'll get used a lot!

On each sample card I record: Name and maker of the yarn; fibre content; yardage/meterage; ball/skein weight; recommended needle size and gauge; weight (DK, aran etc); washing instructions; colour/dyelot; details of projects using the yarn and date I added to the yarndex.

Now I must say this was not my original idea at all, I was inspired by a very organised knitter from the Angel Yarns forum. Instead of handwriting the cards though, I've used Word to print them. That way I can easily update things, and copy similar details to a new card quickly. Also my handwriting would just be messy! One last thing I will add is dividers to separate the pages into groups of similar weight. So it should be easy then to try and find subs when looking for yarn for a particular project.

Socks

I've finally gotten around to having a serious go at socks. I thought they would make brilliant presents, as they shouldn't take too long to make. Although I do find 4 ply a bit of a slog on stocking stitch! Anyway, some lovely yarn arrived this morning:

This is Opal Rainforest sock yarn, 4 ply in Tiger; Bee and Blue Frog.

This is Regia sock yarn in 4 ply: Las Vegas and Polar. Unfortunately I ordered 6 ply so it will have to go back!

So here is my first actual sock. I decided to make trainer socks as it was really the technical bits I needed to try - turning the heel and doing the gusset. Both worked really well and I'm very pleased so far.

The yarn is Soup Dragon, Country Garden (55% merino, 15% cashmere, 15% silk, 15% angora). Very, very nice to knit with. Nothing but the best trainer socks for me! ;-)

I Heart Cashmerino

Just finished sewing this up. It's for a friend who is expecting her second baby girl next month. Funnily enough, her due date is my daughters second birthday.

Anyway, to the knitting. Here it is:

Pattern: Boat Neck Sweater - Baby Knits for Beginners (Debbie Bliss)
Yarn: Cashmerino Aran (Debbie Bliss)
Colour: Apple Green (011)
Used: 100g
Needles: 5mm, 4.5mm for the garter stitch edges


Pattern: Baby Hat - Alterknits (Leigh Radford)
Yarn: Cashmerino Aran (Debbie Bliss)
Colour: Apple Green (011)
Used: 20g
Needles: 4.5mm bamboo DPNs

I'm a Serial Starter!

Okay, I've started yet another project!

I needed a break from Hanami because I was making a mistake every row and was getting fed up tinking back and making no progress.

Then the Queen called and summoned me to be her faithful servant. Here she is so far:

Yarn: Fiddlesticks Country Silk
Colour: Lagoon
Needles 4.5mm Denise Interchangeables

Hanami Stole

Here was my progress with Hanami - I've since messed up and frogged back about 10 rows. Oops.

Here's a close up of the beaded cast on. On the swatch I did it was really tight so I went up two needle sizes. It looks a little gappy, but I don't mind it so I'm leaving it as is.


Yarn: Fiddlesticks ZephyrSpun Wool Silk
Colour: Lady Slipper
Needles: Addi Lace 3.25mm

Madeleine McCann

Madeleine was snatched from her bed on holiday in Portugal on 3 May.

If you know anything about where Madeleine is, please call Crime stoppers on +44 1883 731 336. People with information about Madeleine can call anonymously.

Anice is off the menu

I just can't get to grips with the kidsilk haze and this pattern together. I think I bit off more than I can knit with this one!

So, last night I tried a small sampler using KSH and the Hanami stole pattern. It was really nice to do compared with the Anice.

Here it is, you can't really see the beaded cast on - this is a really great way of getting beads on, I hate threading them on the yarn!


I have some Lane Borgosesia Cashwool yarn on order to do the Hanami proper with. Can't wait to try it :)