Sock yarn?

This is the Kureyon sock yarn which arrived from USA today. Colours are S184 on the left and S92 on the right; 420m per 100gm ball. For some reason,as usual, I'm not thinking socks.

By the way, I'm currently half way through the second sock of my brown stripy pair as shown in a previous post. I'm looking forward to finishing them off and wearing them as a cold snap is forecast.

Have a good night tonight and I'll see you next year!

Xmas project

I always allow myself a new project at Xmas and this is it. I am using Touch Yarns 2 ply merino laceweight which I got from Ally Pally. It's a beautiful colour and I was waiting for a pattern worthy of it.The pattern is quite challenging for me in that I can't knit it from memory without following the chart and I don't like charts! Still, I feel that it's worth the effort and I'm looking forward to the result. I love that feeling of knitting a rag - like object and then transforming it into some lovely lace after blocking.

Meanwhile sock 1 of the pair is finished and the other started. This is my mindless TV watching knitting.

I've taken the opportunity of the holiday to review the contents of some of the magazines and books I've brought over the past year. There are lots of possibilities for future projects but I'm sure I will be repeating some of my old favourites too such as the Clapotis scarf and the Baby Surprise jacket. That's apart from working on some of my own new designs!

Merry Xmas!

This sums up how I'm feeling in the run up to Xmas! The fridge is stocked and my annual housework binge nearly finished. I wish you all a Merry Xmas and a good knitting New Year.

Sock progress with interference from a furry friend

I have tried to take reasonable pictures of work in progress but had some help from Baby my little birman cat. Her baleful expression shows the lack of attention she was receiving while I took the pictures. Bear in mind she also lacked 3 days attention while I was away and is therefore officially deprived. She wants you all to know this so please take note.

Anyway, I show you the slip stitch and short row heel, the gusset, the almost completed foot and the slightly longer than normal leg length. I have enjoyed knitting these and the customised fit is perfect for me. For once, I followed the instructions to the letter and took the proper ankle measurements. The result is that I cast on for a 72 stitch sock rather than the usual 64 stitch sock which seems to be the most common size. I will definitely use this sizing again for my own socks.

My new needles are working smoothly and gaining a lovely patina as I knit so, all- in -all, a pleasant experience.

Socks on new needles

This is my new Knitpicks 6" Double Pointed Sock needle set. They are just in stock at Get Knitted ( link left ) and I had ordered them in advance for what seemed like ages. Six sets of needles ( six per set ) in sizes 2mm up to 3.25mm.

I'm using 2.25mm ones to knit my socks seen above. The yarn is Schoeller and Stahl Sockina Colori @ 420m per ball. I got this at Ally Pally from Web of Wool where they were selling three balls for £10. The pattern is one of Lucy Neatby's from "Cool Socks, Warm Feet". She really is the don of customised socks. I like the result I'm getting. I have tried knitting with 2mm needles, as the experts say that you should use the smallest size possible to get hardwearing socks. However, I always find the resulting fabric too stiff and just one size larger needle makes a difference.

I've promised Knit Today a pair of socks shortly and am mulling over my design - toe up or toe down, lacy or not? All will be revealed at some point soon.I'm not one of those knitters who is obsessed by knitting socks. Wendy of the Wendy Knits blog ( link left ) knitted nothing but socks all summer and beyond churning out pair after pair and all of different design. They were fabulous. Her generic toe up sock pattern is legendary and can be printed off from her website for free. I urge you to try it.

Off to see Ma in Liverpool for a couple of days. I shall return!

Now that's what I call a stash!

Let me make it clear from the outset - I do not feel guilty about my stash. Compared with what you are about to see it is minute. This is possibly the world's largest stash. I urge you to have a look and you will never feel guilt about your little yarn purchase ever again.
http://mochimochiland.com/weblog/?p=111 will take you straight to the page. Apparently this is not all of it. To quote one viewer who saw these pictures "Holy crap!". I have to agree.

I will be adding to my stash however. Noro have bought out some sock yarn based on their current colours. It's in stock at Simply Sockyarn ( link on the left ) and I have ordered a couple of colourways. As usual, whether I use them for socks or not remains to be seen. There are some good sale bargains on there at the moment as well e.g. Cherry Tree Hill and Opal.

Xmas holidays start at 1pm tomorrow ( and not a moment too soon ).

Baby surprise jacket for the surprise baby

The top pic is the jacket after flipping two edges. The lower pic is the seemingly randomly shaped piece of knitting after casting off.

If you haven't tried one of these before, you really should. If you do exactly what Elizabeth Zimmerman's instructions say ( and they do seem odd ) you will get the required result.

I love making this jacket and have now made three. Stripey sock wool gives a great result - I made one in Opal DK sock wool in the Flamingo colourway in the summer for a friend's baby. It has been worn a lot and said friend has been accosted by total strangers saying how much they liked his daughter's jacket. He was minding his own business having a coffee in Richmond last weekend when a mad woman (his words) approached him and said she recognised the pattern. On a previous occasion a man told him that he knew what the yarn was - that got him really worried! I've tried gently explaining that knitters do tend to strike up conversations about these things.

There is an adult version but I haven't tried it yet. Happy knitting!

Fleur wrap

This is the latest offering from Sharon Miller, the author of Heirloom Knitting. At the moment, you can get the pattern free if you buy the yarn from her company( see link on the left ). It's Rowan Kidsilk Haze and you need 3 balls. She has it on sale at a reasonable price. The design is based on a Victorian fichu but is somewhat larger. This is just my sort of thing and I'm looking forward to knitting it.

To knitting group last night - the last one of the year. The pub will be very busy providing Xmas parties for the next couple of weeks so we'll reconvene next year.

I'm looking forward to my first offering from the Socktopus yarn club which should be arriving shortly. However, whether I use the yarn for socks is another matter.

Busy, busy at work at present in the run up to Xmas so not much time to knit. I'm looking forward to a couple of weeks off for the holiday season with more time to myself. I'll leave you to guess what I'll be doing!