Sockage

Although I am beavering away at Secret Knitting Projects, I do have a few FOs to show you and this FO comes with an exciting announcement for future sock accumulation!

I have already mentioned (I know... quite a few times) The Small and the weekend knitting retreat that I helped organise.  In case you didn't see my post over on the blog, or don't want to click on the link here, I would just like to say two words - GOODY BAGS.  No knitting event would be complete without a bag of little somethings and here are some of the contents of the goody bags we gave to our guests at the Small Wool Gathering

For a proper explanation of all the contents I refer you to The Small blog, today I am going to chat about just the socks.  Well of course the socks did not come ready knitted in our bags - For what would be the use of that for knitters?  There is a huge amount of pleasure in wearing hand-made socks but equal amounts in the making - is that not so?

My tiny problem was that we handed out the bags with the skeins of beautiful merino/nylon sock yarn (Twist by indie dyer Linda of Kettle Yarns) about 5 minutes before the sock class (where we learned a new technique called Auto-Pilot Sock from Amy).  So... I barely had time to rush to the wool winder before casting on and knitting-like-the-wind and forgetting to take any photographs.

In no time I had finished the first sock (while a passenger in the car driving to a family party)

And! Lo! there was another opportunity to photograph yarn in the ball and work in progress but did I take it?  No, too busy clickety clacking (on my new carbon fibre DPNs, that may have had something to do with it, I love using new kit)

Consequently I can only show you the FOs

Amy's clever sock technique results in a very attractive three legged set of increases and decreases that sits over the ankle bone

I spent a little time today draping the socks over various pretty locations, eventually settling on using my jewellery box which is a 19th C work basket.

After I posted the picture of finished socks on The Small blog Linda and I had a bit of a chat.  Lots of encouragement took place, her yarn being so lovely to knit with and she being so kind about my socks and the pretty lace pattern I chose for the legs.  The upshot of this little mutual admiration society meeting was that early in the new year I am going to lead a Knit-A-Long on sock making using some of Linda's yarn.  I'm very excited about this and have already bought more Twist from Linda

Bright colours to banish winter blues of you not think?  I will be posting more details of the sock KAL early in January here on the blog (and in the Kettle yarn Ravelry forum) but briefly we plan a KAL for absolute sock virgins.  We will knit a tiny 'training sock' first to practice the basic technique then make a pair of grown up socks, perfect for keeping the winter chill at bay.

We will be knitting socks in one of two traditional ways, toe up or top down.  I will not be referring to Amy's new innovative Auto-Pilot sock.  This is not because I do not favour Amy's technique but because Auto-Pilot is new and Amy's idea.  Although ownership of knitting patterns and techniques is a slightly grey area (occasionally something new hits the knitting world that is more unvented rather than invented) I have no intention of even borrowing a technique from Amy who is currently teaching it at knitting events and yarn shops around N America and the UK

So please watch this space for some socking for beginners

xx

C

Ps I thought you might like to see a close up of the inlay on the top of my lovely box.  The inscription on the small sliver of mother-of-pearl is To Isabella 1851

Getting on with things

I had a Yarn Harlot Moment this morning.  Not a knitting one this time but a 'yes I really did see it and no I didn't get my camera out in time' sort of moment.

Yesterday a Sparrow hawk landed in our garden.  Not unusual if you live in the country but we live in the middle of a town, our bird visitors are chiefly sparrows and blackbirds, a blue tit counts as exotic!  And there is was lording it over our tiny garden (devoid of any other bird for fear of becoming breakfast for the hawk).  But I didn't have my camera, so no David Attenborough moment either.

I think I am better sticking to photographing things that do not move - like my over sized sock yarn stash!

in (nearly) every shade, and  texture but all sock weight

Which brings me to last week's challenges.  Several people made suggestions via Twitter and Liz of Tattered Creations left a great idea in the blog comments.  She challenged me to make a calm restrained item of clothing and not to be seduced by the usual bright colours (then teach her how to do it) .  I had said a couple of weeks ago that although my style of dress tends to be in neutral colours, relying on a bright scarf or necklace for colour, I can't seem to stick to this palette when I buy yarn.  But perhaps this from my stash will work.  It's single strand cashmere.  This yarn (bought on e-bay to mend a friend's gillet)  is the sort yarn used in commercial knitwear production but I think if I ply it (2 or 3 strands) I shall have just the right weight for a small short sleeved pullover.  Now all I have to do is step away from the fancy stitch patterns

100% cashmere in black, charcoal  and soft grey

Then Amy, the editor of Knitty.com suggested I knit a big 'kick-ass shawl' like color affection  Or perhaps even adapt a pattern myself to use three different colours, like these perhaps...

Donegal by Countess Ablaze

Finally there is my self imposed challenge to knit up as much of the sock yarn, perhaps half in socks but the other half as other small items.  The fun bit will be that with just small amounts of yarn the projects have to be small and that means they will knit up quickly despite the yarn being fairly fine.  I am going to begin with the hat for Titchy Scrunch (a nick name given to him by one of his big cousins and less of a mouthful than The Little Model's Little Brother) in this

Self stripe sock yarn by Regis

I plan to make a hat with ear- flaps made double and entirely in one piece.  I'll blog the pattern next week but in case you are wondering how I will manage such a piece of knitting engineering I will just say 'sock toes' and 'Judy's magic cast on'

Watch this space!

xx

c

Challenges

It is possible to find the most delightful things in quite unexpected places.  A friend,  lives in deepest rural Gloucestershire where a local garage sells pasties.  Not unusual you say - doesn't every garage sell  cellophane wrapped parcels, high fat, low meat, together with a handy microwave heating service?  Yes but his garage sells Pasties, the real thing, crunchy pastry, proper meat, perfect seasoning and just enough vegetable to remind us that these were packed lunch for Cornish tin miners.  After my friend wrote about the pasties in his weekly newspaper column the pasties sold out in a week, the chaps at the garage were delighted.  

A week or two later The Writer was filling up his car when the garage proprietor wandered out and in the course of passing the time of day he mentioned how badly his forecourt was broken up by the recent hard frosts, at the same time he laid down a challenge.  "Holes!  I bet you couldn't write about holes, not as easy as pasties are they?"  A little ungrateful I thought and wouldn't have blamed The Writer if he had just paid for his full tank of petrol and forgot the conversation.  But not he, the next week a brilliant and witty piece appeared in The Independent.

I'm not about to write about holes or the produce of my local garage but I am still thinking about challenges while, for reasons I will give later, knitting some pretty straightforward stuff.   Like this scarf for DS1

K2 P2 rib scarf in two colours of  Rialto double knitting by Debbie Bliss

Last week I tried to rise to a challenge set by one of my twitter followers, @Kismetislander wondering in a tweet if I could combine marmalade and knitting.  I have to admit I dashed off last week's blog in great haste. My grandson was ill and became very seriously ill as the week went on, culminating in a lengthy emergency operation in the middle of Wednesday/Thursday night (he's on the road to recovery now).  All of which meant we have done a lot of anxious waiting around in hospitals, hence the plain knitting and The Little Model came to stay with us.  I had forgotten (how could I?) how time consuming 3 year olds are.  @KismetIslander was a bit underwhelmed with my efforts in answering her challenge.

I have also begun knitting a pair of socks in my favourite self striping sock yarn

I promise to do better at another time but also thought it would be fun if I were tested a little more.  I am delighted to say that I have around 400 hits on this blog each week so, I lay down the gauntlet to you.  Please leave a challenge in the comments section and I promise to rise to it.  I will also give your blog a big plug in my post (and set you a dare too if you like).

so much sock yarn

With so much sock yarn in my stash (some very special hand dyed) I have set myself the task of making as many pairs of socks as I can in 2013 but I look forward reading your ideas for new things to do and to scratching my head over the next few weeks

xx

C