Surprise Socks!

I was very grown up a month or so ago and went through all my WIP's reclassifying some of them as "on hold" and some of them "No, never, what was I thinking". I even restrained myself from starting others I knew I didn't have the time for, what with the billion & ninety boxes I need to unpack etc.

This obviously triggered that part of my brain that is responsible for the levels of craziness my life aspires to and seeing those levels drop dangerously close to normal it has kicked into overdrive. I found myself signing up for the Ravelolympics. I didn't mean to, I sorta didn't want to...but I did it anyway.

To those who are not knitters this is the Knitting equivalent of the Olympics. While the Olympics are on knitters all over the world take part in various knitting events and a whole lot of knitterly fun is had by all.

Having just finished my first ever sock (not pair...just one), decided to take part in the "Sockput". I swore to finish one complete pair of socks before the Olympic flame went out. I seriously doubted my ability to complete one sock let alone two in just over two weeks but what the hey! Socks are small right!

Of course the Olympics are long over now but I was unable to post about the socks until they had reached their new owner. Having just heard that this has happened I am now free to post about it.

Sadly I didn't complete the socks by the time the Olympic flame went out. I was roughly a toe short on the second sock and once the deadline passed (predictably) other things got in the way so it was almost a week after the deadline before they were finished. However they were infinitely better than my first sock which is good since they were a present and also gives me hope that one day I'll be able to do those lovely lacy socks I see all over knitting blog land.

I love the colour,

I love that I finished two of them with little trouble, I love that I got them done inside three weeks, I love that I was able to give my knitting mentor something so special and knitted AND I love that they fitted!!At the finish line I was here, just about to start decreases for the toe. I still don't understand why the leg part of the socks are the same (pattern wise) but they change at the heel. Very odd I reckon.

Close up of colour and pattern

And of course proof that, although I felt they were a wee bit on the small side, they do actually fit!!

Sock-tastic!

The sock is done! It isn't perfect but it is finished. It is also warmer than my other socks, which is good motivation to start on the other one!

I'd have more/better photos but am still pretty flat out with the house. More info and pics (maybe) of that when I can bring myself to relive the weekend by typing it all out.

But I have my first ever sock!

No more cold ears!

Apologies for the photos that are less than inspiring however I figured that without photos this was just another post of me saying I'd knitted another beanie (everyone shout YAY!) and you must be sick of them by now. Even with photos I think I'm pushing it but hey...with all that's going on right now your lucky to even get a beanie post!!

Knit on 4mm circulars in Stockinette Stitch (or all knit as it's in the round). The yarn is Cleckheatons Nature Country Spun, colour no.83 (i think) and is a lovely pale mossy green closest to the photo below.

Now my ears are all toasty!

my first (half) sock

There's a lot going on in our lives of late and few things are simple or
black and white. However there is one tiny, simple thing that brings me joy and happinesses. My first sock

My first sock is full of tension issues, pattern mis-reads and dropped

stitches.

My first sock has surprise elements like increases and decreases and

even the occasional ladder.BUT my first sock......looks like a (half finished) sock

I love my first sock!

I begin to make some sense

I finally made it back on to the Sideways Jacket project. I've been distracted by beanies (still am a little!) and beading and all kinds of laziness. The main problem was that I put it on to circulars due to the large amount of stitches (this is knitted sideways y'know) and then couldn't get my head around how to knit it.
I find this happens whenever I have a glass of wine...it interferes with my knitting gene. It had been annoying me for a while as to why I'd done this, clearly stupid thing. I was sure I'd be able to fit the stitches on my straight needles. It might be tight but it was do able and I'd lost valuable knitting time because I'd tried to be clever.

So after giving myself a stern talking to and still not remembering why I'd switched over I finally returned the project to its rightful needles. I put aside any thoughts of being clever ever again and things seemed to progress really well.....right...up...until...Sunday...night!
That's about the time I realized that I'd forgotten to cast on some stitches. 66 of them....yup 66.

You can't fake 66 stitches.
You can't claim it's a personalization of the pattern.
You can't pretend that people wont notice.
You also can't fit another 66 stitches onto already crowded needles.

It was then I remembered why I'd switched to the circulars needles!!

expanding stash

Yet another beanie has fallen off my needles. This one is plain black and knitted as a work beanie for matt.I've decided the next beanie is for me. I went to see my nephew play football on the weekend and realized that I had never made myself a beanie. And you know what that means.......Cold Ears!!!

Of course you know what else this means......I needed more yarn!! hehehe SO I went out and bought this. The beanie is on my needles as we speak and Mr. Murphy and his law not withstanding I should have photos in a few days!

Sideways Jacket

This is my current project (not counting the beanies that I'm addicted to) and so far so good. It's the Sideways Jacket in the Patons Book 1261 (style 14). It's interesting so far...little bit of patterning and knitting the thing sideways is keeping me awake while watching some very suspect TV. Fingers crossed I'll be able to wear this one when it's finished!!

Close up of the pattern....not a good shot color wise.

This one is closer to the color I'm working with.

The arm....taa daaaa!!

Extreme close up of the pattern. Cause knittings all about the extremes!!

Crafty times are here again 1

Righto....time for some photos of crafty stuff. I've not been overly productive since arriving in Australia but before then I churned out a fair bit and I think it's time I posted some photos.
I knitted quite a lot of beanies recently for gifts n stuff. I love knitting beanies. So quick, so easy and so much cheaper than therapy!

Plus I love me circulars!!!
Oh and I also knitted a couple of bears from some kits that I found. My first attempt at knitted toys and I think they turned out pretty darn cute. However I doubt I'll make a career of the toy thing so these ones are set to be collectibles!!

And my pride and joy. My first attempt at lace. I think I did rather well in the end..of course it's quite a simple design but has given me the confidence to try something much more advanced!

ho hum

I was a bit quiet last week wasn't I. It wasn't on purpose exactly. Time is slipping by very fast at the moment and I'm up to my ears (and over....I'm not that tall) in boxes and packing materials. It's amazing how much stuff you collect over 6 years and it all has to be sorted and either thrown out or boxed up. It's also amazing how much dust is involved.....I must have sneezed about elevently million times yesterday!

I should have it pretty much done by the end of this week but it's meant stealing time from other activities like blogging and knitting etc.

I have managed to squeeze in a tiny project that I found as a kit in a pound store. (If you'll excuse the slightly blurry photo)
It's a teddy bear!!! It doesn't look like much right now but after I've sewn it up and stuffed it I'm hoping that the cuteness might take hold. I don't know if you can see but they are actually joined. They are knitted all in one piece and remind me so much of those paper cut out people...where you fold the paper and then cut out the person so it unfolds into a whole series of people. I always cut in the wrong place and would end up with loads of individuals. I did toy with the idea of continuing knitting but decided that would be silly.....for now!

Juniper

Well this has been finished for a couple of weeks now but I've been unable to get enough light near a mirror for decent photos. These two are the best I can come up with for now.
Overall I'm happy with it and I love the pattern. So quick and easy to knit up. However next time round (or if I can be bothered to undo everything this time round) I'll be changing a few things.
Firstly I'll be making the sleeves longer by at least an extra 1". Although I did a larger size to make it a baggy jumper it's turned out quite small. Probably my gauge was out.
Also as you can see the bottom is a rolled edge which I hate. I knew I would hate it and should have changed it when I started but then I can be stupid sometimes. Next time it will definitely be a ribbed edge.
Other than that I love it and it's so warm and soft and comfy.

Pattern: Sirdar Juniper V Neck Sweater 8969 (no ribbon detail on mine)
Yarn: Sirdar Juniper 514 Ginger

We have Ribbing!

Yup, as you can vaguely see from the photo below we have ribbing on the Juniper Jumper which means it’s almost done.
I say 'almost' with an impending sense of doom as earlier today I noticed that the one side of the neckline had developed a strange line (very hard to see on the photo) where the ribbing joins the body of the jumper. I am now debating ripping it right back and redoing that section. I think I will as I’d like to actually wear this one.
Even so it should be done by early next week!

In other knitting news the Pippa bag has been felted and now only requires putting together. This means handles attached and contrasting pattern motif sewn on. This project has been pushed to the back of the line on many occasions so it will be great to finally get it done. It felted nicely and using my previous experience at felting I left this one in the machine for only 30mins. So it’s shrunk less and is not as thick a fabric as before.

What else is new and exciting….well we had men in the tree at the front yesterday. It was great fun to watch (yes I was procrastinating) however I think they over did it and the tree now resembles more of a stump than a tree…sigh. I know they mean well.

Also the Egypt photos are nearly done and should be ready by Monday I think. Considering that we had nigh on 2000 photos in total I think I’ve done very well to narrow it down to 50 odd!

And finally for today the central heating has been replaced and is up and working. The house is now toasty and warm. The two days we were without heat or hot water gave me a chance to wear my thermal underwear which I really don’t get to do often enough!!

Finally.....some knitting!

It feels like forever since I spoke about knitting but strangely it just hasn’t been a priority so far this year. I think that after all the frantic Christmas knitting I needed to take a break. Plus I’ve had no projects lined up after my Le Slouch hat.
In fact inspiration didn’t grab me until I ventured into the LYS on a completely unrelated mission and found a new Sirdar yarn called Juniper displayed on their wall. I went back the next day and bought the yarn in the Ginger colour and a pattern (8969) for a jumper.

It’s for me. I don’t have enough confidence in my abilities yet to knit something so big and fitted for anyone else. The best thing about this yarn is that it’s chunky and knitted on 7mm needles which means that even though I’ve only been working on it for a week I’ve already got the back finished and the front is ¾ done too! I should (fingers crossed, touch wood etc) be wearing it by the end of the month. It’ll be the quickest ‘large’ project yet!

Above is the front. Very nearly done as you can see.
This is the back....just waiting for me to pick up the stitches and knit the rib around the neckline.
The usual arty shot of the wool.
And another arty shot....cause you know I can't resist getting all arty with wool!!!

By the skin of my teeth!

Essay three for your approval! My brain is dead but I'm rather proud of myself really. The threat of shame is great for motivation.
In other news I’m a bit lost knitting wise. Having finished off all my works in progress I’m not quite sure what to start next. I have cast on a scarf for myself (I need a green one) in the left over Patons Moonglow yarn which is nice and so, so, so soft, but hardly challenging. It’s so simple even I don’t have to look at the needles! Cast on 17 stitches on size 10mm needles and knit every row! The larger needles give that holey look and knitting every row makes every second row raised….which makes the scarf lovely and squishy with loads of texture. Perfect!
I think I need a larger project and will have to go through my list of “wants” to see which one comes next. Very exciting.

Photos of pretty finished objects!

Here are the two finished items that I was unable to post last week...just to prove they really are done!

The first is my Le Slouch beret style beanie, knitted in Paton’s Moonglow. Perhaps a little hard to work out from the photos…..taking a photo of a hat on your own head is a bit of an art form in itself! It’s basically an over sized beret. The wool was a little awkward to use as it varies greatly in thickness however the end product is great and very warm. Just what I need right now!!!

Another angle of my head!
A close up of the wool. It has silvery sparkly bits through it.

The second project was a circular needle holder (matching a previous straight needle holder I made). Also I think a little hard to work out from the photos but basically it has 6 pockets for the needles, which fold up concertina style in a wallet type fashion.

The pockets....three on one side....there on the other.
The concertina bit....hard to see in a photo I think.

Strangely though I still have many other projects that need finishing!

Beanie Baby!

Right…it’s the start of the year but a week for finishing things off. One a day till the end of the week! Here’s today’s project already done and dusted. Matt’s Christmas Beanie.

It was my first circular needles project and I think that I’m in love! I’ve never used needles that were easier or more smooth and lovely to use! I don’t think that they will completely replace double pointed needles for me but I think I’ll be using them in preference.
See the happy recipient modelling!(Please excuse the thread hanging down his neck...I have temporarily lost my weaving in needle)

I know this might be controversial (in the world of knitting) but having tried socks (and failed so far) with DPNs I think I might try them with circulars! GASP!
Oh I do like to live on the edge!!

Rowan Embrace Felted Bag

The Mystery Project Revealed...

Rowan Embrace Felted Bag

Finished but unfelted.
The embroidery before felting
The bag after felting
The embroidery after felting
The handle detail