skein

Bleeding Hearts socks

 

Pattern: Bleeding Hearts, downloadable pattern by Evelyn Clark

Started: 4th September

Finished: 27th September

Yarn:  Lorna's Laces Bold Red, 2 skeins (though lots left over for my Beekeepers Quilt!)

Needles:  2.25mm

Mods: none

 The red is soooo dazzling that my camera refuses to cooperate!  It thinks the colour is a pinkish red, and the pattern - well, it seems rather obscured by the colour!

This is a close up (camera) of the pattern:

and this is a b&w (mobile phone, indoors!) of the pattern:

This is a mobile phone photo of the socks, again taken indoors,  a truer representation of the red colour:

But the best red is the one I took last night, in purely artificial and dim light, with the mobile!  Straight off the needles

This is my September offering for the SolidSocks group on ravelry.  The colour of the month is red and its variations, and this is certainly red!

A very quick, enjoyable knit, breaking me into these sock kals very gently!

Gentleman's sock with Lozenge pattern

They're done!

Pattern:  Gentleman's sock with lozenge pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks,

Yarn:  Austermann Step, in a brown colour, nearly the whole ball.

Needles: 2mm

Started: August 21st

Finished:  September 25th

 Mods:  As this pattern is written, it is knitted with 80 stitches for the lozenge pattern, and uses 600 yards of yarn.   I had one ball, and thought 80 stitches was far too many for my tension, even on 2mm.   

(the centre stitch is plainly on view here, due to me not being able to put a pair of socks on a sock blocker)

The pattern starts with a 3x3 ribbing, which is a six stitch pattern repeat, on 78 sts. increasling to 80 sts for the lozenge pattern, which is a 10 stitch repeat.  I decided to cast on 66 sts rather than 78 sts. and increase to 70 sts rather than 80 sts for the main pattern.

I worked the ten row pattern 8 times, rather than 8.5 times.

The pattern is worked on half the stitches plus one (centre stitch).    To keep the integrity of the lozenge pattern over the instep, I worked the heel on 31 stitches and the instep on the remaining 39 stitches (which is really four pattern repeats as you have purl sts each side of the heel/sole).  it means that my instep pattern  encroaches on the plain soles stitchs, but it really doesn't show.   Also, when starting the heel stitches I had to redistribute the stitches a little bit, but again, I'm OK with this.  I supose it might have looked a tad better if I had knitted a few rounds of plain stocking stitch before starting the toe decreases.

 

Due to lack of time, we had to take rushed photos this morning before I left for work (I had to stay a bit later so the light was marginally brighter!) so not the best but they'll do! The sock blockers were  a little too small (these are man's large) so they look a little wrinkled. 

I really enjoyed this pattern,  though I'd have loved a little more time to knit the second sock!  I seem to think this happened last year too!  I must remember to make a note of birthdays, rather than rely on Mr.C. who hasn't a clue about how long it takes to knit a sock!

Scuppered!

I had plans for the weekend.   Today was going to be Sorting Stash day, ready for the Big Swap of winter and summer yarns and clothes.  I've yarns which stay out all year - sock, lace, odd balls. but the bins of yarn which hold packs are swapped over in Spring and Autumn.   It's not really that big a job, just empty them out, decide which are summery yarns (cottons) and which are trans-seasonal (like finer yarns or wool cottons).  The biggest job is to swap them over.  I have to empty the vacuum packs of winter woollies and wools and fill them up with the summer stuff.  The summer stuff takes up half of the volume of the winter yarns and clothes. I then try to find space for the clothing and yarn stash.  That takes up time!   Mr. C. goes over to the boat on Sundays, so it was an ideal day to be surrounded by the stash. 

Mid morning he tells me that his father's birthday is next weekend.  I thoght I had another week to knit the second brown sock.  Not so.  I really need them done by bedtime on Tuesday so he can post them.  So my Stash Sorting is on hold until next weekend.  I wouldn't care, but I have the new anti-moth stuff and bags for the millions of cardigans and jumpers I have.  I'm psyched up for a good stash rummage!

 

I'd also hoped to do a tiny bit of knitting.  Wind some yarn for a new shawl.  Finish the red socks.  Get Chickadee nearly finished. 

Instead my Chickeadee is temporarily abandoned.

 

as are the rest of my wips.

 

I've cast on the second brown sock (on 2mm needles!) and have already dropped  a stitch nearly to the cast on round.  Knitted with the tail yarn twice and messed up a simple 3x3 ribbing. I'm in a bit of a panic. I do not do knitting to a deadline very well, unless it's my personal monthly goals of course!

 

Plans for today are now to knit a sock leg and heel flap.  Sod the housework.  Mr/ C hsall have to keep me topped up with tea and coffee. I have some chocolate buttons for energy.  Wish me well!

Socks progress

If I intend to finish these socks this month I'd better get a move on!   Excluding my plain commuter knitting socks, I have three other pairs, all patterned, on the needles. 

I'd finished the first sock of my red, Bleeding Hearts pair last week.  This weekend I've concentrated on finishing the first socks of Petrouchka and Gentleman's Lozenge patterned socks. 

 

As expected, Nancy Bush has come up trumps with her sock pattern.  They're from Vintage  Socks,  patterns adapted from the Weldon's series.  I have three of these volumes, and it's made me want to hunt down the books for another read. I hardly loook at my knitting books, must get around some day to sitting down and looking through them all. 

I've joined in Sockdown from the SKA ravelry knitting group, and I've chosen Petrouchka as this month's knittng.

 

For once the sunlight and shadow hav eworked in my favour, here's a nice photo of the pattern. 

I lve started the second Bleeding Hearts last night.  Not sure if I wll knit all three legs, then heels then feet or concentrate on this one first.   I enjoyed the swapping between sock projects for the first socks|

 

Polka Dot Stole

My ninth shawl for 11shawls2011 and my first stole this year.

 

Pattern: Polka Dot Stole

Started: August 18th

Finished: Septenber 11th

Needles: 4mm

Yarn: Yarn Yard Leith, a merino silk 4ply weight blend, in Sprout.  I wanted to knit at least one summer shawl, and this was the perfect yarn and colour.

The pattern was initially confusing.  The symbols for the chart were fairly standard, but not standard for rs and ws rows.  I'm used to a dot meaning knit on ws and purl on rs.  In this instance dots meant purl, regardless of rows. Same for leaning decreases.   Once used to this though it went very well. such a fun pattern!

My photos aren't brilliant.  I had to unpin the stole before it was completley dry (I block on the bed!) and it's not blocked out as well I wouldh ave liked it to.  I also darn in ends but only cut them after blicking. And of course we took rushed photos before Mr C went to the boat, forgetting the ends (and he failed ot notice!).

The stole starts off with large circles

then the fun dots

with  the large circles as a central motif.

Just two more shawls to knit for the year.  A few sktechy plans, but I'm going to wait until  next weekend before casting on. 

Three socks

Chickadee is still on hold.  Just because it's been a bit warmer this week and I fancy knitting socks not a woollen cardigan.

So, my three socks are progressing, slowly.  I thought that I'd have finished three odd socks by today, but I'm not doing too well!

We have two gussets for Petrouchka and Lozenge socks:

and one whole Bleeding Hearts sock.

I've also started (just) a sock stash busting project.    It's the Beekeeper's Quilt!   It's very early days, just a few hexagons knitted so far.  I'm going to knit this totally out of sock stash - and hopefully  just sock remnants.  It will not be a colour coordinated blanket. but more of a memory blanket, of the socks I wil knit this next year, and some from previous years if I can find the leftovers!  I'm still deciding on cast on and cast off methods - do I prefer the little purl bumps showing through on the cast on edge or the smooth cast of Judy's magic cast on?  Do I knit a few extra rows to commpensate for my  off row/stitch tension ratio?  All of these are different in tiny ways but I'm not too fussed at the moment, as the differences should be lost amongst the many other hexagons.   It's a bit addictive! 

These are some Lorna's Laces leftovers. 

Now that I've pulled the project out to take a quick photo, I'm afraid I shall be knitting a few more hexagons tonight!

Polka Dot Stole progress

No sock knitting this weekend!  Instead I've kntited on the Polka Dot Stole.   It needs blocking, which will probably be in the next few weeks.  

LOVED working on this stole.  At the moment it's long and narrow, but I'm going to blcoke it out so it's a bit wider.  At the moment it's more like a wide scarf than a stole.

Excuse the dodgy mobile photos, but the light was very dim! And the mess, I use the table as a general dumping ground for knitting paraphernalia!

Tada!

 

Still on the sock knitting

Not much to show today.  I've been home late this week and haven't done as much knitting as usual. I hope to rectify this over the weekend, minimal housework!

I planned to knit on the three patterned socks, and get as far as the heel flap on all three.

FAIL!  I've only managed to knit two of the heels.  Mind you, I've turned those heels and picked up stitches ready for the gusset  Tonight I'll do the Bleeding Hearts heel.

Petrouchka sock is going well.

Colour's not right at all, more of a greeny blue.  I'm going to tr to get some outdoor photos this weekend (if the weather brightens up a bit)

Lozenge socks are going well too. These are from Nancy Bush Vintage socks, and have a plain heel flap with a centre stitch in reverse stocking stitch.  As I'm knitting on 70 rather than 80 stitches I'm having to juggle the number of stitches on the heel flap, 31 instead of 41 stitches. 

A close up of the texture:

I fully intend to work on Chickadee over the weekend! 

Sock Madness

Last month I promised myself that I would stick to four WIPs.   This month I have decided that I wnt to knit socks, and lots of them.  I've four different socks on the go!  That doesn't include my other two WIPs, Chickadee and Polka Dot Stole!

Chickadee is progressing, slowly,  I've finished the two sleeves and am working on the body now. I shortedned the sleeves by several inches, and they may now be too short, but I shall wait and see.  It's impossible to judge correctly with just a little bit of yoke completed. I'll finish the knitting, steam it to relax the knitting and then try it on, it may grow!  I may not hae mentioned this, but I misread the chart for the yoke and omitted a vital (to me!) stitch, so this is being swiss darned!

Now, onto the socks! 

I've been on a patterned sock hiatus for a few years now.  In 2008-2009 I joined the ravelry groups SolidSocks and SKA, who have monthly challenges.   Let's just say I had my fill of socks!  The gift bag was chocka with the result of SolidSocks kals and SKA kals,  and I felt like knitting shawls and garments for a few years.  Still knitting socks, but depleting the self striping sock yarn box.   I'm now ready to join these two challenges!  Browsing ravelry patterns, I find that a lot of the socks I knitted are still fairly popular, and still the ones I love. I'm hoping that I'll be able to find good patterns for this year too. 

So, socks on needles:

1) the plain old sock, carried forward from August.  For Mr C.  It's Opal Magic, long stashed.  I'm about to finish sock one. 

2) Vintage socks, Gentleman's Lozenge sock, for Mr. C's father's birthday next month. Newly acquired sock yarn, not my colours but a man in his eighties might appreciate them.  I'm onto the heel flap. I had to take these photos this morning, with my lamp on as it was so gloomy!  And with the mobile, but you can see the pattern.

3) My Solid Socks for September.  RED socks in an Evelyn Clark pattern, Bleeding Hearts.  This is to the start of the heel flap.  Very simple lace pattern.

 

4) SKA September socks,  barely started (but I have two months to finish them!)

These are Petrouchka socks, by one of the named designers for this month, Caoua Coffee.

 

I hope to get better daylight photos when the weather brightens up.  I don't think that I cna manage to knit all four pairs in a month though, I have Chickadee, the shawl and another to cast on soon!  I have never done the 52 pair challenge (has anyone ever succeeded in completing this challenge I wonder?) and don't intend to try!

Tonight it's the turn of Petrouchka.  Tomorrow I may well try to knit three heel flaps!

 

Polka Dot Stole progress

I just couldn't put this down last weekend!  I had a bit of a panic - would I have enough yarn?  The pattern called for 800m, and I had that plus a little extra, but I've been caught out before.  So.  I knitted faster and faster,  only stopped when I reached the centre of the stole.  I have enough!  In fact this is one skein's worth,  well past the centre.

 

Love this pattern!

I'm currently concentrating on casting on socks, and chickadee, but this won't be long in the holding pile, just blogging about it makes me want to pick it up and knit a few more rows!