Socktober

How on Earth is it Halloween already? That's it now; as of tomorrow it’ll be wall-to-wall Christmas.

I had a very sock-filled October. I've knitted four pairs this month and all of them are getting worn daily (not at the same time, obviously) as it's quite chilly down the shed.

I couldn't have knitted all those socks without my furry assistant.

Nigel knows exactly when to leap onto my lap or demand that I open a door for him and this is usually in the middle of a complex stitch manoeuvre or just as I'm turning a heel, and he never chases my ball of wool across the lounge floor or anything, no...

Cats, eh? The stuff they get away with on account of being so flipping lovely.

The wool Nigel is 'looking after' in these photos is Malabrigo Ultimate Sock in shade 658 Zinnias. I turned it into a plain pair of socks as I think the variegated yarn is enough on its own without any sort of stitch pattern.

The yarn is a super soft merino and nylon mix and it's a mélange of reds, pinks and oranges.

These were knitted cuff down which is a bit of a change for me as I normally go toe-up but it's good to have a change every now and then, isn't it?

These sparkly, icy pale blue-green socks were knitted cuff down too.

I absolutely love this yarn. The merino and nylon mix is very soft and squishy and its silver lurex spangle is just so pretty. The yarn is Nateby 4ply in Silver Birch from Eden Cottage Yarns.

The pattern is Bembe by Dawn Henderson from Laine's 52 Weeks of Socks book. The patterned leg is very simple and is created with just knits and purls.

I haven't started another pair of socks yet but I think I'll probably end up beginning some this weekend. I've been working on a jumper the past few nights and it has a very complex cabled yoke so I think I may well need a pair of socks as an I-just-need-a-little-break project to give my knitting brain a rest.

I have new beads made. Some need cleaning and others are in the tumbler and I'm aiming to get them all sorted and photographed tomorrow afternoon so check back here then or maybe Saturday for new beads.

Whether you're out trick or treating with the children, staying in and ignoring the trick or treaters, or going full-on Samhain about it all, I hope you have a good All Hallows’ Eve.

Xanadu

I love learning new words. Obviously I've heard of Xanadu, as in the place and also as in the film and the Olivia Newton-John and ELO song, but today I discovered that it's the name of a colour too.

While I was searching for a name for these beads, looking at paint charts and colour swatches, I happened across xanadu which is a grey-green. The colour is named after Philodendron xanadu which is a plant with grey-green leaves. The history of the colour is fascinating and if you like you can read more about it here.

These 'Xanadu' beads have cores of CiM Foam that I've encased with Effetre Dark Steel Grey 088, some heavily and some thinly, and the decoration is Effetre Pearl Grey 268.

The beads are currently available in my shop and tumble-etching is available for them at no extra cost.

I saw Squeeze and Badly Drawn Boy last night. Squeeze are big supporters of the Trussell Trust and they arrange collections at their gigs. As a foodbank volunteer I got to go along to the Cambridge Corn Exchange last night to collect cash and food donations.

I wasn't expecting many cans of beans and tins of sardines but we ended up with heaps of foodstuffs kindly donated by the audience. I also got to watch a bit of Badly Drawn Boy's set and most of Squeeze's and both were bloody marvellous. What a treat!

Salt Air

These pale-greyish-green-with-a-touch-of-blue 'Salt Air' beads are very subtle. I don't really wear my own beads but if I did, I'd wear these ones.

They have cores of CiM Dirty Martini which are encased with Effetre Pale Aquamarine 038, with decoration and spacers in Effetre Pearl Grey 268.

I should have posted these black and white ones here last week but I forgot. My customer asked for the beads to be tumble-etched.

They turned out really nicely.

I've still got some black and white strands for sale in the shop and if you like the silky soft finish of the ones pictured you can opt to have them tumble-etched at no extra cost.

I never did get around to looking at YouTube shorts this weekend. Do you see what I mean about me lacking the drive for content creation? I've got other things to do, like knitting socks. Knitting a sock is way more satisfying than faffing about editing videos.

Talking of socks...

...I finished the green pair this weekend.

The pattern is Intersections by Marceline Smith and it's from the book 52 Weeks of Socks by Laine.

The undulating cables were very satisfying to knit but my word there are a lot of them. I'm mighty glad I can cable without a cable needle.

The yarn is West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 Ply in shade 0351 Cardamom.

In my previous post I said I was trying to decide which of two new skeins of sock yarn to use first. Well, I solved that problem by opting for neither. On Saturday evening I cast on a pair of socks with some wool from Eden Cottage Yarns instead.

This Nateby 4ply is a wonderfully soft merino and nylon blend in the shade Silver Birch which is a colour not dissimilar to the beads at the top of this post. The wool has a silver lurex thread and it glimmers beautifully.

I am away to the shed now. Will I make a bead video? Will I not? Who knows? Who cares? 

Have a good Monday!

Instagram angst

I made this burgundy colour by encasing a core of CiM Schoolhouse with a thin layer of Effetre Medium Amethyst 042.

The decoration and spacers are Effetre Red Roof Tile 440. 

The colours remind me of red wine and cinnamon so I called the beads 'Mulled Wine' and they're currently available in my shop.

I made an Instagram reel showing the encasing process for these. I am so torn on my Instagram usage because I'm not a content creator, video maker or editor and I'd rather be making actual things than digital content but Instagram are adamant that you have to engage with people by way of video and stories and if you don't play along your boring old 'legacy media' still photographs won't get served to people in their feeds. I'm trying to compromise by making the videos I want to make and the type of videos I like watching on there. I very much enjoy seeing people just make things without a load of fancy editing and text and superfluous 'stuff'. I don't want to fall into the trap of making the same kind of videos that everyone else makes because quite frankly they annoy me. All this staring at the camera while making something in an attempt to be all Nigella but coming off more like an unhinged sociopath, tapping your long fingernails on things for the benefit of ASMR weirdos, flicking caps and lids off pens and paint tubes (again with the long nails), pulling your sleeves over your hands so they look just-so, and slapping the term 'POV' on everything when 90% of the time it’s not a point of view video at all... it just makes me want the internet plug pulled. I know I sound like a moaning old bag. That’s because I am.

So anyway yes, I've put a couple of reels on Instagram this week.

Over the weekend I hope to investigate YouTube 'shorts' and see if I can put them on there too for the people who don't use Instagram. I'll let you know how I get on with that.

In knitting news...

I've started the second sock of a green pair I'm working on.

They're totally covered in cables and I'm very glad I can cable without a cable needle or I'd have lost my mind by now.

My new sock yarn arrived and it's lovely.

This is Malabrigo Ultimate Sock in 214 Magenta and 658 Zinnias. I just need to decide which one to use first now.

Right, it's time to get on with my Thursday. Hope you have a good one!

Socks!

If you're a long-term reader you may remember when I used to knit socks all the time. Well, I sort of went off knitting for a bit and I've made just two pairs of socks in the past three years or so but they were nothing fancy, just plain stocking stitch ones.

Last week I got the urge to sock so I did and now I'm sporting a very comfy and cosy pair of socks in an autumnal shade of burnt orange.

These are my go-to Wendy D. Johnson basic toe-up slip stitch heel socks and I nabbed the stitch pattern from a sock design called Justinas by Ellen Furderer of Hurly Purly Knits.

The yarn is West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 Ply in shade 1004 Amber.

I've already started on another pair of socks and yesterday I ordered more sock yarn so yeah, expect more sock blogging in the not-too-distant future.

Whatalottalonelies

My Lonelies jar was doing that overflowing thing again so I sorted out its contents into groups, cleaned and strung them all and now they're in my shop ready for rehoming. All of the beads are first quality - they're just leftovers from sets that weren't quite the right size or whatever, or they're experiments or one-offs.

I've also got some new normal, not-lonely beads to show you.

There's this 'Festive Glow' strand of Luminobeads which are a remake of a set that I made in 2008.

These have cores of CiM Foam encased with Effetre sage green 019, Effetre dark topaz 016 and Effetre medium amethyst 042, decorated with spots in Effetre white 204, and then tumble-etched to a matt finish.

And there's also another floaty quintet, this time in green.

These are CiM Weeping Willow encased with Effetre super clear 006 with decoration in good old Effetre white 204.

All of the beads pictured can be purchased in my shop.

I'm off to continue knitting a sock now. Yes, a sock! It's been a while, hasn't it? I'll show you it over the weekend when I have daylight for taking photos. 

Floaty quintets

I've come to think of the band-spots-scrolls-polka-dots-and-spiral-bead quintet as my 'signature' set and my favourite version of it is the thinly-encased one where the decoration casts a shadow on the glass below the encasing layer to create a floaty sort of effect.

These 'Periwinkle' ones were made with a core of CiM Douglas Aster, encased with Effetre light blue 052 and decorated with Effetre white 204. The layering has created a beautiful shade of periwinkle.

And these 'Milk Bottle' ones are CiM Butter Pecan encased with Effetre super clear 006, decorated with Effetre light sky blue 224.

Both of these floaty quintets are available in my shop.

Earring-a-rama

I got some pairs of earrings made on Saturday. These range from £11.00 to £13.00 per pair and they are available to purchase on my website.

All earwires and findings are sterling silver.

I'm off down to the shed now, armed with some screws and a screwdriver in order to fix its door. The shed has reached a certain age and it's gradually falling apart which is something I can very much identify with.

Have a good Monday!

A big old batch of bead recipes

This post is mainly bead photos with details of the glass I used to make them. This is mostly for my own reference but occasionally people ask me what a certain colour is so it's also for anyone interested.

All clear glass is Effetre super clear 006.

At the time of typing all beads pictured are for sale in my bead shop. More of that in a bit...

Purple & Yellow Humbugs: Effetre lavender blue/pastel ink blue 247, Effetre light violet 041 and CiM Hollandaise.

Blue & Pale Lavender Humbugs: Effetre dark perwinkle 222, Effetre dark teal 027 and Effetre lavender blue/pastel ink blue 247

Latte Spotties: CiM Butter Pecan and CiM Toto

Ozone Spotties: CiM Dirty Martini and Effetre light turquoise 232

Teal Spotties: CiM Quetzal and Effetre copper green 219

Black & White Spotties: Effetre black 064 and Effetre white 204

Blueberry: CiM Zachary, Effetre light violet 041 and Effetre violet 272

If you fancy rehoming any of these beads they can be purchased here.

I've never had so much bead stock gathering dust in my life but I do understand that expensive lampwork beads are a luxury item and I'm also very aware that a lot of my past customers no longer make jewellery. I'll keep making beads but for a while I think I'll turn most of what I make into jewellery because loose beads seem unwanted right now.

In other news, have you seen that Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl With a Pearl Earring, has a new book out? It's called The Glassmaker and it's an historical novel set on Murano. It's full of glass and beads and it spans several centuries telling the story of a beadmaker called Orsola Rosso.

I spoke with Tracy last year about the quirks and wonders of working with translucent glass and she kindly gave me a mention in the acknowledgements.

I was so excited to see my name in the book I felt the need to point it out to the book shop assistant when I went to pay for it. (What a tit.)

I haven't shared any yarn stuff recently because I'm working on Christmas gifts so I can't really post pictures of anything in case any of the recipients see it.

I'll be making some jewellery this weekend so hopefully I'll have some photos of that to share with you next time.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a good weekend!