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.

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!