'Rosebud' Socks

The socks that I started last week are all finished! I'm really pleased with them and the colour is great. They're knitted in Wild Fire Fibres BFL Sock in 'Cranberry'. I'd had the yarn in my stash for a while - I was just waiting for the right pattern to come along and Wendy D. Johnson's 'Rosebud' one from 'Toe-Up Socks For Every Body' was spot on.

Triton Socks

We're not even two weeks into 2010 and I've already knitted two pairs of socks so far this year. I just wish I was being as productive on the bead front but I'm not going to dwell on that .....

Anyway, these two pairs of socks are the same pattern knitted in different yarns. The pale blue ones are Rowan Cashcotton and the variegated ones are Wild Fire Fibres Manyana in 'Pixie'.

The pattern is my own design and the socks are named Triton after the Greek god of the sea. The recurring lace motif is a bit like a trident and the wavy pattern in between them is quite sea-like.

I've written a pattern for these - it's my first knitting PDF. You can get the pattern as a free Ravelry download. The socks are knitted from the toe up and they have an Eye Of Partridge heel. The pattern is written for knitting on two circular needles but you can easily adjust it for working on DPNs. The pattern is both charted and written.

A big thank you to Chris who is responsible for the 'footography'!

I hope that fellow knitters will like the Triton pattern and if you do make any socks with it please do send me some photos of your finished work. I'd love to have a look!

Future Socks

The postman delivered a pink parcel of sock yarn this morning and inside was this gorgeous 'Autumn' yarn from Wild Fire Fibres. It's beautiful. I already know what sock pattern I'm going to use for this yarn but it's going to have to wait as I must finish one of my UFOs (UnFinished Objects) before I start something else. I'm currently working on two pairs of socks, a blanket for the Chris & Laura Box and a sweater for me.

I will have some beads to show you tomorrow.

Ripple Socks

The yarn for these socks came from Vik at Wild Fire Fibres and it's in a fab colourway called 'Ripple'. It's a mix of pink, purple, blue and white. I wanted a pattern that would really show off these colours so I opted for good old feather and fan stitch which creates a wavy effect.

I'm going to write up the pattern for these along with a few other sock designs. I'll then upload PDFs of the patterns so any fellow sock knitters can download them for free. I'll let you know as soon as the patterns are available.

On The Mend

Thanks for all your get-well-soon messages! I'm feeling much better. I've just got the standard cold symptoms now. The sickness was caused by Lemsip - it had an odd reaction with some other medication that I'm on. Not nice.

I've not been doing much - I came home from Cambridge on Wednesday and spent all of yesterday flaked out on the sofa. I just had no energy whatsoever.

I finished the socks that I was working on. Those are they up there. The pattern is Wendy D. Johnson's 'Trilobite' one from her fabulous Socks From The Toe Up book. They're knitted in Wild Fire Fibres Tempo in 'Aztec'.

Today I made the last few Cupcakes from the August batch. I had to wait for some glass to arrive from the States - why is it that my favourite colours are so hard to get hold of here in the UK? I guess I'm just awkward .....

Yarn Delivery

Oh how I love it when I answer the door to the postperson and they hand me a pink parcel. Pink parcels mean yarn from Wild Fire Fibres and that's always a good thing!

Look at these beauties - greens, purples, pinks. *Sigh*

I've just finished knitting the toe of the second half of a pair of socks that I'm working on. They're knitted with a WFF yarn in a wonderful mixture of earthy browns and grey blues. I'm hoping I'll have the finished pair to show you by the start of next week. I'm off to Cambridge tonight so I get Train Knitting Time. It's odd knitting in public. People look. Like really look. They're intrigued but they don't say anything. Half of me wishes they would. I like conversations with random strangers but people just don't seem to talk to each other much any more. Especially on the tube. Oh no. It's a mortal sin to speak to strangers on the tube and of course, you must never make eye contact with your fellow passengers either. Humans are odd sometimes .....

Alrighty then, I'm off to do the ironing. Have a good weekend!

Done!

Remember that lace knitting I showed you a couple of months back? Yeah, that lace knitting. The knitting that was doing my head in and I could only work on it in absolute peace and quiet. Well, it's finished!

I am so pleased with how it's turned out. I blocked it last night - blocking is a process that totally brings lace knitting to life. You wash the crumpled piece of knitting and then pin it out on a board to dry and the lace just unfurls itself and you gaze at it lovingly and go 'Ah! I actually made that!' and you feel an enormous sense of achievement.

Much swearing happened during the knitting of this - many expletives are woven into the fabric. I also unpicked and re-knit parts of it countless times. At one point I was knitting two rows and then unpicking three but I got there in the end.

The yarn is just b-e-a-utiful and it feels so soft. It came from Vikki at Wild Fire Fibres. If you're a knitter and you haven't worked with Vikki's yarn yet, do get yourself over to her Etsy shop and choose something. You won't be disappointed! The stole pattern is by Val Campion and is based on the ancient Shetland 'Print O' The Wave' lace pattern and it's available for free. Just click here and scroll down the page to see it.

I have lots of other projects on the needles. A top for me, a pair of socks (oh what a surprise!) and a couple of stealth Christmas Present Box pieces. I'll show you what I can as and when .....

New Knitting Toy

This is my new knitting toy. It's a vintage late 60s/early 70's yarn winder that I picked up on eBay and I love it. It came in its original box with the price of 39/6 on it. Retro!

I buy my yarn in skeins and then I wind them into balls. I was using chairbacks and elbow grease to do this but now I don't have to. Dad kindly made me a wooden swift to hold the skein and then I wind it with the winder and it makes a beautiful 'cake' of yarn. It's quite mesmerising to watch the windy-uppy process. I've named the winder Ace, because he is.

This yarn is Wild Fire Fibres Mermaid Lace in Purple Lotus. It's a fabulous mix of orchid pinks and delicious purples. I like it plenty!

I'm off to make beads now. Have a great Saturday!

Sunset Socks

Yes, more socks! I think my Dad and Chris are both seriously concerned about my sock obsession. I just can't stop knitting them!

I used Wendy D. Johnson's Sunrise Socks pattern and Wild Fire Fibres Bambino yarn. The shade is called 'Holly' and it's a mix of pinks, pale blues and lilacs. I think these are more like the colours you get in a sunset, hence the slight name change.

The pattern is really simple, knits up quick and makes a really comfy, snug pair of socks.

I'll be back later with bead photos ......

Sorbet Socks

Finished them! The first half of this pair was a bit of a bugger - I must have unpicked and re-knitted parts of it about seventeen times. But somehow I managed to knit the second sock with no mistakes at all.

They're knitted in Bambino 'Sorbet' yarn from Wild Fire Fibres. The pattern, which features lace hearts and little flower motif', is called 'Sheri's Posies' and it's from Wendy D. Johnson's Socks From The Toe Up book.

Photographing your own feet is tricky. Not only did I have to shave my legs (such a boring chore) I then had to take the one above by holding the camera upside down, at arm's length, in a very cack-handed fashion. I did this so you'd see the hearts the right way up.

I'm just about to turn the heel on the first sock of another pair. As you can see, the sock-knitting obsession hasn't faltered yet .....

Productive

I've had a really good day today. It's the first time in ages that I've felt as if I've been firing on all cylinders, so to speak. I made lots of beads, did lots of niggly outstanding jobs and generally had a very productive day.

I've just settled down on the sofa with my knitting. This project is a toe up sock in another Wild Fire Fibres yarn called 'Sorbet'. It's a gorgeous mix of pinks with just a hint of warm coral-orange. The lace pattern has a thirty two row repeat so it's quite taxing on the old concentration!

Green Socks & Bead Peek

My latest footwear creations. How green are these?

The socks are knitted in a fab handpainted yarn called Manyana from Wild Fire Fibres. It's 50% Merino and 50% Tencel and it has the most wonderful sheen to it. The shade is 'Kelp'. I totally recommend Vikki's yarns. She's a lovely lady and her customer service really is second-to-none.

The pattern, which reminds me of Godzilla, is one that I adapted from a book called Knitting Socks With Handpainted Yarn by Carol Sulcoski. I took the 'Staccato' pattern and gave it a short row heel and instead of knitting the cuff of the sock in rib I knitted it with garter stitch which gives a subtle wavy top. The photo below is a detail of the pattern.

I thoroughly enjoyed knitting these socks. In fact, I completed them in only three evenings. Okay, they were late nights but I love getting 'lost' in knitting. It's very calming.

Now for a sneak peek at the beads that will be for sale tomorrow evening.

You may be thinking 'Laura, they're a bit simple and boring!' and yes, I know, they're simple beads to make - make bead, roll in frit, melt in and anneal. Job done. But what I was trying to achieve was cheap-to-buy-but-pretty-to-look-at beads for these 'Credit Crunch' (so bored of that phrase) times. You get a dozen of these babies for £12.00 including postage. They're fab for earrings, excellent for dainty bracelets, ideal for wiring into chain links and great as accent beads and spacers. What more could you want? What I'm not looking forward to is cleaning the buggers. There's flippin' loads of them!

If you'd like to get your hands on some of these they will be for sale on my website at 8.30pm on Monday evening.

I'm off to do the housework and get lunch ready. My Grandparents and Uncle are coming over today. You should see the pudding I've made! If I can get it out of the tin nicely I may well post a picture later .....

Enjoy your Sunday!