Spiral Socks!

I promised my sister that I would knit her some socks for when she stays over at mine. I pulled out all of my sock yarn (of which there is far more than I thought) and got her to pick out the yarn. In the end she couldn't decide between two so I said I would knit both and she could pick which she wanted for home and which she wanted at mine. In my head she had picked yarn from the same dyers and I thought it would be a good idea to use a pattern to compare them. First pair of socks done and then I realised the yarn was from different dyers.

The first pair is yarn by For the Love of Yarn and is a merino tencel blend. It makes for a silky soft yarn. The pattern I used is one that I have knitted up many times before. It's the purl spiral socks from Big Book of Socks. I was working on them between essay writing so an easy pattern was perfect. Having said that I kind of wish that I had just done the basic sock pattern as I feel that the spiral pattern takes away from the striping of the yarn. Lorraine likes them though and that's the main thing.

I do like the heel of the socks. I did the short row heel which this pattern recommends. It creates a lovely stripe so that you can see how the yarn is supposed to look. I think the yarn is too busy for the pattern.

The second yarn is by Mothy and the Squid and is called Luna Moth. It's a merino nylon blend and makes for a sturdier sock.  The stripe of this yarn is better for the spiral pattern. I think that's because of the larger stripes of green. I love the little splashes of yellow.

I did cast on the socks at the same point and yet it still didn't quite work out the same. I either did the cuff a row shorter in one sock or the yellow and purple stripe was a little longer. Either way, one heel is purple and the other is green. Lorraine likes them like that though and it does make them look a little unique so I am far for disappointed.

As much as I want to cast on another pair of socks I have held back. Today I got out my bag filled with WIP and I am determined to get at least a few of them finished before I start anything new.

Father's Day Socks 2017

After a 5 month break from sock knitting (I think the longest period I have went without knitting socks since I first learned) I need excuses to knit some. The first was a pair for my sister just because I thought she would like the yarn. With Father's Day on Sunday I had another excuse.

Now my dad is quite boring when it comes to knitted socks. The very first pair I knitted for him was in a rather heavy black yarn. He loved them. Unfortunately I did not love knitting them and swore blind that I would never knit black socks again. Don't worry, I am sticking to my guns although my dad has been less than enthused at every pair of socks since.

I think he will like these ones though and I actually wish they were for me. They have this same thickness as his very first pair and the same texture. It's the colours I love. Still subdued and subtle but a lovely blend of greens into golds. I am so glad that I used the basic sock pattern to show off the colour changes.

It even worked out with the heel turn. Normally the colour change between the leg and the gusset looks unnatural or odd unless using a short row heel. This worked out perfectly and I was able to ensure both socks matched.

The yarn came with my fibreshare box. It's by Debbie Bliss and is a Rialto luxury sock. The yarn is a wool blend which explains the soft but tough texture to it. It is very similar to a yarn I used a few times back in 2012 called Regia Hand-dyed Effect. It's a little stronger but like the regia it breaks if pulled on too often. The Regia used to drive me up the wall because it happened all the time and I stopped buying it as a result. This yarn only did that to me twice. The first before I started and the second after I had finished the last sock. Luckily I had just enough left on the needle to weave in. It would be interesting to see what other colour options there are in this range.

I have another pair of socks on the pins but I want to compare it to another pair that I will start after so it will be a while before you see it. Next week I plan to show where I am at with my blanket club blanket.

Hearts Baby Blanket

Just a quick post to show you that I have actually finished a WIP. A good friend of mine became a proud aunt. She has been through a lot and it was nice to see her so excited about something. She dotes on her new little nephew and I wanted to make something for him. He is not so new now (maybe 5 months old) as I took so long to finish this. Thankfully it is so big that he will still get good use out of it.

I used WI DK yarn which I have used for this pattern before. It has that cotton feel to it although it's acrylic. Lovely and soft. I picked out green and white as I thought it would be spring like (It was winter when I started this).

This will be the fourth time I have used this pattern. I barely glanced at it as a result. I think next time I will have to try something new. I think part of what took me so long wasn't just because I was so buys but because I was bored with it. Hopefully my friends sister will like it though. All the details of this pattern are on the post I did of the first of these blankets back in 2014.

Fibreshare 2017

Finally, I am sharing my fibreshare goodies with you. Fibreshare happens a few times a year. I took part at the start of 2016 for the first time and it seemed apt that I would join in the first one for 2017. I think once a year is a good number for me.

This year I was linked up with two people like me. They don't have a yarny business they just love yarn. Neither of them have blogs so I have no links for you (other than the fibreshare website).  A lovely lady called Sarah sent me the most amazing parcel. First of all it came in this fantastic box. Once I have emptied it out of all its yarn I will have to think of something nice to put in it. Too pretty not to use again.

Sarah really stuck to all my likes. First of all there is a pretty blue yarn from my lovely friend Lisa of For the Love of Yarn. There is a yarn in there that looks like cake sprinkles which I don't know the brand but it does knit up lovely. You've already seen the socks I made with it for my sister. The green is a Debbie Bliss sock yarn which are on the pins for my dad for Father's Day. I love the deep purple of the Ring a Rosie yarn. I have yet to decide whether to knit up socks with it using a pattern from one of my books for myself or for my sister. The Socks Yeah by Coop Knits. It is gorgeous. I don't think the photo does it justice. I am thinking of designing a pattern especially for it.

I also got a lot of non-yarn goodies. A beautiful unicorn crochet hook by For the Love of Yarn, a fab project bag by Coop Knits, Knitpro DPNs, a little pouch with stitch markers, cute scissors, little cotton labels, an enamel pin, hand cream, soap and body butter, oh and of course tea. I love it all! Sarah was very generous and I have already been working my way through this.

I got to send a package to another lovely lady called Lindsay. It was so fun making up a parcel for her. The detail she put into her profile made it easy. Plus we had a lot in common. I sent her a little more yarn than I had originally planned as I sent the parcel later than planned and I wanted to thank her for her patience. I noticed she had been knitting with a lot of greens of late and so I made sure there was some of that in there as well as some of her other favourite colours. I made sure to include some of my favourite indie dyers. I sent her yarn from For the Love of Yarn,  Owl About Yarn, Mothy & the Squid, Sara's Texture crafts (who is sadly no longer selling) and Rainbow Cloud.

I also sent some non-yarn goodies based on her likes. Thankfully she was pleased with her parcel even if it did arrive just before the deadline. 

My stash in May

I haven't disappeared again. Work, a chest infection and then my mum's anniversary have all kept me away. I've had some time off work and I have spent the vast majority of it with my sister which has been nice. I even brushed the dust off the old hook and got some crafting done. Although it's extra shifts tonight and tomorrow I consider myself officially back and I thought I need to get posting too.

I had planned to share my fibreshare goodies (both received and sent) but since my postman has been at my door almost every day the last week I felt that it was only fair that I guiltily share the goodies I have treated myself too.

I wanted to start with this beautiful box from Little Box of Crochet. I know one or two of my crafting friends follow Amanda and her team on instagram . So you will have been following Amanda and her beautiful daughter Jenny's story. Sadly Jenny passed away almost two weeks ago and all our thoughts have been with Amanda. This box is in memory of Jenny and it contains a kit for a gorgeous mandala. I never thought that I would want to make one of these but Jenny's mandala is a lovely design and I already know where it's going once I finish it. It comes with a lovely little mandala stitch marker and a stamp. I know you can't see them but it seemed apt that my case of tulips be used to hold up the booklet as I wanted you to see the title. Apt because we all sent Jenny crochet flowers at her request.

Stephen West of WestKnits has quickly become one of my favourite designers. I love his use of texture and colour. He seems uninhibited when using both in his designs which is very refreshing. It encourages you to be the same (although I still think I am a little conservative with my colour choices). I am currently working on a shawl as part of a knitalong and I have bravely used colours that I wouldn't normally use apart from in socks for my sister (who is just as uninhibited when it comes to colour). I since signed up to do another knit along. You receive four patterns and four parcels of yarns to knit these patterns. I don't think I am aloud to say to much about the pattern as yet but I can show you my parcel. I love the yarn. It's exactly my colours. The yarn is by Garn stories and is lovely. I can't wait to knit with it. I also love the little notebook and project bag which came with it. The next parcel is on it's way and I haven't started this yet. I promised myself I would finish some projects before I start anything new but my project list is getting bigger and bigger.

If that wasn't enough I signed up for another knit along. This time a mystery shawl. In other words we won't know the finished piece until we complete it. The pattern is by Joji Knits and you can find her patterns on ravelry. Felt Fusions is a indie hand dyer that I follow on instagram and etsy. She was doing a yarn set especially for the shawl. You could pick your own colours. I asked for teal and for felt fusion to pick the rest based on that. I couldn't have been happier with the colours she picked out for me. They are beautiful and the yarn is so soft. This is going to be one beautiful shawl.

This wouldn't be a stash post without including the lovely Lisa of For the Love of Yarn. I joined one of Lisa's new clubs called speckle yarn club. It's all there in the description but you get a surprise colourway of speckled yarn. I signed up for 100g of sock yarn and I have loved it so far. The first months colourway I plan on contributing to my westknits shawl so that it is all knitted up with yarn from the same dyer. This second one is my favourite. My colours again. I love the beautiful blues. These will become a pair of socks for myself (sorry it won't become the shawl you kindly included Lisa). I do like the shawl and I love the little flower button. If you fancy signing up you still can as it's still available on her etsy page.

The latest themed club Lisa did was magical mysteries. I received beautiful yarn which I know my sister will want as socks. It's called Mermaids wish. I love the little stitch marker, button and magnet. I love my hook with the unicorn poop on top. And as for the rainbow drops, my sister and I loved these when we were little. Takes me back. The next box is Game of Thrones which you can sign up for here. While I read most of the books I have yet to work my way through the TV series (I got to episode 2 back when it first came out) so I am pleased to say there is finally one that I won't be signing up for. Sorry Lisa!

Lastly I thought I would show you this months mini skeins also from Lisa. The purple might go towards my sisters blanket. The yellow might go towards my WestKnits shawl. More beautiful colours Lisa.

Lisa will notice that I haven't shown the box from the blanket club. That's because I have caught up with all the previous months and want to post it separately. It's working out beautifully and this months colours will be a lovely edition.

You will notice that I haven't posted much about the giveaway which I was supposed to announce today. It got very little response. So I can give it to one of the three people who commented (comment again if you are interested) or I can send it to my old knitting group to be used for one of their charity projects or put out on swap night.