Christmas Stocking 2019 - Arne & Carlos

I am so excited to have finished this stocking. It’s a few firsts for me. It’s my first completed time using colour work. It’s also the first time I did an afterthought heel. It’s the first time I did a swatch. Plus it’s the first stocking I have actually finished. 

I have been a long admirer of Arne & Carlos. For those who don’t know Arne and Carlos are a pair of Norwegian designers famous for their Scandinavian designs. They are particularly well known for their colour work designs much like this stocking. Their patterns are beautiful and I have a soft spot for them because they also happen to be sock knitters. They even have their own sock yarn range thanks to Regia.

The stocking starts with the toe and it is cast on using the magic cast on method that I mentioned in my last post. The pattern links to tutorials on this done by Arne & Carlos themselves which is very helpful. At the time I hadn’t planned my archives post on my zig zag sock. While I knew I had done this cast on before I couldn’t remember when and I also needed to watch the tutorial to remember the how. Once the toe is knitted up and you have all your stitches you then begin the pattern which is done in a lovely chart. If I have bought a pattern as a PDF I don’t normally print it out. I did in this case though as I thought I might need a highlighter in order to ensure that I followed it correctly. As it turns out I didn’t need to do that but I did have to concentrate.

This is because colour work is new to me. I had a class on fair isle knitting years ago but I have never actually used it in a project. For this reason I did my first swatch and I was very proud of it. I did it on the round with my DPNs as I would with the stocking. Once I felt comfortable with what I was doing I cast off and tied off all the ends and gave it to the cat to play with. I hoped it would prove to be an alternative to trying to attack my knitting. She did actually play with it for a while.

My colour work was actually neater on my swatch than it was on the stocking. However, I followed the instructions and steamed it once complete and it actually made a huge difference. I still need more practise but I am happier with the end result. I also loved doing the afterthought heel. So much easier than I thought it would be and I can again thank the tutorial link on the pattern. I’m not sure I see the benefit of an afterthought heel on a normal pair of socks but with this it meant that you didn’t have to pause in the colour work to do the heel. Probably has a huge impact on tension.

The yarn is by Rowan and it is a worsted weight. It’s called Pure Wool Superwash. I went by the colours used in the original pattern which were Rich Red, Soft Cream and Granite. The yarn is beautiful to knit with and it knits quickly because it’s so chunky. I love Rowan yarn and I am glad I went with the recommended yarn. The only problem I had with it is that I have noticed that the red has begun to bleed into the white and that was before I had steamed it.

If you are looking for good tutorials you should head over the Arne & Carlos YouTube page. Or if you are looking for a fun knit this Christmas I recommend this. I just need to decide now who gets it.

From the Archives - Zig Zag socks

If they were knitted this year can I really call them from the Archives? I have been good to myself this year. I have knitted myself quite a few pairs of socks. Two of those pairs I did in the end give away (unworn). One to a patient and another to a colleague who happened to mention that she loved knitted socks. This pair I knitted during the summer (I think). I had this beautiful blue yarn by For the Love of Yarn which I actually recieved from the last time I took part in Fibreshare. These days I am all about the solid colours as they can really show off a pattern. I wanted the perfect pattern for this beautiful shade of blue and I thought I had found it. The pattern is called Layers of Lace and can be found in The Little Box of Socks.

It’s a toe up pattern which I don’t normally do. I tend to prefer to knit cuff down. Although I can see the benefits of toe up. My usual method of toe up involves a crochet chain in a larger yarn and picking up the stitches from the yarn. It can then be pulled loose at the end. I decided to use the method in the book as it’s always good to learn new skills. However, I became stuck and I went days with nothing on the pins for quite some time. I even contemplated getting one of my UFO’s out.

The joys of living on my own is that I have no choice but to cook. I cooked before but I have learned to enjoy cooking. I have also learned to use YouTube for some recipes. It was while watching one of these videos that I had an epiphany. Why don’t I search for a tutorial for this method on YouTube. Please do not ask me why it only just occurred to me to do this. However, I did and I found one. The method is called the magic cast on and I was able to do this following a tutorial by Sockmatician. Don’t get me wrong. I had to watch it a few times as I was doing it (mainly because I dropped the stitches a number of times). It’s a little foolery but once I got the hang of it I actually quite liked it.

I did a short row heel and then got to the exciting part, the leg. It was then that I noticed that the pattern wasn’t quite what I expected it to be. Despite the title I had seen what I wanted to see and so was disappointed when I got to the next stage. I always say you should read a pattern through before starting. I always say this and I rarely do it. You would think I would learn by now. So instead of following the pattern I continued the zig zags round the full leg of the sock. I actually quite like the result. I then used a lovely speckled pink yarn (also by For The Love of Yarn) and knitted them from the cuff down. I took some notes and I plan to publish it next year. I might make a few more changes though.

Marie Curie Socks

No need to adjust your screen. An actual blog post. It’s only been almost two years. In that time I have changed specialities, been promoted, done nothing to the flat and continued to knit nothing but socks. Every month since February last year I had a plan for blog posts. I even had some posts written up. However, other interests kept me away. I’ve been writing, reading and studying.

In regards to my knitting I haven’t really much to show for it. Lots of socks but I have given them away to friends, family and even a few patients. Oh, and the cat destroyed a few pairs. She likes wool and I have discovered which drawers she can get into the hard way.

Last year I came across the Flower Power Fund on Instagram (@FlowerPowerFund). It’s a charity run by a Doctor who works in a Marie Curie hospice. She organised Indie dyers to dedicate a yarn to Marie Curie and a percentage of that would go to the charity. Each month featured a different yarn and they were all beautiful. She also organised for knitters to knit socks so that all the patients could receive a pair at Christmas. Last year I took part and I think I managed to knit two or three pairs.

Next year she is bringing back the 12 months of limited edition yarn dedicated to Marie Curie. In the meantime she is again collecting socks for the patients in the hospice and their families. Her goal is to collect 458 pairs. West Yorkshire Spinners dedicated a yarn Marie Curie. I used this yarn last year and managed to get more this year although there is limited left. I cast on the first pair in September and I finished the seventh and last pair yesterday. I’ve pretty much used up all of the yarn I had available and what I have left would probably only do a couple of rows.

That’s 7 pairs out of four balls of yarn (400g in total). I managed it by alternating the toes and heels. My favourites are actually the socks knitted primarily in solid using the variegated yarn for the cuff, toes and heel. I used a short row heel as I thought it would make it easier to do this. Despite having done nothing but knit with these colours the last few months I am in still in love with them. I particularly like the yellow and the blue together. I may even have to used these colours in a future project for myself.

The yarn is their sock yarn range with the striping yarn being one of two Marie Curie specific colour ways. Like most sock yarns it’s a wool/nylon blend. It’s not a soft yarn to work with but it is cosy making it the ideal feel for feet. I quite like a slightly rougher texture to a sock especially when it’s cold. You also know from the feel that they will last. If you have any yellow and blue sock wool and time on your hands I am sure that any socks you can contribute would be appreciated. See the link above for the Instagram page.

All I need to do now is to print out the bands and send them on. In the meantime I am working on some Christmas knits and plans for next year. I hope you are all well.