Sister's Easter Socks #2

I finally finished my sister's second pair of Easter socks. I had planned all along that I would knit her a pair of the Jaywalker socks. As you may remember I knitted myself a pair for Christmas and I have been itching to knit another pair.  I just love the way it stripes. I'm not going to go into details about the pattern as I have done that before. Just click on that link and it will take you to it.

I used a yarn I bought a while back from Lisa of For the Love of Yarn. Again, I bought this yarn specifically for my sister. She likes cookie colour combinations (the artist in her) but she likes pretty too and I think this falls into the pretty category. She's not a girly girl (or at least she says she's not) but she does like pink. I like the subtle shades of grey through it and it actually is very like the blue and grey I used for my own pair. The colour way for this is called Rouge Grey and as always the yarn is beautiful to knit with.

Once again I think the pattern of the socks shows off the striping of the yarn beautifully. I don't think I will every get bored of  knitting these and I am actually tempted to try them again with another indie dyed sock yarn. Just to see how that turns out. The pooling isn't as precise as this once the heel is turned. This is due to the fact that the pattern only runs for the instep rather than the sole of the sock. On my socks it just meant for larger stripes but it didn't quite turn out that way for my sister. It's hard to see the effect it would have due to the fact that my sister has tiny feet. Still pretty though and I think my sister will like them.

Lisa has closed her books on her orders for now as her little boy was taken into hospital last night. Please everyone send out all your thoughts to Lisa and her family and especially to brave Callum.

March WIP

The shawl is back out. I finally went back and fixed the mistake. I contemplated not doing it. It was only half a row but I would see it in the pattern. Not worth the irritation. I then finished the last few rows of the pattern and started picking up stitches for the border. I was so excited. Then I realised I was going to be short of stitches. Back to the instructions I went to discover I had another whole repeat of the pattern and then another repeat less three rows. To say that I was annoyed at myself is putting it mildly. Thankfully you don't break the yarn before starting the pick up for the border. It was just a case of taking out those stitches and going back to knitting the pattern. Which I did and I am half way through that first repeat. I will get this finished yet!

I took a break from the shawl to get a start on my sister's Easter presents. This year she is only getting two pairs of socks. I was planning on finishing her hexie cushion too but since Easter is this Sunday that ship has sailed. Two pairs of socks and a bag of chocolate and goodies. I'm sure she will still be delighted. Her second pair of socks is the Jaywalker pattern and I used For the love of Yarn sock yarn. Very fitting with Spring. I will give more details and link everything when I finish them.

Does planting count as an WIP? I did some planting last week. I have little seedlings on the kitchen window ledge and I will be able to plant them in the garden next month. I actually have a monthly update on my mum's garden so I won't say much more than that for now.

Since yesterday was the first day of Spring I will leave you with this image of an open crocus. There was a bee in there but it disappeared by the time I got my camera out.

February WIP

Unlike January, I am only going to show you what I've actually been working on. First on the list is a pair of socks I am knitting for my sister. These are for her Easter. As you probably know we have a 'make a gift' policy for Easter. The yarn is by For the Love of Yarn and the pattern is by Stephonia. I'm not going to say too much about it as I will do that when I have finished the socks.

I have the deposit for my flat and I am having a gut out before I go ahead and start hunting. I do need to get back on Project Home though. Therefore this blanket is back out. I just have one more stripe and the border to do. I plan to do that when I my sister and I have our movie nights. It's easy to transport small squares and I won't be giving surprises away.

I have also worked quite a bit on my shawl. You might notice a bit of a difference from January's image. All I have left to do is a few rows and then the border. I made a mistake with the current row and I need to frog it back otherwise I would have finished it by now. But then I probably wouldn't have got January's socks done.

Would love to see what you are working on this month.

Happy Easter

I hope everyone had a good Easter. Here at our household we are all about the chocolate and the Easter treats so I hope everyone had a chocolate filled day. I can't take credit for the Easter cake. My sister brought baked it at home and then decorated it at our house. The base was a lovely, lemon sponge. Tasted lovely as well as looked lovely.

The day before mum and I made dumpling. Or rather mum attempted to teach me how to make her famous dumpling.

Thanks to the vegetable suit this is one bowl and spoon you don't want to lick after baking. I had to make sure that all the flour was away. I was sorely tempted to use my hands.

Mum has a clootie dumpling cloth which was given to her by her mum. You wrap the dumpling in the cloth and make sure there are no gaps. You also give it a little bit of room so that it has space to expand.

It then simmers away for a few hours until done.

It's a little paler than when my mum makes it. It should be a lot darker than this. I've been told that it tastes okay though.

I think that this was the culprit. I didn't put enough treacle in which isn't like me. I would normally go over board with my flavourings. I will be able to get more practise in though as I accidentally bought too much suet and we already had enough at home. No excuses then.

Easter Socks.

As I mentioned yesterday I managed to get my sister's Easter socks finished after all. All the other things I had planned didn't get done but she at least ended up with two pairs of socks. If you think these socks look awfully tiny it's because they are. I am sure I have said before that my sister has tiny feet. I think these are a little too small although my sister says they fit fine. I personally think they could have been doing with another round of the pattern before I started on the toe.

It's the spiral pattern again. I wanted a pattern but something quick as I really didn't have the time for anything complicated. You would think after knitting everyone sock in this pattern a few Christmas's ago I would bored with it. I still quite like it though. I love even more that I don't need to think about it. At least until I got to the second sock. It was like it knew that I have a deadline. Almost every repeat of the pattern I managed to make a mistake. As a result I was still knitting them the night before I was to hand them over.

This was the yarn I was originally going to knit her socks in. It's called tropical fish in the crazy zauberball range. I thought the colours were crazy enough to suit her. However, I was showing her another pattern for someone else. The socks were knitted up in a fainter version of this and she said she liked the pattern but not the colours. So I used the purples and pinks instead.

I did think the colours were rather familiar as I knitted it up. It's a different brand entirely but does look very similar to the socks I knitted in regia for myself. Clearly I like this colour combination. Sister likes it too which is the main thing.

Happy Easter Weekend!

I hope everyone has enjoyed their Easter weekend. After a week of planning (but not doing) blog posts, essay writing and finishing up placement I enjoyed a quiet weekend. I spent it with my sister. As the sun is shining in Glasgow we took advantage and went for a walk. We did some second hand book shopping and then relaxed in Queen's park before heading to a beer garden.

We then stopped by a local coffee shop for tea where I discovered a new favourite. Green tea with vanilla and cherry marigold. Very light but tasty. I will now be on the hunt for this.

Yep, I had planned lots of blog posts last week (or two) and did none of them. There was to be an Easter pinterest post as well as an update on what I have been up to crafting wise. As you can see that didn't happen. You will get an update but it's a little late for the Easter pinterest.

For now though I thought I would show off my Easter gifts. You will be wondering if I managed my sister's Easter present. I managed the socks only but you'll see that tomorrow. Instead here is an image of a mug my sister decorated for me. When I first walked into the room she had everything displayed on the table. I actually thought this mug was bought. I think it will be my new favourite. You may remember from my Mother's day post I suggested decorating mugs with sharpies as a possible gift idea. Unless you are me who can't write or draw on that type of surface. Well, my talented sister can and if I am ever in need I will bribe her with wine, coffee or chocolate.

My mum has also made a few goodies for Easter. She stitched us both cards. Normally she finds it difficult to stitch these things with me around. As I have rarely been in the house it would explain why I haven't noticed her hiding things away. Same goes for the cute little hen who is hiding a creme egg in it's bum.

The sun is still shining but I am back to the essay writing and only my washing has been taking advantage of the weather. I will be back though with the Easter socks and a few updates. I hope you have had a relaxing weekend too.

One Very Green Blanket

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I finished my sister's throw! I say throw, it's too big to be a throw. It's big enough for a double bed or a table clothe (not that I would use it as a table clothe. I only mention it because it's almost as big as the table). Remember the preemie blankets? They were 20 rounds each with the fan edging. This is 55 rounds with the fan edging. My sister is tiny so she can have it over the back of her sofa and pull it down to snuggle under. This took just under 900g of yarn all in.

It's not perfect though. I have made a mistake here and there when I wasn't paying attention. It's also slightly wonky in one area. I think though that blocking would take care of that. I love blocking but this blanket is huge and life is too short. Sister of mine will have this washed within an inch of its life (hence the acrylic) so I am sure it will right itself. If you are wondering which image accurately shows the green it would be neither. It's very much a lime green. It fits in perfectly with the green hints in my sister's predominantly blue living room.

Just now I am moving time is different inside my head than it is in reality. Basically I have convinced myself that Easter is ages away and not two weeks away. I have basically given myself two weeks to finish each of the handmade gifts for my sister (our Easter tradition). See, this is why starting lots of projects is not a good idea! I have come to the realisation that I can't do it all. I might get some of it done. Which means that the socks that I had planned to knit for her Easter she will get at a later date. Instead she will get the pair I started with yarn my friend Helen gave me with the words "Here is some hideous wool your sister will like". The first sock is already done (and on completing the lovely Helen changed her mind about just how hideous it is. I personally think it's quite pretty).

I wasn't actually going to post this photo as, you know, it's supposed to be a present. Then I remembered that my sister was with me while I knitted the first sock. So it's hardly going to be a surprise. I promise the pair I had originally planned will be.

In between all that I have two weeks of placement to do and an essay to finish. There is nothing quite like putting the pressure on. Tonight though, I plan to take some time out. I have some magazines to read. I WILL NOT start a new project. Who is betting that I will start the free kit?

Easter Granny Square Cushion

Remember these a few posts back? I was learning to crochet circles a few weeks ago thanks to pinterest.

Those squares eventually became lots of squares. 32 to be exact. Every single one of them different.

This is what they look like all put together. I am so pleased with the way it turned out. I used every colour in that bag and somehow they all seemed to go together. They aren't colours I would normally put in one project.

I even copied the edging from the Cath Kidston. In the cotton it's a little more subtle. I quite like it though. Hopefully my sister will to as it is for her. I have a load more of this cotton left so I am working on something else. If that doesn't use it up then I have more plans for it.

If you want to learn how to do those granny squares there is a great tutorial on a blog called Crochet With Raymond. That's where I learned. They are actually called grandala squares but I call them circular squares. The tutorial is good although it took some getting used to. Fellow Brit's dc is what we would call a treble.

Oh, and if you are on pinterest say hello. You'll find me there under Karensi1.