I’ve Been Bad Part 1

 

I have been very bad of late. November I had planned to get in all my Christmas shopping. And actually, I am almost finished on that front. However, I did not plan to buy myself yarn at the end of October. But I did. I’m not even sorry. My bank balance probably is but I’m not. The lovely Lisa of For the Love of Yarn has been VERY busy of late. Go follow her on Instagram and you will see for yourself. With three children and her own business she is always busy but she’s been busy on the creative front. She brought out a new striped yarn base and she is calling it the Glesga Zebra. All of them are beautiful and all of them are linked to famous Glasgow slang. I picked this one because it’s called Ya Belter which is apt for this colour (because it is a belter).

It gave me an excuse to buy this yarn which I have been coveting for so long. The colour inspiration is my favourite soft drink, Irn Bru. If you are Scottish and don’t like Irn Bru there is something wrong with you (I’m including my sister’s BFF in that one). It’s such a vibrant yarn and it fits the drink perfectly. I can’t wait to knit with it. The problem is that both my sister and I will fight over who gets it. So I might have to design a pair of shorties or splash out on a second skein.

My Sea Creatures subscription also arrived and it it a beautiful purple. This is of course by Mothy and the Squid. Her inspiration this month is the Ochre Starfish. Mothy has also been busy of late which you can see from her Instagram (again she usually is busy). Just now she is working towards her own studio. She has signed up to Kickstarter and there are various ways you can help. I’ve signed up for a skein of sock yarn. Please go check it out or check out her Instagram.

Not from one of my friends I’m afraid. I have seen a few people knitting with WYS sock yarn of late and I’ve been a little envious. Sometimes it’s good to have a few of these in your stash for when you want to knit up something simple and effective. Although Christmas is up in the air for most of us at the moment I have one good thing about it. Thanks to my new job I will guarantee to have Christmas and New Year off. New Year I’m not so bothered about but I have always preferred Christmas off. It was my mum’s birthday and it was her favourite holiday. My family struggle at that time of year and I am still a huge fan. I try to make it a good time as I can which isn’t possible if I am working. So this year I will be in a new job and finishing at a reasonable time. We are assuming that we will not be going to my dad’s. So my sister is staying with me. She will be there on Christmas Eve and I have bought us matching pyjamas. I decided also to knit us matching socks and what better than to use Christmas themed yarn. My sister picked it from the name alone which is Candy Cane. I love it.                                     

   This one I didn’t purchase. I talk often about the Flower Power fund which raises money for Marie Curie. I have purchased yarn and patterns which have went towards this. Every so often the lady who runs it holds a raffle with dyers and makers donating items. Anyone who donates a pound to the just giving page is in with a chance of winning. A few weeks ago I had noticed I had a message from the organiser saying that I had won. I was tagged in the announcement post but didn’t see it. I never win these things so I didn’t expect it and winning is besides the point really. However, I feel privileged to have been the winner for this yarn by London House Yarns. The sock set is called Hermione and it is so pretty. I can’t wait to knit it up and I know who I will be knitting the socks for (of course it will be socks). I have never used London House Yarns before so I will be looking forward to that alone.

  Lastly this one is not yarn related. For the last few years or so I buy my sister an advent calendar because it was something my mum always did. My mum always bought us the Cadbury one which has the same thing behind the same doors every year (I know because timehop would show me). For a few years I got her the Loccitaine calendar and I would usually get myself a yarn one. Then I got it for us both and it was fun opening our calendars each day. Took us back to our childhood. Then last year I went for the paperchase as we both love stationary and I thought it would be a fun change. Which it was. There were issue with the delivery though and their courier recently let me down again so as much as I love the store I won’t be ordering from them unless they change their courier. I then saw that Nikki’s Supply Store was doing one and what could be more perfect. It’s still stationary so it is something we can both share and it supports small business. I can’t wait until December 1st.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

July Yarn Haul

So, it would seem that I am not the brightest. If you follow me on twitter and instagram you would have seen that I was having issues with blogger. I was able to see my posts but not actually access the blog management side. I assumed that blogger was down at first. Then I remembered that blogger was changing its format and so I finally worked out how to be able to post. Hence, my July haul is late. Very late as August’s haul is already here but I’ll post that at the end of the month.

Anyway, moving on. As I said previously I was choosing a hand dyer that was new to me. I have ordered from her shop before but never her own yarns. I have mentioned The Loveliest Yarn Company numerous times so it was about time I tried their own yarn which is under the label Banshee yarns. The base is the party yarn range and the base is a merino/cashmere/nylon blend. This colourway is just so pretty . I love the contrast between the yellows and the greys. It’s called Koi gone awry.

This one is my favourite. I love the reds. I rarely buy sock yarn with red through it. I don’t know why as I always love it. I think my mum would have loved this one and I would definitely have knitted her socks with it. The title is very apt too as it would have appealed to her love of crime dramas. It’s called crime scene. I love it!

I also bought some yarn of which the money went to Marie Curie. This is by Eden Cottage yarn and it’s a merino/nylon/lurex base (in other words it has a sparkle). It’s called herb basket and I bought a sweater quantity. It’s going to be used for my next jumper. I’ll show more on that when I start it (not until I finish the Victoria top). I love it because it’s such a delicate colour.

Lastly here is July’s Sea Creature box from Mothy & the Squid. This beautiful yarn is inspired by the Giant Green Sea Anemones. It’s so beautiful. These are definitely my colours and I can’t wait to knit with it.

August will be my last yarn haul. I’ll be back to purchasing for specific projects only (other than the sea creature subscription).  As I said earlier, I already have that yarn and will be posting it at the end of the month. My next post will be my latest sock finish which was done on my sock Saturday/sock sunday challenge. I didn’t do the challenge at the weekend there as I was working. The weekend before I had just finished the cuff and I didn’t want to read through a new pattern with my early morning coffee. I didn’t want to risk mistakes but I will be back on it this coming weekend. Instead I worked on my Victoria top as it’s an easy pattern repeat. If you follow me on Instagram you will have seen those updates.

June Yarn Haul

June’s yarn haul is a little late and this is entirely my fault. When I made the order with this fabulous yarn dyer I had requested to collect the yarn from her store after Lockdown. When I realised my mistake I contacted they dyer and paid the postage. The yarn then arrived the next day. I am excited about this months yarn because it’s beautiful AND this will be my first time knitting with this dyers yarn.

The dyer is none other than Sealy MacWheely. Sealy MacWheely has her own store (under the same name) in Kirkintilloch. I was excited to try her yarn because we have yarn friends in common who rave about her (as a person and as a dyer). When I went onto her website I was even more excited because her yarns had a sci fi inspiration. I am a huge sci fi fan and I couldn’t resist. So this first yarn is called Kaylee. Kaylee is a character from Firefly. I loved her character. So sweet and the least cynical of the group. She makes quite a contrast to the rest of the characters. This colourway suits her perfectly. I was also kindly given the sparkly version which again suits Kaylee.

The second yarn is again based on a character from Firefly. Fans of the show will know which character this beautiful colourway is based on straight away. The yarn is inspired by the character Jayne. He was a character that I didn’t take to straight away built found him hilarious by the end of the one and only season. The yarn colours matches the hat that he was famous for wearing. I have not always been a fan of orange although that has changed in the last five years. As much as it’s grown on me it’s still not a yarn colour I buy often. Therefore, I am really looking forward to knitting with this. It might even be my choice for my next sock Saturday/sock Sunday challenge.

There were also quite a few yarns which were based on Douglas Adams “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.” I was very tempted to go with my favourite character Marvin. Instead I went with this beautiful yarn which is based on the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. I love the colours. This yarn has silk in it and I’m not sure it would be suitable for socks. It’s super soft. I will need to have a think as to what I want to knit with it. Think it will need to be something special.

I am sure you will have heard me talking about the Flower Power Fund which raises money for Marie Curie. Marie Curie is close to my heart as they were one of many people who helped my mum. They also provide a fabulous service which we as nurses can access for our patients. Which is why I have knit socks for Marie Curie the last few years. The person who organises this (a palliative doctor) also organises volunteer yarn dyers who base a yarn on a flower and some of that money goes towards Marie Curie. This yarn was by one of those volunteer dyers, Sherry Iris. The yarn is based off the flower Honeysuckle. It’s so pretty.

Finally, we have my Sea Life yarn from Mothy & The Squid. This months yarn was inspired by the Giant Cuttlefish. I LOVE this yarn. Look at all those greens. I have someone specific in mind for this one. Looking forward to that.

I have two more months of yarn hauls planned where I pick a specific hand dyer to highlight. Like this month the following two will be by hand dyers I have never tried before. Looking forward to it.

My 2019

I decided to make a collage of all my makes this year and share it that way. I had no idea I created to little and all of them (pretty much) are socks. How dull. I did go through long spells of not knitting at all which made these photo’s harder to find among all the cat photos. Speaking of the cat. I started the year by finishing a crochet blanket using scraps of sock yarn. It was for her tree which I got her last Christmas. It’s the only item of crochet I have done this year. I really should make her some more. The second photo is my favourite socks this year. The patter in called Anniversary Socks by Nancy Bush (one of my favourite sock designers). The yarn is by Mermaids Purse. It has a donegal base which is also my favourite. I need to knit these again as I gave this pair away to our ward Clark after she told me she loved knitted socks. It’;s always nice to find a new recipient. The only other one I will mention is the stocking which I loved knitting. I’ve already posted about that though.

The bulk of my knitting was done in a very short period of time and was for charity. Again, I have already posted about this. Since I did seven pairs of socks out of 400g of yarn and in less than 2 months I felt it only right that it should be hosted here too.

Lastly here are four pairs of socks all done in my Zig-Zag lace design. I have plans to publish this pattern via revelry by the end of January. That’s the hope anyway. I just need to knit one more pair in a solid sock yarn and I also want to get some sock blockers for the photograph. 

This year I also discovered podcasts. That is knitting podcasts. Why has it taken me so long to do so? They are so inspiring. As a result of watching these podcasts I have a few challenges for the New Year. That will be for my next post but I am hoping that  the result will be a less boring post when I show off 2020.

I hope all of you had a more interesting year and I can’t wait to see what everyone plans for 2020.

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.