Seed Head Socks

The latest socks I have finished are another favourite. These are the Seed Head Socks by Vikki Bird Designs. I have linked her Love Crafts page rather than the design on ravelry so that no one needs to worry about clicking on the link. She has some very pretty designs. I especially like her fox mitts. Please go check her out.

This pattern was designed for the Flower Power Fund and for a period of time proceeds wend to the flower power fund which raises money for Marie Curie. It was how I came across the pattern and the designer. I was immediately taken by the pattern because it looked so delicate. I also knew that there was something new for me to learn from it (such as the little seed heads). The socks are toe up. If you know me you will be aware (maybe) that I am not a fan of toe up. The first time I tried it I was taught by the lovely Ginnie (otherwise known as the sock lady). It was a basic sock and I found that it took so much longer than a cuff down. I don’t know why that would be since your not knitting any more than you would cuff down. However, with this pair and another (I think it was the Christmas stocking) I was learning a new method of casting on. I also had the added joy of knitting the design running up the centre of the sock. I was certainly not bored. It’s a beautiful knit and I enjoyed every second of it. The pattern was written well. It used both charts and written instructions which was helpful. Plus it linked to YouTube videos for the cast on and the seed heads. I highly recommend this pattern for anyone who would like to move beyond the basic pattern. What I will say is that I don’t normally block my socks. My sock blockers are purely for taking photographs. However, these socks do need blocking to show off the pretty pattern.

The yarn I used was a sock yarn by Countess Ablaze. The colour way is called “You look like a bag of spinach”. I initially was going to use a deep pink Donegal yarn. When this arrived though I knew straight away that this was the perfect yarn for the pattern. The delicate colours matched the pattern perfectly and that the two would harmonise rather than drown each other out. The yarn is lovely to work with. Initially I found it a little splitty but that was purely me doing a cast on method I had done only once before. Once I got into the pattern I had absolutely no issues with it and could enjoy it. If you saw last months haul post you will see I have another skein of yarn from Countess Ablaze and I just need to find the perfect sock pattern for it.

These socks (like the last pair) have already been given away. This time to my sister’s best friend. She’s a key worker within a care setting. She’s currently having to isolate for two weeks and my sister wanted to send her a care package and I suggested she put these in with it. She has liked the plain socks I have knitted for her so I think she will like these too.

Next post will probably be another finish as this weekend I am working on a pair of slippers (they are very sock like). I have fixed my Victoria top but couldn’t find my stitch holders and had to order more. I hope to get back on track with that. I have also started my Christmas knitting. Then there is bake off starting next week and I might start my weekly bake off posts again (I’ve gotten over the move to channel 4 although I didn’t watch it last year).

I hope that you are all staying safe both physically and mentally.

Whitethorn Socks

 

These socks are my latest finish from my regular weekend socks challenge. I’m not sure why I call it a challenge as I really don’t need an incentive to concentrate on socks. Anyway. I think that these are my favourites so far. I know I say that every time I finish a pair but at the moment it is true of these. First of all a little warning the link to the pattern will take you to ravelry. 

The pattern is called “Whitethorn Socks” by Lindsey Fowler of Lost and Found. It’s a beautiful pattern and one that I think changes with the colours you use. If you are able to do so you will see on the pattern cover that they are knitted up in a light coloured yarn which shows them off as quite delicate. I feel that this rich green gives them a chunkier, cosy look. I quite like a pattern that does that and I will be knitting these again as a result. The pattern itself is very easy to follow. The cables are an 8 round repeat and very memorable. I think so long as you have a little familiarity with cables this would be a good pattern for anyone wanting to move away from the basic sock.

The yarn is a sock yarn by Mothy and the Squid. It’s part of her Sea Creatures club and this one is inspired by the giant cuttlefish. I LOVE this colourway. I love how rich the greens look thanks to the subtle variations of the shades. I worried that a pattern would drown this out. However, I also felt that it was a little too special for just a plain sock. I am so glad that I chose the pattern that I did as I feel that the two compliment each other. This was a beautiful yarn to work with. I always love knitting with Mothy’s yarns but to have a pattern that you have fallen in love with two doubles that feeling. It was to the extent that I didn’t want to finish knitting them which I think is why it took a little longer than it normally would.

Now, I had promised myself that these socks were for me. I promised myself with the yarn and with the pattern individually. Then a friend in work gifted me some fudge she had made herself. If you follow me on Instagram you will have seen a photo of it. It was the most delicious fudge that I have ever tasted. My sister has said to me that my friend is her new best friend and will be forever known as fudge lady. I of course cleaned out her tub and was prepared to return it. I wanted to fill it though with something I had made before handing it back (has anyone heard of that? I thought it was a thing but seems I’m the only one who thought so). My oven is temperamental just now and while it’s fine for cooking not so fine for baking. I then decided to give her a pair of socks and I thought these were perfect for her. It wasn’t even painful to part with. She loved them and was showing them off all day. The added bonus was that green is her favourite colour. I must have instinctively known.

Sweet and Tartan

I know that there is issues with ravelry’s new layout causing seizures so before I start I need to warn you that the pattern link will take you to ravelry. So if you are neurodiverse I wouldn’t click on it just in case. My own sock design (while not linked here) is also on ravelry. I am planning on adding it to etsy soon.

In the meantime the latest Sock Saturday/Sock Sunday finish is Sweet and Tartan by Tracie Millar. You might know Tracie Millar as one of the Grocery Girls. I fell in love with this pattern as soon as she started working on it and I was very eager to purchase the pattern before release. The pattern is actually mosaic knitting which is a very easy way of getting into colourwork. It’s definitely effective here. The pattern is very easy to follow and has both written instructions and a chart. It also comes in three sizes.

I did make a few changes. The pattern calls for a third solid yarn for the heel and toe. I just stuck with using the main colour. It was easy to adapt the pattern to do this. Secondly, I also continued the purl row round the entire foot of the sock rather than just at the front. The first time I did this it was a mistake. I got carried away and was finished the whole round before I knew it. I actually liked the effect so decided just to keep going with it rather than rip it back.

I highly recommend this pattern for anyone who wants to try knitting socks with more than one colour. As I said, the instructions are easy to follow and you are only knitting with one colour at a time as you slip the stitches of the other colour.

The yarn I used is Easy Knits Stay Home pack. It was meant for a pattern that the owner of Easy Knits is working on. However, I had this pattern in mind when I saw it. I have since bought another pack for the Stay Home pattern. This is the first time I have used his yarn and it was lovely to work with. I very much like the colours and the two match very well. There were a few speckles of the darker yarn within the light which did interfere with the pattern a little. I was worried it would make the pattern difficult to see but I don’t think it does. I also have plenty left for more socks since these were just little ankle socks. The question is do I knit a few pairs of basic socks with a contrasting heel. Or do I find another complimentary pattern. I am having difficulty deciding. Until then the next sock Saturday/Sock Sunday is on the pins and it’s a new pattern (not by me). You’ll have to follow me on Instagram to see what it is or you’ll see here when I finish them.

Knit Like It’s 1999

Knit Like It’s 1999 by Tricot and Stitch (This link will take you to ravelry) is my 15th pair of socks this year. Granted most have been basic socks. I first saw this pattern on Instagram and instantly fell in love with it. It was fairly easy to follow and had charts for different sizes. I think this would make a good pattern for someone who wants to move past the basic pattern. The different stitches within the pattern are explained well so I don’t think there would be a problem there. The make up of the sock follows the basic pattern. Plus the end result is pretty. I am pleased with it and I think that I would do this again.

The sock yarn I used was by Mothy & the Squid. It’s from the first box I received from her Sea creatures box. This one was inspired by the Leafy Seadragon. Incredibly cute and I love the greens. I don’t normally choose this shade of green for myself as I’m always attracted to other colours first. However, I LOVE this. I also love how it went with the pattern. I think it worked well with it and there was no pooling. Beautiful to work with.

So this was the first pair of socks I finished with my sock Saturday/Sock Sunday challenge. To see the next pair you’ll have to follow me on Instagram. In the meantime I plan to sew more facemasks and work on my Victoria top. 

Sock Saturday/Sock Sunday

I finished these socks a few weeks ago and I have been meaning to post about them since. I actually had plans for this specific post on Wednesday. It wasn’t until evening (despite my bullet journal) that I remembered and it was too late to take photographs. I had started these socks before I cast on my cardigan. I decided to keep going as it would be good to have an easy knit that I could work on at times when concentration was not required. Hence the basic sock pattern. I’m so glad that I did as I love these socks. This is my colour.

The yarn was part of my May haul. It is Blue Footed Booby (inspired by the bird) by Mothy & the Squid. I love her yarn and love knitting with it. I especially love her inspiration for her yarn colours. I mentioned in the haul post how the bird this yarn is based on took me back to my childhood. Those colours though. As I said these are my colours. I love the blues and I love how it knitted up.

So last Saturday a lovely lady on the ‘The Loveliest Yarn Company’ knitting group page suggested that we have a mini challenge which was to have sock Saturday. The challenge is to see how much you can get knitted in a day. I joined late in the evening and so decided to continue on to the Sunday too (although I was at work for most of the day. Above is what I managed to get done which is most of the first leg. I think I would have got one sock finished had I taken part early enough.

So I have decided that I will do this challenge every weekend (Sock Saturday and Sock Sunday sounds better than Sock Weekend). I’ll be updating on this on my Instagram and after today I will only really be showing my finishes here. So if you want to see my progress over a weekend you can do so there. I will give you some details of this sock though. The yarn is from Mothy & the Squid and it’s part of her sock yarn club. Again I showed this on last months yarn haul post. The pattern is called “Party Like it’s 1999” by Tricot and Stitch. I am loving how it is knitting up and it’s an interesting pattern to knit.

In other news, I am still working on my Piosa cardigan. As of now I am on the hem and I will have enough for pockets. Which means I will then just need to sew in the ends and block it and I’m done. I’m so proud of myself already.

The Final Three

I have finished the last three pairs of socks for my knitting for nurses challenge. I have a wee collection and want to move on to other things. I am waiting for a few things to arrive and then I’m making up little care packages for my nurse buddies.

This pair is one of my favourites and I have a person in mind for them. The yarn is by Eaden yarns (not to be confused with Eden cottage yarns) who sadly haven’t dyed yarn in a few years. I think this may be the second and last yarn I purchased from the dyer. It’s so pretty. A very delicate colourway which is unlike me. It’s been in my stash for years just waiting for the perfect project. I thought the socks would look perfect with a contrasting to and heel. I initially wanted to do a tan contrast but I have every colour of mini skein but not tan. Thankfully I did have a nice pink which goes nicely. The mini skein is courtesy of my good friend Lisa of For the Love of Yarn.

The second pair is a sturdier sock. Although the yarn is 4ply it feels a little thicker. The yarn is by Knit Picks. I took advantage of their free delivery to the UK many moons ago. Sadly I have lost the ball band so I have no idea of yarn type or blend. It is beautiful though and lovely to knit with. I have quite a bit of the yarn left and I think I might hold onto it for little ankle socks.

Finally, this pair is among my favourites and I am half tempted to keep them for myself. The yarn is by Callum of For the Love of Yarn. He designed this yarn as part of the SJW awareness. He called the colourway “Respect is for Everyone” and the proceeds from the yarn went to his chosen charity, SAMH. The photo really doesn’t do this yarn justice. I love all the colours. I especially like the hints of yellow and green. If you follow me on Instagram you will have seen that I posted a photo of the reverse of the sock and I loved the effect of that on the yarn. I’m tempted to knit up a pair of ankle socks in the reverse but would love to do a contrast heel and toe in the dark green. A possible project for the future.

Here are the three yarns still in their skeins. I think this photo shows up the Callum’s yarn better. Next post I will show you this months yarn purchases. I am really excited about that and have already started knitting with one. I am currently working on a sock design with it which wasn’t planned. I also finally got the needles I needed to get on with the cardigan for the KAL. The morrow of that tale is to not assume that you already have the needles that you need.

I hope you are all safe and that you are taking care of yourselves in body and spirit.

Three Pairs for Nurses!

I feel like I have been a knitting machine the last few weeks. Since I decided to put aside all projects and knit socks for my fellow nurses I have knitted up five pairs. Three of those have already found a new home. You have already seen the first two pairs I finished so thought I would show the latest. I decided to put them together in one post rather than one each as I imagine this could get boring very quickly.

So the third pair I finished were these. Like all of the socks I plan to knit just now it’s a basic pattern. The yarn is from my stash and was hand dyed by For the Love of Yarn. It’s a sparkle sock yarn although you can’t see that in the photo. The colourway is called camp fire and I honestly can’t tell you when I purchased it. I absolutely love it. The striping is very short so there is no pooling of the colour at all. Trust me, I was looking for it. This is the only pair from this lot that has been given away. The recipient was chuffed and is already an owner of some hand knit socks which she inherited from her gran. So she knows the work that went into them. She did have to explain to one of our consultants that I did not change the colour of the yarn every two stitches. I most definitely can’t take credit for all those lovely colours in there.

The second pair I finished knitting was these ones. As yet I haven’t decided who these are going to. Perhaps because I feel that these are a little more special. This was another yarn by For the Love of Yarn but is part of her cherub collection. This is called Comic Con and was hand dyed by her oldest son with money going to charity. I think in this case it was the Glasgow Children’s hospital. I am so very tempted to keep these for myself as both the name and the colours speak to me. I won’t though. I just need to find the right nurse to give them to. I think I might have an idea who that is. Oh, and again there was no colour pooling. Thank you Callum for the beautiful yarn!

These socks I actually finished today. Again by For the Love of Yarn but a little different from the others. Instead of Merino/nylon or stellina. It’s merino bamboo! It’s a beautiful yarn to knit with and I highly recommend it. The texture isn’t quite as smooth as the merino/nylon but this makes it perfect for socks to wear with boots because they are definitely more durable. If you are looking to knit a pair of hiking socks I would recommend this type of yarn base. I love the colours too. The colour is called Midnight Fun and I am sorry, again this was from deep in my stash with no clue as to when it joined it. Let’s just say the chances are it was waiting to long to be knitted up.

Here is all three skeins of yarn in their glory before I wound them. I always like to show them in their skeins as I do think they always look very different when wound or knitted up. The vast majority of my knitting stash is by For the Love of Yarn. However, the next three pairs will be knitted with yarn dyed by other dyers. Well two of them will be. If I go at the same rate you will be seeing those in another couple of weeks.

In the meantime I hope you are all staying home and staying safe. A huge shout out to all key workers out there. That includes those working in shops, Royal Mail, public transport and refuse. You are all appreciated.

Checking In

I just wanted to check in to see how everyone has been doing. I know a few are struggling with the isolation and the fear. I have been off work this week (planned not due to illness) and have struggled to do anything productive. The vast majority of my week has been rediscovering my Supernatural Sims game. Very little knitting got done and a whole lot of crap on tv got watched. I think there has been a lot of people feeling guilty over how unproductive they have been. There has been a lot of tweets today from various writers who have either said that they are just now feeling creative. Or have highlighted that it’s okay to spend your time processing things.

So yesterday I got my mojo back. I have been knitting away and my sister is back to doing her art as a distraction. While I have been trying to avoid the news and social media I haven’t always managed it. I love Instagram because me feed is filled with so many creative types and I have been watching them get back in their groove. Even before I could lose time looking at everyone’s knitting. It was also helped by joining a knit n natter via zoom. This was hosted by Michelle of The Loveliest Yarn Company. I didn’t say much as it was my first time using zoom. It takes a little getting used to. It was nice though and I would definitely take part again.

As for my own Instagram feed I am trying to keep it positive. I have been posting my own daily distractions. I plan to do that at least on my days off (back to work tomorrow). In the meantime I continue to knit socks and I have managed to get flour to bake banana bread for my team tomorrow. On that note I have finished another pair of socks for my nurse friends. I have no one in mind for this particular pair. I think it will be a case of who needs them the most. I am in love with this pair and it will be hard to part with them. I’m not normally a green person but I am in love with these colours and I am glad I stuck with a basic pattern in order to highlight them.

The yarn has been in my stash for quite some time. I pulled it out when I tidied out my yarn cupboard a month or two ago.  It’s by Mothy and the Squid and is part of her sky series. This one is called Forest Moon and the name couldn’t be any more perfect. The base is merino/nylon/stellina which makes the socks nice and sturdy and gives them that sparkle. You can’t really see it in the socks but the flecks in the image of the yarn is actually the sparkle. So pretty!

I hope you are all keeping safe and looking after your mental health. Remember it’s okay to just sit and watch crap tv in your pyjamas. We are all going to have days like that in the weeks ahead.

Change of Plans!

Most of you will probably know that I am a nurse working for the NHS. I always try to keep my social media and blog separate from what I do although it’s not always easy. Especially right now. There is a lot of fear in the community. Some of it is due to lots of wrong information out there and some of it is being caused by others who either are paying no attention to social distancing or restricting their shopping to what they need. As a nurse I fear for my patients and my family and friends. Not just their physical wellbeing but their mental too.

The problem with fear is that it escalates very quickly. I have seen it in social media and in person. It’s easy to give in to it. I know because I have felt it myself and have had to consciously tell myself not to give in to it. On that note I have decided that I want my blog to continue and to continue as a place of positivity. Instead of giving in to fear I want to be able to do something about it. Therefore I plan to use my craft skills to put a smile on someone’s face. That’s the hope anyway.

I will be postponing my 2020 challenge. In its place I will have a new challenge. That is to knit as many pairs of socks as I can. The reason being that I plan to give a pair to my colleagues when they need it most in the hopes that it will bring them a little light. I also plan to bake when I can and ensure that my team have good coffee and tea to keep them going (something I do anyway).

So this is pair number one. I happened to be talking about knitted socks with the person that these are for before I came up with this plan. She has had a tough week and I hope that these will help. They are knitted in a slip stitch pattern which I have used a few times already. Much like previous I have had to add a few extra rounds as again they came out shorter than I would expect. I usually know how many rounds to knit for length from years of knitting them. This is a pattern that I should really measure as I go instead. After having to unpick a toe and frog back for the second time I have learned my lesson. Worth it though.

I used this beautiful yarn from For the Love of Yarn. I love these colours. I did have this earmarked for myself as I both love the yarn base and the colourway but I have plenty. It’s Donegal nep which is my favourite base. It’s beautiful to knit with and has a tweedy effect. Beautiful in both solid and variegated colourways. If you are a sock knitter and haven’t knitted with this base you haven’t lived (in my humble opinion). I don’t mind admitting that I have ordered more.

So I challenge you fellow crafters. Look after your mental health as well as your physical. Create that something for yourself that you have always wanted to. If you have friends or loved ones that are struggling create something for them that will let them know they are in your thoughts.

With that I am off to wash my hands then make some cookies. Stay safe everyone.