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.

Christmas Advent Socks

Over Christmas I had two yarn advent calendars. The second was by Bluebell Yarns. I could have added these yarns to the blanket I was making with the other advent calendar. However, this yarn had a completely different texture to it. It felt a little tougher and so I decided to use them for scrap socks. Each new yarn would be added to the socks as I opened them so that I wouldn't know the outcome until that last yarn is opened. I managed to make two pairs from them. One for myself and one for my sister.

Mine came first. Only a few of these colours I would actually pick out for myself. It forced me to experiment with colour and I actually quite like them. The colours are muted enough that they don't really clash with each other.

My favourite pair is actually my sister's. I love the colours that came out for her. The mustard is my least favourite colour. However, it adds pop to the socks and is one of my favourite things about this pair.

This is also a good way of using up scrap sock yarns. I highly recommend it. The downside is all the ends you have to sew in. Part of the joy of knitting socks is that there are so few. However, you have two ends with every change of colour. This is what took me so long to pull them out of my WIP back to finish. Persevere though as it is wort it.

The last parcel produced 50g of this lovely green yarn. I plan to get some cream sock yarn and use them together. And yes, for another pair of socks. I'll finish some more projects before I do that though.

I would definitely get another yarn advent calendar. It's a lot of fun. I have actually signed up for one for this year although it's a little different from last years and starts 16th Decemember rather than the 1st. You'll have to wait for that one though.

November Socks - New England

For November I went back to knitting a pattern. Instead of trying a new pattern I went to one of my favourites. It's called New England by Nancy Bush. I have knitted this so many times I can practically fly through it.

For the yarn I picked out one that had been in my stash for a while now. I was originally going to use this lovely yellow and white in October as I thought it would be the perfect autumn shade. Actually, it felt more summer like which was perfect for a cold November. The yarn is called Golden Eyes and is of course by the lovely Lisa of For the Love of Yarn.

I love the striping of the yarn and how the yellow is framed by stripes of grey. Even round the ankle the pooling is perfect.

My favourite part of this pattern is the diamonds travelling up the centre of the sock. The pattern should finish at the end of the diamond which means that the sock is a little long for me. This just makes them all the more cosy. Since it is freezing outside I will love putting these on when I come home from work.

I show this part of the pattern every time I knit these socks. As it is another aspect of the pattern that I love. These twists up the back of the sock give it that little stretch which means you don't need to knit a cuff and it's pretty too.

So far I have managed 11 months of socks. That's more than I managed the last time I started this challenge. For my final pair I have chosen a yarn I have never used before that has been matched to a pattern. The colours are among my favourite and they have a wintery feel which is fitting since they will be my December socks.

Birthday Daimonds Socks 2

I knitted up my birthday diamond sock pattern for my sister. I used the same number of stitches but did fewer repeats of the pattern on the foot which worked. They fit my sister perfectly. Last post I showed you that I had started the final practise of the sock pattern before I write it up and publish it. I am hoping to do that before Christmas.

Once I again I used a yarn by Lisa of For the Love of Yarn. This time I picked out a solid colour from my stash as I wanted to see what it looked like without the variegated yarn. I chose the red and I loved how it turned out. Sadly, I didn't take a photo of the yarn before I started knitting with it as I assumed I had done that when I purchased it. Never assume. I do have a group photo from my Red post and you can see it on the far left. It deserves more limelight than that and I apologise for that (sorry Lisa).

I took more photos of the socks while my sister was wearing them. Sadly this was the only one that turned out. I need to practise that. She loves them though which is the main thing.

November Stash

All of these yarns in my stash are for a specific purpose which I will be using in the next month or two. Hence my breaking my yarn buying embargo. This beautiful yarn I saw on an instagram photo from one of my favourite knitting designers. I came across Ysolda through reading Clara Parkes book (which I reviewed a while ago). I have followed her since and loved all of her images. The image of this yarn was related to a sock pattern she was releasing and this yarn by La Bien Aimee was dyed especially for it. I also purchased the collection, Knitworthy 3, which contained the sock pattern. This yarn is just my colour and I thought I would end the year with it. So this will be my December socks. I'm looking forward to combining a skein of yarn with a mini skein. I've added Ysolda's website to my craft shopping page.

I am hoping to write out my first sock knitting pattern soon. For that I wanted to knit the pattern for a third time and this will be used for the images in the pattern. I wanted a colour that would suit the title which is Birthday Diamonds. I was initially thinking ice blue but changed it to white. I wanted to pick a yarn that most people would be able to have access to. Initially I was going to use Lorna's Laces but there was no white and so I went with Heritage Cascade sock yarn. I've used it before and liked knitting with it. I picked this up from Wool Warehouse.

I also decided that I needed a blanket to pull over myself in my living room when I want to snuggle up watching TV or reading a book. I picked these colours as it matches my living room and I've got to work on it already. You'll get to see that on Friday. The yarn is by Stylecraft and again I got it from Wool Warehouse.

Last but not least I thought I would show off this months mini skeins from Lisa's mini skein club (For the Love of Yarn). I like the variety in the selection. My favourite is right in the middle there in white, blues and purple. Although, I also love the yellow and purples next to it. Thank you Lisa.

October Socks - Halloween Style

Despite this post my October socks were actually finished in plenty of time. I just hadn't photographed them until recently. The socks had a Halloween theme to them. With all the work I had to do for university I decided on a basic sock pattern but picked out a yarn that would suit the month.

I am kicking myself that I didn't take a photo of the yarn on its own. Didn't realise that until I was putting this post together. A little late now. I showed of the yarn in my October stash post and it was by Mothy and the Squid who has become one of my favourite indie dyers.  This yarn (aptly named Frankenstein) was perfect for this month. As with all her yarns it was beautiful to knit with and I loved watching the random striping of the yarn.

No annoying pooling of the colours at the gusset which can sometimes happen with this type of heel. This image is actually closer to the true colouring of the yarn. Alas, I will be working on Halloween night and so will be saving these for when I come off night shift the next day.

Let me see your Halloween socks!

October Stash

I have been oh so bad this month. It started with realising it was October and I hadn't started my October socks. I realised that with all the studying I had to catch up on there was probably no chance that I was going to manage a pattern in there. I saw Halloween inspired colourways on Mothy and the Squids Etsy page and I thought that would be perfect. So I picked out the one labelled Frankenstein. While there I also picked out a purple and green colourway. I couldn't help myself.

Along with each skein of yarn ordered I got these cute little stitch markers to add to my collection. I especially love the little skeleton. One day I should do a post just on my collection.

I also received a mini skein of this lovely green which fits in perfectly with my chosen colours.

If the lovely Jillian behind Mothy and the Squid wasn't generous enough she also sent me this beautiful set of mini skeins. The colours are lovely and I have plans for them already. Thank you so much Jillian.

I also ordered some yarn from Sara's Texture Crafts. I had something in mind when I bought this yarn. However, it won't quite fit for that particular project. This is in no way Sara's fault as she was very clear in her description. In all honesty I had a feeling the yarn wouldn't work but I ordered it anyway because I'm greedy. Not to worry, I LOVE the colours (unsurprisingly) and they will make me a yummy pair of socks.

As well as my monthly mini skeins from For the Love of Yarn (which I only realised I haven't photographed and now the light is too poor) I picked out a couple of Lisa's new colourways. One of these will become the project that I have in mind. I haven't decided which yet. The other will be used for......socks.

I also picked up some fabric from Lovely Jubbly fabrics.  I saw an advert for them and noticed that they had some orange fabrics which I took advantage of. My orange fabric collection is growing and I will hopefully have enough soon to start my first quilt. I also picked up some teal while I was there.

 I spotted this skull fabric while I was searching for orange and I couldn't resist. The green would suit my sisters flat perfectly and she loves skulls.  I was thinking of using it to make one large cushion that she could use on her rocking chair. All I need to do is get some nice backing fabric and get my sewing machine from my dad's. This was my first time shopping from Lovely Jubbly fabrics and have added their website to my craft shopping page. I was quite happy with the service and the fabrics matched the images.

Lastly, I have started a new way of organising (new to me - more on that later). That called for more washi tape to add to my collection and I couldn't resist these holiday themed tapes from Unwrap Colour. Love myself some washi tape.

This month was pretty bad even for me. I have even ordered a few other things which I will mention in a later post. After that I will be good. At least until after Christmas when I have more projects planned. Anyone else been topping up their yarn stash?

September Socks - Basic Socks

I am 100% all caught up as Septembers socks were finished last week. Of course it helped that I used the basic sock pattern. After two months of patterns I decided that I wanted something simple that would make the sock more about the yarn than the pattern. Plus I wanted to work more on my own pattern from August.

Deciding which yarn to use proved difficult. I decided again not to use blue. With the help of my sister I picked out this yarn called Beach Huts by Owl About Yarn. I bought this earlier in the year when I was picking out yarn for fibreshare. It's a nylon/merino blend and knits up beautifully. It's on the heavier scale of 4 ply which I always love to knit with.

So the yarn still has blue in it but I love the colours and I loved the way it striped. I didn't want to interrupt that striping and so I used a short row heel. It made for a pretty heel. I was also left with quite a bit of yarn left and I think there is enough to knit a pair of ankle socks for my tiny footed sister.

Next month I will use a pattern again and the yarn I have picked out has absolutely no blue or green.

August Socks - Birthday sock pattern

So August's socks were actually finished on time. I am all caught up and I have almost finished September socks too. August's socks were a little special. I decided that since it was my birthday to make myself some birthday socks. I make them for other people so why not myself. To make them even more special (or to add to the stress of getting them done on time) I decided to design my own pattern and I did. Pat on the back for me.

As if all that specialness wasn't enough I asked the lovely Lisa to design the yarn. She went with my favourite colours and look at the pretty! She even gifted it to me. I LOVE the colourway. A mixture of blues, teal and greens. Not to mention the sparkle. It's a pity the above photo doesn't do it justice.

I got myself some squared paper to work out the pattern and I even did a little swatch (not pictured). I never swatch.

I wasn't sure how it would turn out. I wanted some mini cables and created a repetitive diamond pattern. I quite like the way the colours in the yarn worked out with it as you can still see both the colours and the pattern.

I knitted them up in a larger size to accommodate the many, many mini cables. I thought they would be a little large and so I planned to make a smaller size and adjust the pattern to suit for my sister. However, they size was fine. I will still knit up a pair for Lorraine. I have a solid yarn planned for it and once I do I might release the pattern.

While the pattern is not available yet you can still get Lisa's scrummy sock yarn over at her etsy page.

Sister's Summer Socks

Summer is ending and I managed to knit my sisters summer socks just in time. I call them her summer socks because of the yarn which reminds me of summer. When my sister saw them she renamed them her unicorn socks. It's funny how people see different things in yarn.

The yarn is by Mothy and the Squid. She was my fibre swap partner earlier in the year and I am so glad I was partnered up with her because her yarn has become a favourite of mine. I especially love her rainbow series. This yarn is actually sport weight rather than sock. It just means it's 5ply rather than 4 and makes for a slightly thicker sock. The colourway is called "Summer Skies Rainbow". As soon as I saw it I thought it would be perfect for my sister and having knit with it I am actually a little jealous. It's beautiful to knit with. Head over to Mothy and the Squid's etsy shop and you'll find more of her beautiful yarn.

I used the basic sock pattern. I think for the rainbow yarn only the basic sock pattern will do. The colours have to be shown off and any pattern will hide that. It was fast to knit up. I do like a basic pattern now and then. Particularly if the colours are fun to watch as they come out.

July Stash

Stash wise I've actually been very good of late. I've been trying to be good. Partly because I really should be saving for other things. But also because my stash has grown into a monster. I have enough sock yarn to last me a couple of years at least.

Having said that I did join Lisa's mini skein club. After my posts on mini skeins I couldn't resist although I had no clear idea as what I would do with it. As you expect from the title the club involves getting so many mini skeins each month. You can sign up for 3, 5 or 7. You can also decide not to take part after the first month or skip if you feel the need. I decided on 5. I thought it was a good number if I wanted to create something with all five skeins. It makes up to 100g which after all is a pair of socks. I also chose sock weight for that reason.

The first box came through my door and I was excited for two reasons. It was my first proper post. Everything else I had until then was mail for the previous owner (which has since stopped). So nice to have something so lovely as your first official mail. Which leads onto the second reason. Look at all the pretty colours!

The second set came not so long ago. I am in love with the greens in this set. I particularly love the middle skein for the blue too. I have been thinking about what I could do with these mini skeins. I was thinking that I could continue collecting and separate them into matching colour to make a larger project. I haven't quite decided what yet. I will say that the second on the right reminds me a little of Christmas with the red and green. Might have to save that one for another project entirely.

You can sign up for the mini skein club over at Lisa's etsy shop here. Well worth it if you ask me. Especially if you are looking to start up your own collection with a range of colours.

June Socks - Basic Sock

I had absolutely no intentions of knitting up yet another basic sock for June. I had a pattern picked out. Unfortunately, the month ran away with me and if I wanted to keep to a pair of socks a month then I was going to have to rethink what I was doing. So I resigned myself to using the basic pattern once again. On the plus side I got to pick out a pretty yarn to make up for it.

This rainbow yarn immediately jumped out from my stash. I love the striping effect all through the socks. I even love the way it pooled when working on the gusset. It almost reminds me of the rainbow effect of oil in puddles. Or even bubbles just before they are about to burst.

The yarn is dyed by Owl About Yarn. You can find her on etsy. I bought this yarn a while ago and then picked it up for my fibreshare partner even before I had worked with it myself. It was beautiful to knit with and has a little sparkle in it too. It's a Merino/nylon/Stellina blend and knits up well. I actually think this would have made lovely socks with the Broken Seed socks and I might have enough leftover to do some ankle socks for my sister. It pays to have tiny feet people.

The reason I am so behind is the same reason I have been absent here. Moving into my flat. However, I have discovered that my breakfast bar makes a fantastic yarn winding station.

I have already started on July's socks and while the yarn isn't fancy the pattern is. It's not the pattern I had originally planned and there is a whole reason for that which has to do with August's socks. Unfortunately you'll have to wait and see on that one.