Needles on the Move

Firstly, thank you so much for all your kind comments and congratulations! It is a pretty big thing to be published in Knitty and my mum is so proud of me :-D I hope there will be more to come there next year.

And now, a little Christmas present for you all. This pattern has been tossing around in my outbox for ages, being submitted to various places. I finally decided to just let y’all have it!

It’s a really fast knit, great for using up leftover sock yarn and filling up with choccies to give to people for pressies. you definitely have time to make a few before Christmas rolls around this year.

Download the pattern for free here

The beaches near where I grew up in Australia were full of those little critters that burrow in the sand and turn the surface into a fascinating series of little waves and ripples. The Beach Fog colourway of these socks contains all the hues of the sand and scrub of Victoria’s south coast and the ripple pattern is reminiscent of the pippies, right down to their tiny breathing holes.

Size: Women’s small to medium (see fitting notes for further sizes)
Gauge: 8.5sts and 12 rounds = 1 inch in stocking stitch.
Requirements: Yarn: 1 skein Dream in Colour Smooshy sock yarn (4oz/450yds) colour: Beach Fog; Needles: 2.5mm/80cm circular needle for magic loop, or needles for your preferred method of knitting in the round; Notions: stitch markers (optional); crochet hook and waste yarn for cast on; yarn needle;
Pattern Notes: These socks are worked from the toe up, beginning with a provisional cast on. Short row toes and heels are used but can be replaced with your favourite toe-up construction if you prefer. Full charts and written instructions are included.

Price: US$4.95

This pattern is sold as an electronic file and will be delivered to your email inbox immediately upon purchase. File size is 638kb, 4 pages.

The Smooshy socks are finished, and another pair, and I still have 35g left. As you can see, the second pair were not overly huge, but the first have quite a long cuff. Conclusion: Smooshy is great where yardage and weight are concerned.

It’s also absolutely gorgeous to knit with. I finished my socks within two weeks of casting on - the needles just seemed to fly and the pattern liked me. I found that the yarn was a tiny bit splitty and I switched back to regular Addis having started on Lace needles. The fabric is wonderfully soft and stretchy however and I can’t wait to cast on my next pair.

Does one sock count as a Finished Object? It’s definitely finished, all the way up to the top, with cast-off and ends darned in.

But I have sneaking suspicion that I have to knit the other one before I’m allowed to be smug. Oh well.

Here’s a peek:

I started the second while waiting at the doctor’s this morning - if I can manage to keep enough brain in my head I may finish it before my lungs allow me back out into normal life.

And Mum: yes - I had chicken soup for lunch and am not drinking any wine. Much. It’s only 10 degrees here you know, one needs something…

 My favourite stitch motif - garter beading - appears again on these socks. This would be a great men’s pattern too if you have sock yarn in nice boy colours. The pattern is dead easy, but interesting enough to make a ribby sock fun to knit.

Size: Women’s medium 

Gauge: 8sts/inch

Requirements: 1 skein STR mediumweight, 2.5mm needles, crochet hook and waste yarn for provisional cast-on

The socks are knitted toe-up with a provisional cast-on and short row toes and heels. Of course, the pattern would work just as well with your favourite top-down method.

Download the pattern for free here

Photos, as usual, by talented chief photographer Bronte.

The never-ending socks are finally finished. Have you ever noticed how hard it is to get cool photos of socks? I need to borrow some feet - I may have to wait a few days to get a couple of shots that I like. Then they’ll be posted here with the pattern.

Why never-ending? Well for a start, Socks That Rock Mediumweight comes in a ridiculously big skein. Maybe giants have feet that need 5 1/2 oz worth of sock - but I certainly don’t. But given that STR is so scrummy, I figured why not make the most of it - socks can be long, after all.

So I divided my skein in half and started at the toe and knitted. And knitted… and knitted. Eventually I gave up. I stopped the first sock somewhat short of the knee and still had enough yarn left to probably knit a small hat. Then I started the second sock. Halfway through the leg I was swearing at myself under my breath for making the first one so b*^”*y long.

They did finally get done, however, thanks to several episodes of House and a couple of Heroes. Mindless knitting at its best. The pattern will be a freebie and I’ll have it ready this weekend. Would you like a short-row tutorial along with it? I seem to have some matching sock yarn left over…

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One the new knitting front, I’ve started knitting up the emerald handspun I posted about here. It’s going to be a basic feather and fan scarf - nothing special, but I really wanted to show off the subtle colour changes in the yarn. So far I like it, although I’m hoping it will block out to be a bit more airy.

This yarn/scarf is also set to become famous very shortly. It will be an integral part of the Big Project. I am busting to tell you all about it but have to keep mum for a few more days. Secret-business-partner and I will be meeting on Monday and if all goes well we will be telling the world :-D

Until then, happy knitting.

A little while I muscled in on a hat swap that Kate and Cairi had organised. A three-people swap. Three people is fun - you know who you’re knitting for, you can have in-depth discussions on what type and colour of yarn should be used, and can make final careful decisions on pattern detail (You really want seed stitch? You’re sure? Really…).

Kate is a super fast knitter and had my French Beret finished and ready for me to wear at Ally Pally. It’s a Louisa Harding pattern and knitted in Fiddlesticks Country Silk. Read all about Kate’s picot adventures here…

I drew Cairi out of the proverbial hat (beret?) and she chose Le Slouch by Wendy Bernard. I had the perfect colour of Malabrigo in my stash so off I went.

Zoe happened to conveniently be around when I needed pictures and obliged with a nice smile.

This is a great pattern, well-written, quick to knit and with plenty of notes about possible changes or variations in slouchiness. I am seriously thinking of making one for me - or maybe just pinching this one and pretending to Cairi that it got eaten by the cat/hit by a bus/burnt up in a volcanic eruption before I could get a chance to post it to her. She’d never know.

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Oh, and we’re finally rewired (Yay!) so expect more. And I’ll try and deliver.

And please go and look at my photos - I am having awesome fun!

Yesterday the bootie fever hit me. Bronte provided me with the link to the pattern which I’d seen somewhere and forgotten, and I chose colours and whipped up the first one in a couple of hours.

It’s so cute it’s almost sickening. Hehe. The pattern can be found here, it’s well written and has good clear pictures, I will definitely be knitting more of these.

I made only a couple of small modifications: Being a bit of a stickler for detail I didn’t like the idea of a seam at the back of the heel so when I got to the strap I worked it all in one piece, breaking the yarn and slipping the stitches across to one needle. I also made buttonholes in the straps rather than adding them afterwards. I am using Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino which is marginally thicker than the yarn called for so went up a needle size to 3mm.

As soon as I’ve finished the second one they’ll be in the post and hopefully will arrive before the baby does! There’s just a chance the expectant mum is reading this but don’t worry, there’s more surprise baby knits to come.

There is no light at the end of the tunnel yet when it comes to telephones and internets. Luckily, I have wireless access at work so my laptop lives there now.

Before I go home and finish the housework head for the pub tonight I’ll leave you with a couple of quick pics (actually completely not quick because I’m still figuring out downloading/resizing/fiddling with photos from the new camera. I am not a fan of Photoshop, but have to use it for my course).

No computer at home means more time for other stuff:

This is the merino/tencel fibre which the fabulous Amanda sent me for my birthday. It’s from Spunky Eclectic and I’ve forgotten the colour - but it’s cool no? I’m spinning it for lace.

And a finished object:

A one-skein sample for the shop - I’m quite chuffed with the reversible cables ;-) It’s Malabrigo Worsted in Hollyhock.

Gotta go!

Ciao xx

So, I didn’t spend the entire weekend playing with Ravelry…

I might have, but in the process of uploading all the projects that I had photos of (Neil took the camera) I rediscovered the sleeping Anemoi and thought since the days are getting cooler I should get back to it.

It’s amazing what a difference a little experience makes - I started these at Christmas time and they were my first ‘proper’ colourwork project. I had trouble with tension, ripping out loads and tinkering with just about every row due to too-tight stitches. They were abandoned at the end of January as the days got warmer: one finished, one just started.

Then yesterday - whee! I’m a colourwork expert now and I knocked off the remaining 3/4 of the second mitten in a few hours :-D

What to do next?…

Maybe this?

Or this?!

Or a new design I’m tossing around in my head at the moment - all Zoe’s fault: I followed her to IKnit on Saturday cause I had nothing better to do and somehow I came home with three balls of yarn that I had no intention of buying. Hmmm.

P.S. More pictures when I have a camera again.