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We're off to Cornwall later today but I couldn't leave without showing you the wonderful parcel that was waiting for me on the doorstep on Friday.
Ruth, my Sockapalooza pal put together a great assortment of goodies.
First up the socks
These are Ruth's own design, knitted in yarn from the Yarn Yard. They fit perfectly and feel wonderful.
Ruth also included another skein of yarn from the Yarn Yard for me to have a play with.
Coincidentally, I had made my own purchase from the Yarn Yard this week, for the first time, so I am now overflowing with Yarn Yard goodness.
As if that wasn't enough, Ruth also included yummy chocolate, some Lush goodies and this little project bag which she made herself.
Thank you so much Ruth. It's always such a luxury to recieve socks knitted by somebody else and all the other extras made it really special gift.
Now I'm off for a week camping in the rain, if the weather forecast is anything to go by; have fun while I'm away!
The deadline for Sockapalooza 4 sort of crept up on me. August sounded so far away when we started.
Then of course, there was the whole 'knitting three socks' due to my monumental stupidity.
Thankfully, they are all done and I have indulged in the usual cavorting and contorting that is required to take photos of one's own feet.
Pattern: Diagonal Rib Socks by Ann Budd. It was in Interweave a while back, but you can get it as a download from Knitting Daily.
Started: 4th June 2007
Finished: 3rd August 2007 - remember that's for 3 socks people!
Yarn: Lovely Koigu, bought from Stash a good while back. I can't remember the number, but if I find the ball band I'll add it in.
Needles: 2.75mm Clover bamboos
Such a nice pattern - very easy to remember the repeat. Not having a cuff was a little surprising; it would be interesting to see what a pair would look like with some sort of ribbing at the top. I knitted the pattern pretty much as is, although I made the legs a smidge shorter as I was worried about running out of yarn. They fit very well and I would definitely do another pair at some stage.
Now the socks are off for a bath and I am off to find a suitably cheesey postcard of Somerset and some other goodies to include in my pal's package.
This project was one of my quickest ever, knitting wise, and one of my slowest ever to sew up and to blog about.
It was incredibly difficult to photograph and I needed daylight to pick up stitches and do the sewing, which added to the delays.
Anyhow, I am very pleased with it, it fits well and has attracted much admiration from Toby and others who have seen it.
I particularly like the deep ribbing on the V-neck and around the shoulders.
Pattern: Nessie, from RYC Classic Weekend. I did the size L, to fit a 38 chest.
Yarn: I used some Jaeger Shetland Aran I had in my stash instead of the recommended Cashsoft Aran. You can't see in the photos, but the 20% alpaca gives it a nice, subtle halo of grey against the black of the wool. I used just under 400g, making this a very economical knit, as the yarn was on sale in Liberty a while back.
Needles: I stuck with the recommended 4mm for the ribing and 4.5mm for the body.
Started: Well the knitting was started at the end of May and it took about 5 days to finish. Picking up the stitches for the ribbing borders and sewing in the ends was done in fits and starts when I had time during daylight hours, so that took another couple of weeks. Then I procrastinated for about a month before finally taking some photos.
Modifications: I knitted the body in the round up to the armholes, divided there and knitted the front and back separately, then did a three needle bind off for the shoulders, which left me with 10 rows under the arms to stitch together. I picked up the stitches for the ribbing in the round also, so I only had ends to sew in. I added 5cm to the body and a couple of extra rows to the armholes. If I did it again, I might take a couple of rows of ribbing off the back of the neck, as it is a touch higher than I would choose, but not enough to bother me into doing anything about it.
I doubt I'll be wearing Nessie much if the sunshine continues, but I can see her being a good autumn piece to add some warmth to an outfit on chilly mornings.
