The Wool Palace

Swing dancing

I've been playing around with Sockapalooza options again.  I bought some Colinette Jitterbug on Saturday, so of course now I've gone back to the lilac/pink Koigu.

I was going to try this pattern with the pink Lorna's Laces that I wound up the other week but somehow I seem to have managed to LOSE a wound up ball of sock yarn, together with my Go-Knit purse.  My suspicions are that it has something to do with Toby tidying the house the other day while I was ill in bed, but I don't want to seem ungrateful, so I'm keeping quiet about it for now.

However, it's not all bad, as I think the Koigu and the pattern go pretty well together.

The pattern is the Diagonal Rib Socks which I have saved as a PDF but I think is available again on the Interweave Knits site if you subscribe to the Knitting Daily thing they've got going on.

Easy pattern to memorise, only 4 rows to a repeat and 2 of them are the same.  I knitted the bit above on the bus into town today.  I really hope I find that Lorna's Laces as I was hoping to have that in reserve to do heels and toes so I can stretch out that rather measly Koigu yardage.

I'm beavering away on my black stocking stitch project, which is nearing completion.  I'm not holding out on you by not showing any photos, it's just that photos of it do not look good.  I'm hoping to finish it this evening so will be able to share it with you when it's done.

I have been very remiss about replying to emails and comments recently.  With half term and family visiting, my time on the computer has been snatched.  If you've emailed me in the last 2 or 3 weeks and haven't heard anything, I'm not ignoring you and hopefully you should hear from me soon.

7th highest!

Sorry Ruth, I will post photos of the haul but the trekking photos were ready first, so here we go.

The drive to Woolfest was a trek in itself.  7 hours in a car on a very hot day is not my idea of fun.  It did give me the time to finish one pair of socks.

Eventually we saw signs that we were getting close.

I love these blue signs you see on motorways here, 'The NORTH' - don't worry about places names, we'll take care of that later.  Driving round Birmngham is the best for this, you are constantly being confronted with various junctions signposted, 'The SOUTH-WEST', 'NORTH WALES', 'The SOUTH'.  Just put your trust in the compass points and all will work out fine.

Anyway, eventually more place names became evident and we were able to find our way to our hotel in Buttermere, where we enjoyed views like this.

I cast on the Trekking sock in preparation for the journey ahead, but forgot to take any photos.

Our trek of choice was a circular route up to Great Gable and back through the valley below.  The first part of the ascent was steep and the day was hot so it was pretty slow going.

We stopped to cool off by a waterfall.

If you enlarge this photo and look at the very top of the waterfall you will see people there.  They had climbed up the waterfall from the bottom of the valley.  One way to stay cool on a hot day I suppose.

We stopped for lunch at the top of the first climb.  I did a little work on the sock.  WARNING - hideously unflattering photo ahead.

The things I do for the blog.  The hat is very special isn't it?  Still, it did stop me getting sunburnt.

After lunch we carried on up and up for a good 2 or 3 hours.  Unfortunately it got quite hazy so there weren't many good views.  The sock saw some relatives.

Then it was time to go back down again.

The descent to the small lake took an hour as the path was very loose.  We still had a way to go but took a breather and cooled our feet in the lake.

Of course the sock wanted to join us, even though she had been carried most of the way.  Still, she was very persistent so I gave in.

Then we were on our way again.  Another 2 hours or so and we were back at the bottom.

Then it was back to the pub for cold beers all round.  No more knitting was done and we slept soundly on our last night in The Lakes.

Sockapaloooza'd!

Look what arrived in the post this weekend, all the way from California.

Yes, my Sockapaloooza socks, made by the lovely Mary.

Mary knitted the Embossed Leaves pattern from Interweave Knits, using Artyarns Ultramerino 4, Shade 122.  The socks fit perfectly and feel absolutely wonderful - soft and warm yet very light as well.  I put them on immediately and left them on all day.

Mary also included a stitch marker, handmade by a friend of hers and two balls of fingering weight yarn from Handjive Knits.  Thank you Mary - beautiful socks and some really thoughtful gifts.  I love it all!

And they're off

It would seem that Spring has finally arrived.  Not only did we have a beautiful warm sunny day on Saturday, today I woke up with streaming eyes and attractive red blotches all over my face.  Ahh, hayfever.  I love the smell of pollen in the morning.

This weekend was also the weekend of the London Marathon.  I indulged in my own knitting marathon while watching the athletes, celebs and charity runners do their stuff.  Did anyone else see Jade Goody being interviewed with Gordon Ramsey?  The look on Gordon's face when Jade blithley admitted to only having done 4 training sessions, the longest of which involved running for ½ hour, was priceless.  Gordon came in at just over 3½ hours - I wonder how long it took Jade? (Ooops - just seen she collapsed and had to be taken to hospital.  I'm not surprised.)

The results of my own marathon?  My feet were a lot more comfortable at the end of it than those of many the runners yesterday, I'm sure.

Yep, Sockapaloooza socks are done.  I had a quick trying on session before washing and blocking them.

Want the lowdown?

Pattern:  Badcaul - available as part of a trio from Anna.  The pattern is wonderful - clearly written and with a stitch pattern that is easy to remember while still providing variety.  I chose to cable without a cable needle, which is my preferred method for socks.  The only change I would make if I was to do these again would be to make the heel slightly deeper, but that is just a matter of personal preference I think. 

Yarn:   Fleece Artist merino in Jester colourway.  Although both socks were knitted from the same skein, sock number two has significantly more yellow in it than sock one.  I think Jill experienced something similar with her Fleece Artist.  Am I right Jill?

Needles:  2.25mm Surina wooden needles.  These needles look and feel lovely but I found the points a little fragile.  In fact I managed to snap the tip off one while putting the sock into my bag to take to Somerset.  I was able to perform some emergency surgery with an emery board and normal knitting service was soon resumed.

Started:  11th March 2005

Finished:  23rd April 2005 - I blame the mitred squares for the long delay.

Another Sockapaloooza over.  Thanks to Alison for all the hard work in organising and running it.  One more question - When's the next one?

Hot footing

A short one today.  We're into the difficult second week of the holidays when boredom levels are rising and my fight umpiring skills are required more often.

Sockapaloooza socks are marching along.

They are slightly tight around the instep on me but as my sock pal's feet are about the same length as mine but slightly narrower I think this will be a good fit for her.  I definitely want a pair of these for myself.

Baby knitting has been settled upon and is progressing well.

This is Mya from Rowan Junior.  It's done in 4-ply soft which is machine washable - always important for babies I think.  I'm doing a fairly neutral striped trim so it should be fine for a boy or a girl.  I'm planning on doing a matching hat as well.  The back and fronts are knitted in one piece up to the armhole shaping.  Since taking the photo I've reached the armholes and finished the left front.  Don't you love how fast baby knits grow?

At this rate I should be ready to start something new after the Easter weekend.  Decisions, decisions.

Bling Bling

Today is Flash Your Stash day.

I did have ideas that I would take all the stash out of the plastic bags but once I got going I realised that would lead me down the road to stress, tears and recriminations.  So I'm afraid you're going to have to put up with a bit of reflection in some of the pictures.

First up is the sock yarn mountain.

This is the part of my stash that is closest to my heart, I think.  Highlights include

 

lovely Koigu and

the newest addition - Regia Canadian Colours.  I've heard lots of good things about this yarn on other blogs so I'm looking forward to seeing how it knits up.

Moving on from socks, we have the big guys - packets of yarn with enough to knit a garment.

Most of this is purchases from Liberty sales and quite a bit is from my Knit Happens visit last year.

Then there's the collection of 4 ply packs.

Mainly Rowanspun and Donegal Tweed from various sales and Ebay, plus some lovely Baby Cashmere I got from Donni as part of a swap.

Bringing up the rear we have

Miscellaneous Rowan and Debbie Bliss membership gifts and

 

everything else.  This is yarn of which I only have a couple of skeins, plus frogged projects where I've washed and reskeined the yarn.

In the interests of full disclosure I should say that I haven't photographed the DK cotton stash, as you saw that last week in the mitred squares post.  I also haven't photographed the WIPs as that's not really stash is it?

So what do you think?  Fairly restrained or fairly shocking? 

Cream Crackered

I went to the gym this morning.  When I went I had forgotten that I had promised to take the children swimming and I that I had also promised Josie a chance to go out on her rollerskates.

An hour in the gym, followed by an hour swimming, followed by a quick sandwich and then 1½ hours in the park makes one quite tired.

When we got back from the park I stuck a chicken in the oven, settled the children in front of Bill Oddie watching wildlife in South Africa, poured myself a glass of red wine and spent some time with this.

This little beauty is Badcaul, one of Anna's delightful sock patterns.  I am knitting it in some Fleece Artist sock yarn, colourway Jester, that  I bought from Kangaroo at the Brighton show.

I love the feeling of anticipation one gets when using a new yarn.  How will it feel?  Will it stripe?  Will it pool?  Winding it up into a ball gives one the first clues.  Does it tangle?  How do the colours fall?

The Fleece Artist has been a dream so far.  It wound up wonderfully with no tangling and it feels lovely to knit with.  Combine that with a pattern I haven't tried before and you get a recipe for satisfaction.

The cables and the slip stitches add interest without slowing down the flow of the knitting while the yarn manages to be bright without being garish.

These should be my Sockapaloooza socks - if I can give them up.

Thank you for all the tips and support over the short row heels.  I am sorry to have caused some of you distress at the sight of such large, gaping holes.  Rest assured, remedial action will be taken.

Basking in the glory

One of many.

I promise this will be the last post about the mittens.

When I was thinking about a project for the Olympics I knew that I could not undertake a challenge based purely on volume  ie. knitting a jumper in two weeks.  I have mild Carpal Tunnel problems which don't respond well to long periods of knitting and I certainly didn't want to come out of the Olympics unable to knit.  Hence the decision to do the mittens - technically challenging but not too many stitches.

Since the goal of the Olympics was to undertake a project that would challenge me as a knitter, I thought I should review which parts of the project were a challenge for me.

Definitely the biggest challenge was the stranded colourwork aspect.  Apart from the briefest flirtation (a border on a baby jumper) when I started knitting again 10 years ago I have never done any stranded colourwork.  Why?  I'm not really sure.  Maybe because I like to wear quite plain designs so didn't really look at patterns involving these techniques.  Anyway, I am pleased I tried it.  I ended up going for the 'one yarn in each hand' method, although I did try carrying them both in the same hand as well.  It definitely got easier with practice.  The patterning on the second mitten looks more uniform I think and the knitting was definitely quicker.

The other techniques were challenges as well, but lots of fun.  I've already written about the yarnover braids which I would happily use again - I think they would look good on the cuff of a sock, perhaps.  The nupp stitch was interesting but not something I'd go crazy over.  The other technique I hadn't tried before and really like is the double decrease technique used to shape the top of the mittens.  I've tried to photograph it but it doesn't really show how neat an edge it makes.  Another good technique for socks I think.

If you are thinking of doing these mittens, be aware that there is an error in the chart.  I found it pretty obvious, once I'd completed one mitten.  Incidentally, am I the only person who doesn't think to check on the Internet for errata before starting a project?  I really should start doing that.  When I did check the errata it seems as if this book is fairly good, I just chose the only project with an error on the chart.  The thumb chart has no errors per se, but it is printed the wrong way round.  Once again, no problem for me once I'd done that first mitten.

So what else have I learnt from this project?  Well, I think that I might need to invest in some (oh the horror!) metal dpns if I plan on doing Estonian mittens again.  I think the Brittany's found it a bit of a strain.

I should also have listened to the voice in my head which told me I really wouldn't need over 200g of wool to knit a pair of mittens. 

Photo finish

I've finished with enough time for me to let my hair down and enjoy the closing ceremonies.

Here they are resting in the bathroom sink after a soak in some Eucalan.

More pictures and a full post tomorrow (actually tonight, as it's past midnight, but you know what I mean).

Whew, where did the week go?

I had a bit of a glitch with Typepad not forwarding the comments for the last post, so I'm afraid I haven't replied to any of them.  It's all fixed now so normal service and communication will resume.

Jill was asking about the yarnover braids and what I thought of them.  She also asked for some closeups.  Jill, I've done my best but my camera does not want to take a closeup of these mittens.  Maybe the patterning confuses it but for whatever reason it is very difficult to get a good picture.  I even braved the cold and the curious stares of the neighbours to stand out on my balcony this morning in the hope that some natural light would help.

Not the best picture I'm afraid but hopefully it will give you an idea of the finished effect.  The braids are simple to execute, a yarnover followed by knitting two stitches together through the back of the loop, then slipping the resulting stitch back onto your left needle and repeating the process until you fall asleep finish the round.  It is slow going and requires concentration to make sure you don't forget a yarnover or slipping the stitch back onto your left needle.  I think that two colours make it easier to spot your mistakes, plus I like the effect. 

Nancy Bush doesn't say you have to, but I prefer the look of the braid if you knit the next round through the back of the loop as I think the braid sits a bit more neatly, but that may just be me.  If you look at the photo above, the brown and white braid at the bottom of the photo has the next round knitted normally while the one towards the top has the next round knitted through the back of the loop and looks, to me at least, less droopy.

The cuff is definitely the slowest bit (as I think I said before).  Now I'm about halfway up the last pattern repeat before I start the finger shaping, then it's just the thumb to do.  I hope to finish the knitting tonight, which gives me tomorrow to sew ends in and block.  This is of course, if I am correct in thinking the Olympics finish on Sunday.  If they don't, can someone please tell me quickly, especially if they finish tomorrow.