Moogly Block 8.1

I'm a little behind still but I am gradually getting there. My latest finish for the CAL is block #8.1 "Princess" by Melinda Miller

Sock #4.1

I spent a lovely weekend at a new VW show called T.O.M.I.E. (The Only Meet Is Essex lol) and we had glorious warm sunshine most of the time, except when the sun went behind the thick grey clouds and then it got very cold! Surprisingly... ;)

So anyway, there was lots of time spent sitting around outside and i managed to finish off the first of the Ice-cream socks :D



I am really happy with the fit of the sock considering it is my first afterthought heel but i am not sure i should have done the heel and toe inside out too, i don't like the way it looks at the moment. That might change once it's been washed and worn and besides, i've sewn my ends in now...

Socks with Sarah #4

So i finally cast them on after some slightly stressful experiences with the circle blanket... It would appear i have totally lost concentration with it! I started out with a 4.5mm hook (possibly 4mm) and then proceeded to go down to a 3.5mm hook which obviously means that some circles are bigger than others... I have also squared some off differently to others with a group of five doubletrebles in the corners on some and a group pf three doubletrebles in the corners on the rest...
Needless to say they don't all fit together properly and i am going to have to do some fiddling to get it to work!

Ho hum! At least i can't bugger up socks! :D

With this in mind and still sulking i decided to cast on for my Ice-cream socks at long last! They have been in the planning for years... I queued the pattern in 2010 when i first saw it and i have had the yarn since 2007 when i was a member of the Yarn Yard sock yarn club.
Oh dear, i am very good at collecting and not so good at using. I am trying to change that though.
Honest :D



I've decided to try out an afterthought heel on this pair. The main reason being that i am doing the cuff, heel and toe in a toning colour and when i took them to knit group last week i was ready to start the heel but only had the main colour with me. D'oh!
I figure if it happens again i can just get on and knit my waste yarn in, knit the foot then sort it out when i finish the toe :D

This picture doesn't do the pattern justice really as it is knitted inside out to avoid all that tedious purling :D



Here's the start of the sock. I knit the cuff in "Toffee" and half a pattern repeat then striped the two colours to blend them a bit and then moved on to the main colour "Mint Choc Ice"

I love the little ice-cream cones that are appearing :D

Moogly Block #4.2

Slowly catching up. Veeeery slowly lol but i am getting there!

I've played with the colour placement again, and i also did the later rounds slightly differently to get a different look.

I kinda like it! :D

I also spent some time taking nicer pictures and playing with Aviary in Flickr although i now realise i forgot to add a frame :/

I took the pile of Moogly Blocks to knit group with me last time and spent a couple of hours sewing the ends in which was fun. I think i have three left that need tidying out of the ten blocks i have made and i now have 6 blocks to make in order to get up to date!!

Best get hooking!

Finishes!

This is my second go at this block and i am so much happier with how it has turned out than the first!

The block is "Hugs n Kisses" by Aurora Suominen and i took some inspiration on colour placement from the talented members of the Ravelry MooglyCAL group ;)

The completion of this block leaves me with three more to do to get up to date, and i think i have about a week to do it which should be achievable now that the socks are off the needles. I'm not going to cast on another pair now until my current batch of projects on the go are completed because i find that the sock is taking precedence where really it should be a back seat project!

Speaking of finished socks....

They are so finished i have even sewn the ends in!! :D

Circle Socks by Anne Campbell
I ::heart:: them so much, i cannot believe they have been in my Rav queue since January 2009 and i have only just got round to making them! I'm so glad i matched my stripes up too, i wouldn't normally be that bothered about matching socks but i think these socks deserve it :D

So, things to finish before i cast on new socks are:
Roxanne Shawl -
Hedgerow Mitts
Moogly blocks #4.2, #5.2 and #6.2!

At least that will give me some time to ponder which pair is next on the needles ;)

Moogly Block #6.1

More V's Please by Melinda Miller
Really happy with how this block has come out. I feel like i am getting better with my colour placement on my first attempt now rather than making an ugly block and then getting it right!
Followed the instructions to round ten and then did two rounds of trebles instead of a round of half trebles.

Moogly Block #5.1

Moogly Block #5.1
a photo by franneyk on Flickr.

Lion's Mane by April Moreland
Really happy with the colour placement on this one! Nice simple to follow block, didn't have any trouble with it at all other than adding on extra rounds to get it up to size.

Circle socks

Circle socks
a photo by franneyk on Flickr.

Thought i'd upload a photo just to prove I am actually knitting at the moment!!

These are my Circle Socks using Regia sock yarn
One sock is being knit with 2.25mm Chiagoos and the other with my fancy new "Sock Rockets" - nickel plated sharp tips with lovely flexible cables <3 p="">I thought i'd go fancy and made sure i started each sock in the same place of the colour repeats and so far it's working out just about right!
This pattern has a lovely Eye of Partridge heel which make them squishy and hard wearing and i fancied a change from short rows :D

Moogly Block #4.1

This is installment 4 in the Moogly Blog CAL, the block is called Veronica's Rose
I made some adjustments to the final rounds to get it to the right size by repeating the eyelet round and adding another round of "ribbon" and i am really pleased with it, So pleased in fact, i have sewn my ends in LOL

I'm not hanging about...

Following my first pair of finished socks my ‎Second pair have been cast on and some good progress made‎, I made it this far in just one evening!!
If only the needles were more comfortable, I thought i'd try the shorter tipped HiyaHiya needles but I find them too fiddly really.

Charybdis Socks

The pattern is Charybdis by the same designer as Scylla ;)

Moogly Block #1

In an attempt to use up yet more stash i have decided to join a CAL which is being hosted by Moogly.
It will consist of 24 12" blocks, each of which will be revealed every other Thursday and run until November.
After a rummage through the stash i've decided to use some of the aran i got when Lisa closed the shop, Sirdar and Stylecraft in Blue Heather, Woodsmoke and Lavender and i'm using a 5,5mm hook. I'll use the same 3 colours throughout, adding in extra colours should i need them :)

It was quite hard but I persevered!

Some things to note:

The UK version of the pattern is missing some details that are in the US version and the photo tutorial

• It is recommended that you use a size larger hook for the surface crochet.
• On round 9 all stitches are worked through the Back Loop Only, not just the first stitch.
• On Round 10 it is recommended to "tack" the second round of surface crochet through the back post, as you do for Round 16.
•  There are also stitch count discrepancies between the photo tutorial/US instructions and the UK instructions which leads me to believe the instructions must be different.

I've decided to make a second block following the US instructions and see how it comes out in comparison

Phryne's Mitts - finished

Phryne's Mitts - finished
Originally uploaded by franneyk

They're not Phryne's, they're Stacey's! :D
I saw the KAL for these mitts quite by chance and thought the pattern was rather lovely so i decided to make a pair for a friend for her birthday. I took a few days dithering over what yarn to use so i cast on on Monday and finished the first mitt on Thursday evening. That didn't leave me much time to make the second one what with her birthday being on Saturday!! I knit on them whenever i could during the day on Friday and had a mammoth non-stop knitting session in the evening which took me about a third of the way through the cuff ribbing. Like i said, a mammoth session! LOL
I had them finished with all the ends sewn in by 11am on Saturday but couldn't deliver them til Sunday evening but still, i met my deadline and she likes them! :D

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone on O2

Pablo Blue KAL

I finished them at 10pm on the May Day Bank Holiday :oD

They fit really well, even over my insteppy bit and the gusset and heel are so easy to make with no picking up of stitches, just fab!
I will definitely use this recipe in future and just substitute the leg pattern for something else.

one sock - many challenges!

So, this sock is taking part in:
My personal challenge to knit from stash
My challenge to make at least one thing a month
A Pablo Blue KAL at CTnY
The Bank Holiday challenge at CTnY
and very nearly fit the March Sockdown challenge on the SKA board at Ravelry but because i didn't cast on before the end of March it doesn't quite make it!
It's a great pattern, i chose to do 2x2 ribbing on the foot purely because the fit is better for me and i don't like patterned feet but other than that i have made no mods!
I used Judy's Magic Cast-on for the toe, followed the gusset and heel flap as per the instructions (using Socktopus' instructions for shadow wraps instead of the suggested W&T) then when i hit the leg i started the pattern and have done 8 repeats and then ribbed for the remainder of the white stripe.
Before i started the sock i made sure that both balls started in the right place and even went so far as to put the starting knot in the same place so that both socks match! It doesn't usually bother me that much but i think this pair will look better if they are identical ;o)

Spring Cap

One ball down!
I started knitting at about 7 and this took about 3 hours while watching the tellybox :oD

I'm going to make the body a little longer than the green one before i start the decreases as that is my only niggle with it, the body is just a little too short so it sits way back on my head, if it were a little longer i could wear it further forward and it would still be a beret and not turn into a beanie ;o)

I have to say, i am LOVING the colour! I wasn't sure about it "in the ball" but it's just coming out gorgeously, it has a much more purple feel to it than it looked which is always a bonus!

Camilla Mitts - Finished!

I had a marathon knitting session this weekend while i watched "24 Hour Panel People" on the internet.
I started watching at 12pm Saturday and went to bed at just gone 6am Sunday! I didn't knit continuously though cos i was chatting on the internet, making tea, eating etc... plus i didn't want to give myself an injury!
I made it as far as the thumb row on Saturday and decided that would be a good place to stop for the night so when i picked it up on Sunday i was on row 26 of 43 and i flew through that while watching tv in a comfy chair as opposed to an ergonomic office chair which is where i spent Saturday.

The mitts are lovely, the merino is warm and soft, i love the pattern and the colours BUT i do not like several things :o(
The fairisle section is too long, i could easily get rid of the first pattern repeat and replace it with ribbing.
I HATE the thumbs, the hole is too big, it's in the wrong place, it doesn't fit right and it's hard to pick up the stitches with the fairisle pattern.
72 stitches for the ribbing is way too much, i ended up decreasing the purl sections to one stitch all the way round and then increasing on the body back up to 72.

And finally, through nobody's fault but my own, the left mitt is considerably bigger than the right! I have the same problem with socks as well, it's just as well my left hand and foot are larger than the right ;o)

Mystery Hat A

I can finally post pics of my finished hat!
The pattern has been officially released now so if you like the look of it i can recommend you go buy it now ;o)

I used three different colours in Yarn Yard Hug as i didn't have enough of any one colour to complete it. It's a shame as i don't think the thick woolly hug is really suited to this pattern but it's produced such a lovely warm and pretty hat that i am going to keep it as it is.

I alternated the lighter colour with the main colour for the crown decreases which has produced a lovely effect, and i am sure it will look even lovelier once i actually get around to blocking it!
(I have two blocking projects awaiting a damn good pinning out at the moment. This hat and my orange Aurantium Blossom Shawl which i found neatly folded up in a project bag! It's been there for a year, it's about time it got shown some sunlight!)

Shame it doesn't suit me!!
;o)

It's Mystery KAL time again!

with Woolly Wormhead


and this is what i am using for mine :o)

Yarn Yard Hug in Circumstance and Aubergine

January Socks!

I have started on my January SockaMonth socks at last! All the drinking of Christmas and New Year is done now so i am sober enough to knit :oD
I picked out the "mystery" wool (i have them all bagged up so i can't cheat lol) and came up with this Yarn Yard Club yarn from September '07!!
As i am part of several different knitting groups i thought i'd challenge myself further by trying to fit my monthly sock in with a current group activity. This sock is now also taking part in the Sockdown January in the Sock Knitters Anonymous group :oD

The pattern is Noviembre and i have slightly modified the ribbing so that it fits with the pattern ;o)

It originally had 1x1 ribbing with a 5 stitch pattern and i did not like! :oD

I think the textured nature of the pattern helps to break up the extreme busyness of this yarn, but i shall be happy with such lovely bright socks in any case :oD

Oh, and another KAL!

I'd almost forgotten about this one! But only because we have to wait for the yarn to be dyed and the pattern to be written!
This is a shawl KAL and it's being run by Jon of EasyKnits, this is not like your average KAL, this one will include a shawl sized Sushi roll which is being dyed especially for the KAL! If you'd like more details about the KAL and for sign-ups go visit the Ravelry group and read the first post :oD