Ice-Cream Socks - finished!

This is Pair #4 for this year :D

As you can tell, i am really enjoying sock knitting again which is marvelous given that i have 148 entries on Ravelry in the sock yarn category. This doesn't mean 148 pairs of socks though. Oh no! That's 148 pairs of socks plus enough leftovers to make another 148 pairs of socks! If i can knit a pair of socks in a month that means i can knit a pair of socks a month for the next 24 years and 8 months :D

That is of course not going to happen lol
Quite a few "sock yarns" in my stash are far too nice to use for socks. I have made a decision only to use wool and nylon blends for socks as the pairs i have knitted with pure wool have worn through too quickly and i am not the kind of knitter that can throw something away after wearing something for less time than it took to make it!!

So, anyway, all that waffling leads me on to show you Pair #4!



With the rather elderly looking PukeyLukey wanting to get in on the act lol



Here you can see the difference between the inside and outside! :D

I enjoyed knitting them inside out actually, i like the reverse stocking stitch pattern without having to do all that pesky purling but i am still undecided about the afterthought heel. It is a bit too shallow for my foot despite me putting in extra rows on the second sock and the placement of the lifeline was a bit hit and miss and not being able to try the foot on to get the toe in the right place means it is a little short.
It's good that i am able to unpick it and knit a new heel should i need to but i'm not sure that outweighs all the bad points.

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

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)

Crochet Lace fingerless Mitts

I made these for my Secret Santa Swap partner Janice after i found the pattern in her Ravelry queue.
I altered it a little bit due to the fact that i took the project out with me but forgot to take the pattern so the thumbhole is probably wrong but they work so that's the main thing ;o)

I edged the thumbhole with crab stitch to give it a bit of stability ;o)

I had tried several edgings (i still didn't have the pattern with me) and finally tried crab stitch which i thought looked great! It was only when i got home and looked at the pattern that i discovered that that was what i was meant to do anyway :oD
I think it goves a lovely edging and will definitely be using it for more projects in future :o)

Pattern: Crochet Lace Fingerless Mitts
Yarn: Yarn Yard Bonny in shade Delicate
Mods: I knitted the cuff first and then did a round of dc in the live stitches

January socks - DONE!

They were finished in time to enter them in the CTnY monthly draw but unfortunately i was away from home at the end of January and completely forgot to enter them! Ah, well, at least i got them finished ;o)

The striping has come out very strangely. The first sock has striped with one row per colour but the second sock striped with two rows per colour! It's only noticeable on the foot and there is some rather pretty spiralling on the cuff and all in all i am very happy with them :oD

I have them entered in the Sockdown January draw in the Sock Knitter's Anonymous group on Ravelry and this is the first time i have taken part. I really enjoyed the challenge of finding the right pattern for the yarn and i think i have succeeded. The textured cuff breaks up the slight pooling and i love the stripey feet :oD

Project Details:
Pattern: Noviembre Socks
Yarn: Yarn Yard Bonny - Club yarn September 2007 ::blushing::
Needles: 2mm for the ribbing and feet (magic loop)
2.25mm for the cuff (dpns)
Mods: Firstly i cast on 70 stitches to allow for the thinner yarn weight used
Secondly i changed the rib as i didn’t like the 4st rib pattern which then went into a 5 stitch leg pattern, it didn’t flooooow! Rib was changed to Ktbl, P, K2, P (the same as the leg pattern)
Finally i added an extra inch of stocking stitch to the top of the short row heel as it’s too shallow for me otherwise ;o)

January Socks - one finished!

YAY! :oD

I've even sewn the ends in :oD

Quick knits

Set made for the gorgeous Jackson as part of Terri's Sock Swap parcel
Yarn used is Yarn Yard Hug in the Grubby Tiger colourway - i am finally "Paying it Forward"!

Set made for a friend's little girl who needs some warmth
Yarn used is Sirdar Click DK, it's actually more like a 4ply though and i knit it on the same size needles as the first set!
The hat is 14" across unstretched and the mittens are about 5¼" long including the rib.

The hats are one of Woolly Wormhead's patterns - Baby Tri-peak and the mittens are both made with Malin's fab pattern
I used 2.75mm needles for everything and my gauge came out at 7½ stitches per inch.

Clamshell Wrap - Part Four!

may/jan/aug/apr
Originally uploaded by franneyk


Clamshell wrap, possible combinations
Originally uploaded by franneyk

I do like this combination but i'm not sure there will be enough for a decent size wrap with just four skeins - there's 459 yards per skein and from looking at the project details on Ravelry i will need approximately 2,109 yards, mind you that's only 200-odd yards short, i could use some of the toning mini-skeins maybe? That might also help to break up the variegated colours?
I will have to have a think!
I have more combinations to photograph, i got my friends at it whent hey came round at the weekend and we came up with quite a nice scheme, but i have run out of blogging time this morning! It's time to go and do some more painting of the van interior, today is coat number two, let's see if i can get more on the wood than my arms today!! :oD

Clamshell Wrap - Part Three!

This is quite a popular choice

apr/jan/may/mar/aug
Originally uploaded by franneyk


Clamshell wrap, possible combinations
Originally uploaded by franneyk

It has flashes of colour in the blue/green and yet it's still quite neutral, is it tooo dull though??

Clamshell Wrap - Part Two!

Here we have December 07, March 07, June 08, March 08 and September 07

dec/mar/jun/sept/mar
Originally uploaded by franneyk



Clamshell wrap, possible combinations
Originally uploaded by franneyk

Noooooooo!! Way too colourful, this definitely resembles clown vomit which is the look i am steering away from!!

Clamshell Wrap - Part One!

Here we have (from left to right)
May 08, March 08, Mint Choc Ice, January 08 and Delicate

may/mar/mint/jan/delicate
Originally uploaded by franneyk



Clamshell wrap, possible combinations
Originally uploaded by franneyk

I'm unsure about the pink in Delicate, it's quite overpowering

my yarn yard stash!!

my yarn yard stash!!
Originally uploaded by franneyk

In preparation for the Clamshell Wrap, a photo of my entire Yarn Yard stash. This is a good two years worth of purchases and Club yarns, which i had to stop last year with much regret :o(
The plan is to knit one of these, using only YY sock yarn, i had wanted to just use Club yarns but i think i will have to open it out to the stash in order to get the best combination of colours. I want it to be colourful, but i also want it to remain quite neutral so that i'm not limited as to when i can wear it ;o)

The following posts will chart my progress over the past two weeks of picking out combinations and knitting up the swatches. I currently have 15 swatches and am now working on picking out at least 5 that will work together - the combinations that i chose while the yarns were still in the skein looked totally different when they were balled up and different again when they were swatched, it's been a fascinating process for me so far.

Sock updates!

Muscari Sock One
Originally uploaded by franneyk

First up, "lavendula" - renamed them cos they really do look like Lavender flowers to me ;o)
Didn't really enjoy knitting the short row heel, although it's not as shallow as some i have knitted and it's wider which helps with the fit, i should have done more short rows than the pattern directed as there are pointy bits on the heel. This sock is just too big all over and i am quite disappointed as i really love this colourway and wanted sockses for meeeeeeeee! I shall have to go and sulk for a short while! ;o)
I'm going to knit one more lace repeat and then the top of the foot will be in a 3x2 rib.

Look away now!

If you haven't yet received the latest installment of your Yarn Yard sock club yarn then don't look any further!!

It came last week but along with lots of other things i completely forgot to blog about it so here it is now!

It's SCRUMMY! I didn't guess the colours from the clue AT ALL! ::lol::

watch out

here it comes

are you ready?

jolly good!

:oD



yarn yard sock - club yarn march 08
Originally uploaded by franneyk

Just some random mitt photos :o)

cranford mitts - pretty pattern
Originally uploaded by franneyk

They are just so pretty, i feel i need to show them off ;o)

Mitt one - thumb gusset
Originally uploaded by franneyk

mitt one - finished
Originally uploaded by franneyk

nicer thumb gusset
Originally uploaded by franneyk

merin-ohhhhhhhhh bugger!

I went a bit mad :oD
This is all Yarn Yard merin-oooooohhhhhhhh! in doses of 50g for Cranford Mitts and anything else it might want to become. I can see a hat in it's future too ;o)

I'm struggling to take nice photos at the moment, it was a lovely bright day today but the colours came out either too dark or too washed out so once i figure it out i'll take some better pics.

My first pair will be made with Mysteron and Spring Greens and they'll be cast on tonight with any luck... although there is a beaded necklace and bracelet set that i want to make that i got from Hobbycraft when i went with Mum last week. I'm thinking that that probably needs some nice bright daylight though as it looks quite fiddly.

Oh MY!

I only went and finished it!! :oD



Cast off last night but couldn't get decent photos - want to see some magic?

TADA! Finished my first BSJ!
Originally uploaded by franneyk

I turned it into a jacket!!

Isn't that amazing?
I am totally in awe of designers, who would have thought that a piece of mis-shaped fabric could become something so utterly adorable?

:oD

Damn and blast!

I really want to get the final 3 squares done for the Bamboo blankie but i've only gawn and lost me crochet hook! I can't even use a substitute as i don't actually know what size hook i was using! It's an old bone (??) hook that is just so comfy to use and although i think it's a 4mm i'm not entirely sure! I guess i could do a square with a metal hook and see how they compare but i don't want anything to bugger this project up for me :o(

Soooooooo... as a little light relief from the stress of the loss of the hook ::winks:: i decided to cast on my very first Baby Surprise Jacket :oD
Norty aren't i ;o)

What have we here?
Originally uploaded by franneyk

So, here it is at about 15 garter ridges (or thereabouts)
I knid of got a bit lost on the counting and whatnot but it seems to be going... OK :oD

I am using Yarn Yard October Club yarn on a 3.5mm needle and the resulting fabric seems to be very nice so far. Nice and drapey and not stiff at all which seems perfect to me for a baby jacket. I thought this colour would be fine for either a boy or a girl, it isn't gender specific and Lisa really isn't into pastels (nor am i for that matter but then it's not for me anyway ::lol:: )
I really hope she likes it, but knowing Lisa she would soon tell me if she didn't ;o)

I've just noticed...

how blue my "favourites" are! I always thought my favourite colours were orange and purple, it seems i was wrong as i don't have any orange in there at all! (Apart from my birthday Trekking of course *wink*)

While i'm here...

It's still raining and has been all day! I expect the Posties are quite glad to be off work in this weather!
I hope the strike action is resolved soon and everything gets back to normal, although with more one day strikes planned for next week it's not looking likely. Will they carry it on through the Christmas season i wonder?
I'm desperate for my Yarn Yard parcel to arrive, as well as this month's club yarn i have a couple of skeins due to arrive that i bought with my birthday money and a skein of yarn that Natalie is sending as part of the Pay It Forward thread on CTnY. Which reminds me! I must dig out some goodies to pass the love on :o)