Anastasia Socks

I told you in a previous post about knitting some Anastasia socks and I’ve finally gotten around to photographing them:

Long Time No Post

So, almost two years between posts…  At least there is a lot I can tell you about!  In a nutshell, there are a lot of finished projects, started projects and hibernating ones.

Wordless Wednesday: Father’s day Socks

All finished in plenty of time for Father’s Day!

Second Sock-itus

I’ve finished the first sock, but there’s only so many sock pictures I can put on my blog without being called a fetishist.  I’m 22 rows away from finishing the second sock’s foot (toe-up remember, so a little under half way) but that I got that far is a miracle in itself.  I cast on the second sock no less than five times, once I even managed to finish the toe increases before I ripped it back and started again.  The figure-of-eight cast-on is a pain in the bum to cast on from (for a demonstration click here), but I like the seamless effect it gives and I hate grafting so I guess it’s the best way to do it and it best just to get on with it.
Today I had a sock revival – my first socks were dug from the back of my sock drawer and they go perfectly with my blue tie-die shorts.  Natural Dye Studio’s “Chi” paired with the violet green sock generator.  Sock inspiration!

Slow Sock Knitter

I don’t know how all these sock knitting bloggers manage to have pairs of socks done in under a week.  As you can see after three or four days since I last blogged, Election day/Father’s day socks have grown by all of about an inch and a half! Maybe another pattern repeat and the ribbing, then I’ll be finished.  Second Sock Syndrome here we come! 

Might do a smaller pair for myself afterward but I have a huge list of other projects to sort out too.  Unravelling and reknitting my blood shawl is a big priority, and of course I need to finish some more GAAA squares, not to mention the cross stitch that is still sat in the naughty corner! 

Half way through a project is of course the time when you get to pondering new projects, and i know someone who would appreciate a green and gold Manchester United/Newton Heath football scarf.  I’ve yet to finish my lace scarf design, although I’ve cobbled together most of the pattern and now it’s just fine tuning the details (the bit that i hate). I’ve also still got the ball of fawn coloured crepe acrylic that I was going to knit a teddy with, and I’d still like to do that but with a few tweaks to the pattern I used last time.  The trouble with keeping my stash in clear plastic bags is when I walk past them, my brain goes into overdrive!

Election Day / Father’s Day socks

So I picked the boyfriend socks pattern again, because it’s a nice compromise for the man who wants plain plain plain, and the knitter who thinks boring boring boring!  I’m finding it a bit tougher than last time because I have darker yarn and can’t quite see the stitches properly unless I’m right underneath a bright light, but the Cygnet 4ply “truly wool rich” I’m using is turning into a really pleasant yarn to knit with.  Plus it’s superwash wool, so I might be using what’s left over to make some for myself!  I did most of what you see on Election Day itself (and what a farce that turned out to be!) but because the yarn was delivered in an extremely timely fashion almost a week before(thanks Modern Knitting!), I had already cast on, knit the toe and started the foot so I got the fiddly bits out of the way at least!

Boyfriend Socks v2

So I’m thinking of knitting Boyfriend Socks again, this time for my dad.  Cygnet do a nice 4ply yarn that’s good for socks, so I’m trying to pick between the manly (read: dark and plain) colours of Navy Blue, Pine Mix, Grey Mix and Black.  I’m concerned the Navy and Black will be too dark to show the pattern so I’m leaning towards the grey – it goes with most things after all!

As you may remember, last time they came out a bit on the small side, lovely as they were, so I’m making sure I have the right measurements before I begin!

Aaron's Finished Socks

Well the socks have been finished for a few days now, and I've finally sewn in the ends of photographed them!  I've popped them in the wash and soon they'll be ready to post, just in time to cheer Aaron up after his spot of bad news :-(





Really loved the pattern, although I can honestly say these are unique since I've somehow managed to reverse the cabling on one sock!  This was only my second pair of socks, and I have to admit I do prefer the toe-up method using a provisional cast-on rather than a figure-8!  Again, the short-row heel is far easier than a heel-flap but i did find knitting all those wraps quite annoying.  I did find a blog post here which explains an alternative method to wrapping stitches, so I'll give that a go next time!


Vital Statistics:

Pattern:  "Boyfriend socks" by Alice Bell

Yarn:  Stylecraft Life 4ply in Mint Green.  Used 68 grams.

Needle size: 2.25mm (My Purple Pins, reviewed on Dooyoo.co.uk)

Size: I made the small 9" circumferance, and the socks are an American size 10½.

Time Taken: 12 days, but i had a day's break between socks!

This one's for you

As some of you may have noticed from my progress bars, I've started a new pair of socks for my friend Aaron.  He's been nagging me for a pair since I started knitting again, and since I have so much yarn left from Pioneer, I've been coerced into using it to knit a pair of "Boyfriend Socks" by Alice Bell.  The pattern is pretty neat, toe up with short-row heels.  This will be the first time I've done toe-up, and last time i used a heel-flap, but i think I'm really getting to like this method of construction.  I've already turned the heel and I'm about to start the cuff, which means extending the pattern from the top of the foot all the way around the cuff, but thats only 6 inches worth and I reckon I'll be starting the second sock tomorrow!  I may end up having to do another pair as I'm almost sure a certain someone was eyeing them covetously...

Just to briefly explain the progress bars - They're a nifty bit of code from the clever people at Ravelry which relays how much of your projects you have completed.  So at the moment you can see Aaron's socks there, and my Great American Aran Afghan, but when I first added the bars to my blog, you would have seen Pioneer and the Afghan.  No doubt some time in the not too distant future, both will be finished and this bit of blurb will make no sense at all :-P  Still I thought it was a pretty cool way to keep you all up to date on all my projects.

It's been a while!

Well it's definitely been a while since I wrote to you all last, I hope you're all doing well and keeping as busy as I am!  There's lots of news, but I'll try and keep it brief.

I've finished a few bits and peices, like the fern and waves lace scarf for my mum on mother's day and Amused from Knitty winter 2008.  I'm also about a third of the way through knitting The Great American Aran Afghan.  I joined a knit-a-long for this one, but it's not particularly taxing - just needs a lot of concentration!  The real challenge will be joining all the squares together, there are 24 and a border!

I seem to be having issues with socks.  On the whole, sock knitting is not difficult as long as you follow the instructions, listen to advice people give you and concentrate on you're grafting.  My problems are with sizing.  I tried a pair from the Violet Green Sock Generator which weren't too bad, but a bit short - not a problem when you can just add a few extra rows.  I did however find them really baggy and I can't decide whether it was the pattern or the yarn.  I've done maybe three rows of Media's Socks from "Favourite Socks" by Nancy Bush, but they've gone on the naughty pile because I'm not even 50% sure they'll fit me!

I've just ordered 300g of Stylecraft "life 4ply" in mint green for Pioneer from the latest knitty (spring 2009).  Not 100% sure I love the colour, but will have a bash at it anyway, if in the end I hate it, I'll frog it and turn it into something else - I have a friend who loves that colour and I'm sure I could find a pattern to make her smile!

On a related knitting note - The Angel yarns forums went down in dubious circumstances, so we have all moved to Pheonix Knitting Forums.

I've been doing lots of non-knitting related stuff too. I got my first peice of coursework back from my degree and got a really good mark, so I'm really proud of myself for that!  Exams on the 2nd of June though!  It's going to be tough because I work as a polling clerk, and polling day is on the 4th of June this year so I'll be dead on my feet by the end of that week!  I've also been seriously thinking of putting my horse in foal, but given she's a little fat at the moment, step one is getting her fit and it's taking a lot of work!

Finally, I've spent a lot of time reviewing products on DooYoo.co.uk under the nickname Poison_kitty.  Currently I don't have that many knitting-related reviews, but the few I've written have been received really well, particularly a review on Denise Interchangable Needles which earnt me my first crown!  Future reviews will feature more knitting books, so pop over and have a look.

Update

As normal, Ive been meaning to update this but just havent gotten around to it.

Finished a few bits and peices and have finally uploaded the photographs for it! So, in no particular order:

The little baby hat I knitted ages ago and didn't post photos for... if it looks an odd shape it's because its perched on a spindle of cds! I think you can just about see the yellow flecks in the bobble, it came out quite well really!




This is the palindrome scarf i half-knit on holliday in about 3 days, the other half took another 2 weeks! It's made from wendy serenity Aran and is in colourway purple haze. I never ever take it off, it's just too warm. Oh, and it's 6 foot long! A quick note to anyone considering the pattern - there is so much cabling that your hands will fall off. Seriously.





This bookmark took me about 2 hours to knit in total, although i did it in little bits because 2-stitch cabling is hell on my fingers, and I'd already knit enough cables to last me the year when i made my scarf! I used a stitch pattern from a dictionary, and added the border, a tassle and an eyelet to feed it through. If anyone wants the pattern, I'd be willing to pass it on, I prudently wrote it down as i was doing it!



These are my first pair of socks I've knitted - I bought a lovely set of 5 2.5mm dpns called "purple pins" from Knit n Caboodle (prompt delivery, didn't charge until dispatch) which have been my inspiration, after all you need to have the right tools to start with! I knit them with the super expensive chi sockyarn which i bought at The Natural Dye Studio open day thingy i went to in the summer, and they're so comfy, but i feel so guilty about wearing them cos they're handwash only... The surprising thing about the yarn though was that i only used 45g of it to make this pair of socks, so I've just started a second pair...

This is little blue teddy, the first of two i intend to knit (one in blue, one in fawn). This little chap is for a little boy being born in early january, and will be sent off along with all the other little things i knitted. The pattern is from jean greenhowe's Traditional favourites - The knitting was as easy as pie but the sewing up was another matter. The head, no matter how hard i tried, would not go on straight. I matched up seams to the best of my ability, but after sewing around the neckline, looked more like one of those tortured teddies that end up being used as some sort of voodoo doll for children! I eventually managed to get the neck so that he was looking in a more healthy direction, but it's still not straight and I'm not unpicking it again! The scarf was made from some white acryllic, couldn't tell you what it was though except that it was the first ball under my questing fingers. And thank god I've always got half a ball of some sort of black yarn lying around! Now all i have to do is work up the motivation to get the other one done too (will be posted to a lovely friend who is attempting to help me through my degree, more on that later!)

Thats all my finished objects... now i look back I've actually done quite a lot!

Update on shawl - it's still not finished - the sewing of the border has gone badly, it is in the naughty corner and will probably stay there til after christmas now. After hours of faffing about and arguing with my mother about how the corners should be sewn, we finally decided on a corner shape. The long and short of the problem is in the fact that she got the measuring tape out, made lots of precise calculations about how much of the work to use for the corners and how much would be needed in between, then completely disregarded them and pulled a different number out of thin air. Guess what? It doesn't fit. I don't want to talk about it anymore, it makes me sad.

Been planning as a future project a pair of rather theatrical armwarmers from some mohair that Mo sent me, with pointed cuffs that come down over my hand, and a big thick ribbon to lace it up the side, since I'll be knitting it straight I think. Unless i pull off the 3 rows i knit to start a top on my 4mm circs... Now there's a thought!

In other news, my love life still sucks and will remain in such a condition because there is no such thing as men when it comes to the equine industry, seems like what few there are go into hiding or something! It's gotten so bad now that i have various family members keeping their eyes peeled for me!
My degree is confusing the crap out of me but that isn't anything new. It's not the learning bit that is confusing, it's the process of organising to take exams and do coursework and the general administration of it all. I'm not the best person for getting out there and talking to people, and when i get worried about things i have a tendancy to get over-emotional about it and panic over nothing.
And I've still not had my refund from angelyarns yet. And it's been 2 months. Not Happy.