princessdeia

February 17th 2011
Filed under General, Socks

At the moment, I seem to be obsessed with the colour red! I’m not sure where it started, but I have been painting my nails red, wearing red lipstick (due to the fact I finally found a lipstick that suits my skin tone), and of course knitting with red!

This is the 2luvcrew pattern from last years Knit Love Club, done in the Bill Compton yarn, Alice dyed for the Bloodlines Sock Club. I think the sock look like little tiny hearts – perfect for Valentine’s Day, however I didn’t finish them in time.

My other obsession this week, has been Pinterest, we are planning on decorating our bedroom, so I am spending hours online looking for inspiration and this online pin-board is perfect to help me sort my ideas but also to get ideas. Of course I had to combine both my loves and am working on a Red board

September 9th 2010
Filed under Knit Love Club 2010, Socks

I actually finished these socks a while ago, but wanted to wait until after the watershed to post about them, then I wore them, so had to wait until I had time to wash them before posting! This sock wasn’t that challenging, but the lace pattern was so easy to memorise that they were knitted up in no time!

The only “new” technique for me was the casting on – which left these lovely little picots that lead into the twisted rib. Once again Alice didn’t disappoint as this pattern just flows so beautifully, the inclusion of little transitional charts works the rib into the pattern than then on to the heel and eventually the toe. I love this pattern so much, I am already planning to knit another pair.

August 5th 2010
Filed under Knit Love Club 2010, Socks

Way back at the end of May, I meet up with Alice very briefly to pick up June’s installment of the Knit Love Club. The gorgeous yarn arrived, with a packet of beads and extremely strange beading needle. So of course I was really eager to start this project. After a hiccup with the beads (it took me ages to thread them onto the yarn), I was happily knitting away.

I finished the first sock pretty quickly, but since then I have lost my knitting mojo! I figured Knit Nation would be the perfect place toget my mojo back and finish the sock. As it turns out I only really had one opportunity to knit when I was checking tickets on the door, but during this time I some how managed to lose my first sock!

I was so close to the finishing line, and now I am back at the midway point! I have very little of the yarn left, but have put a plea out of Ravelry to see if I can have anyone else’s leftover yarn to finish these socks. I am extremely annoyed at myself for losing the sock, and also a little upset about the hard work for nothing. I am trying to be positive and think about wearing these socks in the autumn (I figure it will be then by the time I have finished them).

May 12th 2010
Filed under Knit Love Club 2010, Socks

I am a little late blogging about this sock – but I figure it is okay as spring seems to be a little late this year too! The beautiful spring yarn was part of the March installment of the Knit Love Club. As I have mentioned before Alice always manages to challenge us where the sock club is concerned and this pattern was no different. In fact it crossed the border out of my knitting save zone.

Like most people the knitting techinique I have never tried is steeking, my opinion is simple, why would I want to cut my beautiful garment that has taken me so long to knit! This pattern involved a strange form of horizontal steeking used in the Cat Bordhi Personal Footprint book, you can see a video of the technique here.

So this funny flat fish looking piece of knitting was turned into the foot of the sock – with the leg appearing between the two safety lines, It was an extremely strange construction but there wasn’t a lot of sewing involved so I guess that was a good think – I had to look for the silver lining somewhere. But I would add the sock fits beautifully.

March 21st 2010
Filed under General, Socks

As I mentioned before one of the reason I loved the Socktopus Sock Club so much was the “interesting” construction of each of the socks. So when I saw a pattern with the most amazing heel, climbing up the ranks of the most popular pattern ranks on ravelry, I had to knit it!

As soon as I finished my Rumpled sock (photos to come), I cast on Skew! I normally don’t care too much about gauge on socks – but I read on ravelry it is extremely important in this sock – and I am glad I read that as I needed to go up a needle size to get the right tension.

In effect it is really just a stocking stitch sock with clever increases and decreases so it knits up pretty quickly, but I love the unusual construction – I keep stopping to try the sock on to see how it fits and get an idea of what part I am currently knitting!

Once I got to the heel – I was completely amazed – it is extremely clever the way to all fits together! One this I would add is before casting on this sock save the yard of yarn for the grafting stage, I didn’t and had to temporarily use another yarn which I will unpick and re-graft once I have finished knitting.

February 5th 2010
Filed under Finished Projects 2009, Socks, socktopus club 2009

So I finally finished all 6 socks in the Sock(topus) Club from last year. I was hoping to finish them all within the 365 day period but according to my project pages on Ravelry it was 336 days

For me this sock club wasn’t just 6 lovely yarns and patterns by 5 talented designers, it was a jounrey into different constructions of socks. I considered myself an beginner to intermediate sock knitter, I have knitted numerous pairs of sock -  but I tended to pick patterns that were similar. Cuff down, with a heel flap, decreased gusset and toes. Each of the six socks in the club were constructed differently.

Om Shanti

Toe-up.
Short row toes and heel.
Kihnu Vits and corrugated rib.

Over the Garden

Toe-up (with a square toe cast on),
Heel cup
Reverse heel flap
With added vine and pod details.

Heart & Sole

Toe-up
Bias shaping for the arch
Reverse heel flap
With a lacy cuff.

Scadenza

Toe-up (with the pattern included in the increases)
Gusset increases on the sole of the foot (again in pattern)
Reverse heel flap
Cable needle-less cables
Hundreds of twisted stitches.

Socktopods

Cuff down
Dancing socktopods around the leg
Decorated heel flap.

Mince Pie Mayhem

Cuff down
Heel expansion in pattern
Heel cup
Toe decreases in wedges (more like the crown of a hat).


My favourite pattern varies almost daily, when the new shiny silver package arrive, it contained my new favourite pattern, as a knitted the sock my love for that pattern grew, then I would rediscover a previous pair of socks in my draw and fall in love with that pattern again, another day I might see the yarn and be reminded of my love and again my favourite would change!

I have already cast on, the first sock from the Knit Love Club – and again I am loving the pattern – I am having issues with the yarn but only becuase it’s colour is out of my comfort zone (I will post more about that later).

January 22nd 2010
Filed under Socks, socktopus club 2009, Stash Enhancement

Whilst I sit here still hoping the postman is going to deliver my Knit Love Sock club parcel, I thought it was the perfect time to post the details about the final package from last years Sock club.

The parcel actually arrived before Christmas (hence the pattern name), but I didn’t get a chance to cast them on until this year. The yarn is my favourite to date – a special cashmere blend from Nimu in the most amazing purple/blue colour! The pattern – Mince Pie Mayhem was designed by Alice, and the “extras” were some Soak and amazing labels to attch to your handmade goodies.

I was hoping to have these socks finished by today, but have only made it to the toe on the first sock. It seems a little silly knitting Mince Pie socks well after Christmas, so I have renamed they the blueberry pie socks as the yarn reminds me more of this!

January 11th 2010
Filed under 101 Things, socktopus club 2009

I seemed to have a bit of a slump over Christmas where knitting was concerned, now I am on a quest to get my knitting mojo back! First off I am determined to finish all the club sock from 2009 and before the Knit Love Club starts (which I think is the beginning of February). I am not doing too badly, I am on the second Socktopods sock, which I should complete tonight, all that leaves is the Mince Pie Mayhem socks to knit in three weeks. I was hoping to start some of the socks with the yarn I recieved over Christmas, but I think this is a pipe dream!

Then just to make matters worse, last weekend I fell in love with a pattern on ravelry and now all I can think about is the lovely Candy Stripe Jacket, I had a quick look on there website and discovered the yarn and pattern was available at Mrs Moon, which I found very exciting. Before Christmas, two of my local yarn stores closed down, which is extremely sad but also very fustrating, now I have an excuse to check out the new store. (I was pretending to be on a yarn diet for a few months again – but figured this was the reason to break the diet).

As well as planning all this lovely knitting projects, I also have another little project in the sidelines. For a few months now, I have been toying with the idea of setting up another blog. Somewhere to talk about my other crafts, and journey into domestic goddessness. When I set up this blog, it opened my eyes to the wonderful knitting community within the UK from fellow bloggers, to locally produced yarn and designers. Previously, I had been forced to read about all the lovely yarn American bloggers had brought at Knit Picks, or fabulous sock clubs, that I was too late to sign up for. I am hoping this new blog will do a similar thing. I have been reading numerous blogs with amazing recipes or party ideas. Where the supplies have all been brought in Walmart or the Dollar Store and I keep thinking there much be a British alternative, and I wanted to set up a blog to address this issue. So on January the first I jumped in at the deep end and started my new blog. I plan to keep this blog going for my knitting projects (although I think the knitting might feature on both blogs) and a more general blog.

Note: The layout of the new blog is a mess at the moment, I was hoping to create a new theme this week, but my laptop has died on me.

October 21st 2009
Filed under Socks, socktopus club 2009

Recently Alice announced that Socktopus was moving into Stash in Putney, I thought this would have little difference to my purchases it is after just a few more stops on the tube, in fact it is even a shorter walk from the station so the journey time has not really been affected, in fact my sister works across the road so I could combine yarn buying trips with having lunch with her.

Then on the opening night last week, Alice mentioned the sock club parcels would be available to pick up instore. I had already made plans to cook dinner for my sister on that night so couldn’t stop by… but one quick phonecall to my sister and she was able to intrude on knitting night and pick up my parcel and bring it with her!

I thought the last parcel was the pinnacle of this sock club – I mean it is pretty hard to top woolmeise, but then this lovely green yarn arrived! Closer look at the pattern (note the little biscuit instead of a second O), and I realised it was designed by Cookie A.

I jumped around the house a little then had to post on Ravelry, but what could I say without spoiling what the content of the parcel was – I turned to the youth of the Internet to help my express my joy and just posted… OMG – Best sock club eva!

October 15th 2009
Filed under Socks

At least once a year I try and do Yarnharlot’s Knitters without Borders pledge, for one week, I forgo my cappuccinos, lunches out or that extra pint in the pub, just because giving up these little luxuries for week makes no differences to me can make an amazing difference for some one else. I still get amazed when I realise how much has been raised by this concept. (At the time of writing this is is over $600, 000).

I while ago I read about the idea of of paying for patterns by pennies per hour of pleasure (or p/hop), which is an extension of this concept. The idea is simple you knit one of the patterns from the site and then donate based on how much pleasure you got from making the project.

Over the last few month, in-between making my club socks I have been working on Joy‘s Hopsox pattern, I have been keeping a record of how many hours I have been working on this project, so far I think I am about 14 hours into the pattern. I have never really “timed” myself whilst knitting so it has been quiet enlightening for me.