I have a hole in my sock. My nice warm knitted sock. The pair I had only just finished when winter started.
I have a little left over yarn and know how to fix it but how far should I go? The fabric is wearing thin in other places too.
I never really appreciated knitted socks before coming to Canada. I always found them too hot to wear. Not so in this land of cold! This pair of socks have been worn almost constantly since they were finished, which is probably why they have a hole already (and having all wooden floors at home).
The funny thing about these socks is that they were a classic case of Second Sock Syndrome or SSS. I made the first one the beginning of 2010 and started a different sock instead of making a second! That next sock was finished and also never had it's mate started. So you could say I had a pair of socks, just not a matching pair! (Since then I have actually finished three pairs of socks - two were gifts and the other was for a KAL so they all had deadlines.)
Mixed in with my yarn stash that came over from NZ were my two single socks. It didn't take me long to realize that warm woollen socks were a good idea in this country, so I dug through my part balls, printed out the pattern and got knitting on the first second sock!
Then other, more urgent knitting projects got in the way of starting the next second sock. Until I got a hole.
Now I'm racing through the next one and already planning another pair! Hopefully I don't get SSS this time, but it seems necessity is a great motivator for me to finish!
Any one else had issues with SSS? What's the longest it's taken you to finish a pair of socks?
~ Amber ~
Last week I got to have an evening out at the movies, which is a rare occurence for me, but it wasn't just any old evening at the movies - it was a special Lights Up Knitting session!
My (not quite) local theatre, The Embassy, is lucky enough to have a manager who knits and she decided a few months back to gauge interest in a 'lights on low' movie session. There was definitely interest and the first Lights Up Knitting at The Embassy happened in April with such great response that it's shaping up to be a bi-monthly affair!
When I found out that The Great Gatsby was June's movie, I thought I should try and go (I'm rather fond of Leonardo DiCaprio...) Then I was fortunate enough to win a ticket through Red Riding Hood Yarns so booked my sister-in-law in for a girls night out in Wellington!
It was a really enjoyable evening out. Starting with the complimentary wine/mocktail we enjoyed while sitting in the Black Sparrow bar with our knitting and listening to 1920s live music before the movie.
Some of the goodies we received
Then the special knitters goody bag we each received going in (put together by the fantastic Tash of Holland Road Yarn Company - a main sponsor of the event) as well as the spot prizes from other sponsors that were given out.
And ending with being able to say hi to some fellow knitters I'd previoulsy only met on Ravelry (I'm secretly a little jealous of their weekly knit together, there's not much of that going on over this side of the hill that I'm aware of - if only I lived a little closer to Wellington!)
If you're in the Wellington region and feel like a knitting night at the movies, check out the next session happening in August! You can find all the details on the FaceBook page.
What interesting knitting events happen in your neck of the woods? I'd love to hear about it!
I had some little people come visit today with their mum.
After they'd gone home I noticed that my balls of yarn had been knocked off the coffee table where I'd left them and one was missing.
I wasn't too worried as I figured it would turn up.
It did. It was sitting in the ashes of the open fire.
This is my second ball of the Mocha for BigMiss' tunic I'm making. And I was planning on using it tonight.
I think I'll have to toddler-proof my knitting stuff a bit better next time!
Any suggestions for how to clean it??
I thought I should start taking wip (work in progress) photos more often and keep my project notes on Ravelry more up to date. I find it's actually quite nice to look back and see how long (or short!) it's taken to knit something. And I have a few things on the go that I've cast on lately that I need to keep a track of too!
So, at the same time I thought it might be nice for you (and keep me accountable to finishing things!) if I updated here also...
This is that gorgeous yarn from Olive & Emma I showed in my last post knit up.
I love the colours in it and think it's really going to suit my Little Man.
This is the Mocha and Peony yarn from Little Plum Yarn knit up.
It's a tunic/dress for the BigMiss. I'm a little excited about this pattern as I think it's looking really cool and can't wait to show the finished product!
This is me being a little crazy.
There's a thing going on via Ravelry where you have to knit a sweater (adult sized, at least 50,000 stitches) in a month. It's called NaKniSweMo (National Knit a Sweater Month) which is the knitter's alternative to National Write a Novel Month (write a 50,000+ word novel in November). The 'National' part relates to USA, but it's open to everyone anyway (in case you haven't heard of either thing - I only found out via Rav last year)
I'm only joining in because I'd ordered this yarn (Brown Sheep Cotton Fine) to knit myself a Apres Surf Hoodie, then stumbled upon the NaKniSweMo Group again and realised I could. It might actually motivate me to finish it too!
How many wip's do you have?
Do you keep your projects page updated regularly?
Or are you like me and only make the project page once something's finished?
I feel like I've been in a constant state of limbo most of the year with my knitting and pattern writing.
Because of a serious lack of communication from
a certain yarn company (that I'm
not so fond of anymore), I always had to make sure I wasn't committing to or concentrating on much
just in case today I'd get the email to say it's all go and I have 8 weeks to write and knit two complicated patterns (if only they had let me know -
way back in March - what yarn to design for!)
Little Plum Yarn Supertwist Sport in Mocha
But the freedom I'm feeling now it's all done and over makes me love knitting again! (I'd started to loose the love for it, I suppose that's what happens when it's a have to.)
Little Plum Yarn Supertwist Sport in Peony
Even though I've been in Pattern-Writing Limbo, I've still been planning new designs to work on as soon as I could.
And buying yarn to knit them with!
Olive & Emma 4ply Merino in Cade with Trim
So now I've just cast on to make a variation of this pattern:
That's my Little Man at just 6 days old - he turned 6 weeks old yesterday and not really fitting this cardy anymore!
I'm making a few changes to make it a little more quirky and funky. I can't wait to show you the finished knit! (I'm using the grey and brown yarn above which is a made-for-me colourway from Olive & Emma. It's looking gorgeous so far!)
Joining in with the other creative folk at My Creative Space.
With my last deadline knit/design on it's way across the world, I needed a quick knit to celebrate the freedom of no pressure. And as the Little Man is really not fitting any of his hats lately (he's growing so fast!) I thought that was the perfect thing.
He didn't think so.
Not even with cuddles from Mama.
More details to come about the design I sent off - I'm quite excited about this one!
(Though very nervous entrusting my sample knit to the postal system after my previous international post issues - which I since found out was entirely the yarn company's fault as they had my address wrong!)
I've been knitting like crazy lately. Or so it seems with all the stuff I'm getting finished!
I think it helps that lots of it is small, so it's quick to make.
So here's a little run down on some of the stuff you saw blocking in a previous post:
I made this
Paprika vest for MiddleMiss.
The colourway is Baby Blue Eyes and is the perfect colour for MiddleMiss!
Though I was a little disappointed with the fit. I chose the size according to her chest size (size 5yrs) but knit to her age length (size 7yrs) and pre-blocking it really didn't fit! I managed to stretch it out a lot when blocking and it's ok now, but won't last long.
I do really like the cabling details on it though.
This is a little NB cardigan I made for a friend's new baby.
I had originally intended on using the apple chart from
here, but the apples looked too big for such a little top so I sort of made up my own smaller version.
This was my third attempt at colourwork and I think I'm getting better, though it's still a little tighter than it should be!
This vest is one I've
made before for my nephew. This time, though, I changed the pockets and made the collar longer which I think looks much better. Right now it's enroute to Canada to some friends who have just had their first baby (a boy) and with no appropriately aged babies around, I don't have any nice modelled photos.
The pattern is in-process - I just need a hurry up to do the little tweaks and send it off to testers!
I've decided that blocking finished knitted items belongs in the same category as sewing seams, weaving in ends and sewing on buttons.
That's the I Don't Like Doing It category in case you're wondering.
I was getting a little pile of FO's (finished objects) that needed all those things done to them so decided to sit down and just do it.
This was the (almost - couple of things still need buttons purchased/sewn on) final result:
Blocking-in-process of a few things to gift, a couple of things to keep some girls happy and a couple things for bubs.
With all this finishing and blocking, I'm feeling very organized with where I'm at with my knitting. So much so, that I'm sort of at the stage of 'What to Make Next?'
I've got a few new designs in process that I'm just waiting on yarn for and a few submissions that I need to work on (but that's computer work not knitting as such). There's also all the baby knits that I need to do, but half the work's in deciding what to make (and finding suitable patterns). I did start on a baby sock last night though...
Do you dis-like the finishing-off of projects also?
Do you have a pile of just needs 'x y z' done then it's finished?
Do you have any suggestions for nice and quick baby knits?
Don't forget to enter my baby guessing competitions over here, here and here if you haven't already!
Joining in with the crafty folk over here again.
P.S. I'll do posts later on the various knitted things above, once I've got modelled photos etc of them.
I'm in need of a quick catch-up post on the happenings going on around here...
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I took part in another swap on Ravelry just before the school holidays. It was a 'Small Things Swap' - minimum of 50g yarn, pattern to suit and small gift to go with it.
Here's what I sent off to my swappee, Kathryn:
And here's what I received from my swapper, Deborah:
50g of Naturally Waikiwi 4ply Prints in Khaki; an 'A' shaped notepad and pen for me; an iron-on applique and matching buttons for each of the girls and also for bubs; and I was gifted the Lacy Leaves Baby Hat & Booties pattern.
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As we're nearing the middle of the next month, I'm expecting my next yarn club installments in the next week or two, so here's what came in last month's packages:
From Vintage Purls:
Photo borrowed from someone else's stash (as I didn't take one myself before eating the goodies)
100g VP sock yarn in colourway Mariana; Anchor Me sock pattern to suit; box of Pebbles (sort of a Cadbury version of M&Ms); silk zipped purse; little yarn monster (mine is all white with blue - I think - shorts); and the mandatory 'VP Sock Yarn Club Winter 2012' badge.
From Red Riding Hood Yarns (I chose to go with the boy's club this time as I figured that my big girls can wear any colours and I have a lot of girly colours already!):
Photo borrowed from the RRHY FaceBook photo album (yet another lack of photo from me before eating!)
200g (total) RRHY "Belle" 8ply superwash - 100g in Brown, 50g each in light and dark green; Leaf Hat & Mittens pattern by Sheryl Greenfield to suit (I also got the Cupcake Hat & Mittens pattern as you can choose to pay a little extra to receive both the girls' and boys' patterns); set of picinic-themed stitch markers from Angel Inspired; and a yummy chocolate Picinic bar.
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There's two KALs happening on Ravelry that I really want to take part in. One is for Jodulbug yarn and the other is for Olive & Emma yarn (both of which I have yarn and projects ready for).
But as I committed myself to that scarf, I haven't been able to join in any KALs yet. Though for the last two weeks (the school holidays, where I've had a bit more home time/knitting time) I have forced a monogamous relationship with it, which has really paid off...
I've gone from this:
Just over 1 1/2 pattern repeats (each repeat being 64 rows of 192 stitches!)
to this:
Just about 7 1/2 pattern repeats (I timed myself and the fastest I could do a row was 5mins - you figure out how many hours I've spent on it so far!)
...in just under two weeks.
The plan is to knit until I run out of yarn. The pattern says to do 9 repeats in total which I might pass by half a repeat.
Fortunately for me, both KALs are running until the end of August so I should still have time to join in once I finish the scarf. Though, Jo (from Jodulbug Creations) is doing a spot prize draw this week for any project entered in the Jodulbug yarn KAL (whether finished or just started) so I was thinking I might just cast on her yarn tonight being that close to finishing the scarf anyway...
(once I pass the 8th repeat - I was 4 rows away from it this morning!)
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I've had to buy some new clothes in the last two weeks. I'm at that point where all my tops are just a little too short to cover the 'bump' (I usually wear low-cut jeans/pants so they sit under my tum and saves on buying maternity bottoms), which doesn't matter when you're at home but can be embarrassing when going out! I'm just glad that modern fashion is all long tops now and stretchy ones too as it's a lot cheaper than buying maternity clothes that will only get worn for another 6-7 weeks.
Baby bump at 33 weeks
We're almost at the count-down now and I still don't have my office/sewing room turned into a baby room. I've still got basically no clothes for the baby, but I'm counting on some hand-me-downs from my SILs that have been promised (mostly boys stuff, though). I will be knitting something for bubs out of the Jodulbug yarn as well - the first knitted item for my own baby, how useless am I!?
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So, what stuff have you been up to lately? Please link me to your blog if you have one as I'm in need of some fresh blog-reading!
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