Jul162016

Finish Line!

Hi everyone and hope you are all ok and safe - our world is becoming a more and more scary place with the events this week in France and Turkey......my heart goes out to anyone who has been affected by these horrors.

I had a wander back through some of my posts and realised that actually I have not shared any finished objects on the blog for a while.  I do tend to post them on Instagram, but its not always easy to give as much information over there (although I do love Instagram a lot!!!)

So firstly I have socks - and really I would not have described myself as a sock knitter, but recently I seem to have finished 4 pairs!!  Earlier I did post a photo on the blog about knitting two at a time socks - well in the spirit of honesty I have to tell you that I did not get on with the two at a time method and I ended up doing them one at a time!

So these first socks of the year are afterthought heels - Let's Get Stripy - and they are knitted in Knit Picks Felice.  I loved the colour way of the yarn, but I think if I use it again I might go down a needle size - I used 2.75mm which is my sock yarn needle of choice, but I would've preferred a tighter fabric so I think going down to a 2.5mm may have helped. Nevertheless these are for me and I am happy with them.  Afterthought heel was done with spare yarn and works ok, although I still manage to have to sew up little holes.....

Let's Get Stripy


Next I actually made a pair of socks to my own design from the fabulous Wollelfe gradient yarn which handily comes ready skeined in two cakes!  I wanted them to be contra matching (well thats what I call it anyway!!!) and originally I wanted to make the pattern face in different directions on each sock - but I think life is a bit too short and I really really wanted these knitted up quickly! Wore them a few times in our 'winter' cuddled up on the sofa with yet more knitting.... The yarn is absolutely fantastic to knit with and I was very pleased with the resulting Which Way Up? socks.  Again I used an afterthought heel with waste yarn.  I have notes I used to knit them, so will write up the pattern when I get a moment.





Which Way Up?

Of course the next pair had to be for Flo - who does love a hand knitted sock - and these are my Candy Cane Socks!  For this I went back to trusty Straycat socks and chose the Candy Cane colour way (hence the name above!) ......so pretty and 'very' Flo!  With a self striping yarn I only use an afterthought heel, if I am not doing contrasting heels and toes, and this time I decided to try and use the steeking method - yes readers I actually CUT my knitting!  This is the first time I have done this in my 30 something years of knitting.....queue the shakes and a large glass of Gin to hand.

Heart stopping moment....

I have to tell you though it was great - much neater and this is now my afterthought heel of choice!

Obligatory cat and yarn photo!

Candy Cane Socks

Finally for the sock marathon I made some more self striping socks and these have to be my current favourite!  These are my Never Forget socks which are knitted in the fabulous West Yorkshire Spinners Signature Cocktail collection and the colour way is Rum Paradise.  I have always wanted to have some rainbow stripe socks and these fit the bill perfectly.  Again I did the afterthought heel with scissors and a slightly smaller glass of Gin!

During the knitting of these, the terrible events of the Orlando shooting happened and these are my small gesture to the LBGT community wherever they are in the world that I am thinking of them.

Now of course I have the entire Cocktail collection in my stash so there will be more socks to come - although I am also wondering if a stripy shawl would be possible.........

Never Forget Socks

So what else apart from Socks???  

I finished my Hitchhiker In Space and Time Shawl - - which I love.  This is such a simple pattern but so effective and its ideal for a hand dyed beauty like the Quere yarns skein I used in colour way Vincent and the Doctor - yes of course I was drawn in by the name...... (and when oh when is the next series of Doctor Who airing?????)  I see many more of these shawls in my life - perfect for stash busting and really potato chip knitting.

Hitchhiker In Space and Time

Finally for the moment I would like to share my Singapore Sling linen t-shirt.  This is made in Shibui Linen - which is a new yarn for me.  Its not terribly soft to knit with but makes a lovely fabric.  The pattern in the Silken Straw Summer Sweater by the Purl Bee.

I got the yarn by mail from A Yarn Story in Bath - my adopted LYS! I only ordered 3 skeins and if I had stuck to the pattern I would definitely not have had enough yarn!  So instead I made a number of amendments and I am so very pleased with the outcome.  This is going to be a wardrobe staple on our upcoming trip to Singapore and Malaysia (only 2 weeks away now....eeek!)  The yarn is perfect for our climate here in the UAE and there are some lovely new colour ways so I think it would be certainly be something I am going to use more in the future.

Singapore Sling Tee

 Wow so thats quite a few FO's for me - all in all since the beginning of the year I have made 12 items and that whilst working on my blanket is quite impressive for me.  A few of these I have not shared since they are designs I am working on.  I think its good sometimes to reflect on your making and realise just how creative you are even if you think you are not!

Enjoy the week!

xx

PS even more detail on each project with a link to patterns is available on my Ravelry projects pages which I have linked to each FO :)

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