November 1, 2019 · 2:32 pm

Heartgyle Socks

Progress on Heartgyle Socks

I have started knitting the Heartgyle socks from Boost Your Knitting – the intarsia heart is going well, but the getting it to work in the round is not going so well (see below)

Back of Heartgyle sock

You can see where I have been doing the yarn overs and the turn. The instructions do say

You will see that the turn between right side and wrong side creates a small ridge in the work but it is not hugely obvious.

And they have an image and it’s true on their sock it isn’t very obvious. I can see that my later turns are better – more discreet if you like, but now I need to decide if I rip it back and start again. I am leaning towards ripping back.

There are some great tutorials on how to do this on You Tube – here.

I think the method is good it’s just my execution.

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October 20, 2019 · 1:23 pm

Christmas Socks

Christmas Socks

I have almost finished this year’s Christmas socks – I wanted to get going early to ensure they were finished in time.

The yarn is ‘Tinsel’ from Little Yellow Cat (on Etsy). It is a merino, bamboo and silk mix and feels fabulous. Strangely, when I made the skein into a ball it was in two pieces. One about 40g and the other about 60g, so the small one was not quite enough for one sock.

I have pretty much made up my own pattern, but I am using the SKYP stitch pattern from the SKYP socks.

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September 30, 2019 · 1:40 pm

Making embroidered Fabric

Embroidering on Silk Dupion

I oiled my machine (a Janome 500e). I had been putting it off because it seemed a complicated business, but in the end it was fine. Just read the instructions and do one step at a time. And I am sure next time it will be even easier.

I was keen to use it after that. I have been wanting to make embroidered fabric – that I could then use on another project, so I decided now was the time. I used one motif from Graceful Embroidery (Dainty Vines collection) and I copied it and rotated it until I was happy with the layout (I used Embird).

Finished version

I am going to make a zipper pouch out of it – need to make fabric for the second side.

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September 22, 2019 · 2:40 pm

Hansel Hap Finished

Hansel Hap Finished

I finished my hap! This felt like quite a marathon at the end.

Blocking made a difference all of the pointy lace bits look pointy.

I learnt a few things while doing this

  1. Don’t change to a new ball half-way through a row – you can’t see it in the image above, but there is a join in the grey section.
  2. Lots of stitch markers make it easy to keep track of the lace pattern.
  3. Super-wash wool was not the right wool for this project (possibly any project)
  4. Although I insist on making these lace shawls I don’t actually wear them!

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September 2, 2019 · 2:44 pm

Another Project Bag

Blustery Tree Project Bag

I finished another project bag – this one took a long time. I did the embroidery way back in May.

It is a bit bigger than my previous project bags – should comfortably fit a jumper under construction.

I have embroidery on both sides and I have quilted the bag.

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August 7, 2019 · 3:52 pm

My Lady’s Quaker Finished

My Lady’s Quaker is Finished!

I finished! This project languished because I struggled to see the stitchers clearly. I got new glasses and while that helped it didn’t solve the problem. However, I bought this magnifier and it has made a huge difference.

The pattern is My Lady’s Quaker from Jardin Prive. I did it on a 32 count Belfast linen (from Zweigart). The black is standard DMC 310 and the red is a variegated DMC 115.

I started it in February 2018, so 18 months to finish it (although it’s about the process).

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July 29, 2019 · 3:30 pm

June and July Socks

Left foot – July Sock. Right Foot – June Sock

I finished one sock for June and one sock for July. I went away for a week (to here) and I wanted to see if I could complete a pair of socks, so I started the July pair (I had already finished the June sock). Clearly, I can’t get a pair of socks finished in a week.

The yarn for the June sock (right sock) is King Cole Zig Zag and the lace pattern is from the Knitting Vintage Socks book. It is the lace pattern from the Evening Stockings for a Young Lady Pattern. I just used the lace pattern and did the sock in my usual way.

The yarn for the July sock (left sock) is Old Roses by The Yarnkeeper and it is a plain vanilla sock (with such beautiful yarn why spoil it with a pattern?)

I have started the second sock of both and will probably focus on finishing the July sock first.

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June 18, 2019 · 2:10 pm

Cat Blanket

Progress

The Cat Haven (where we got our cat) has requested knitted blankets for the cats, so I thought ‘that’s something I can do’ and ‘it won’t take long’. I popped off to Spotlight and bought three 50g balls of Cleakheaton Country 8ply. Knitted one ball and realised I had totally under-estimated the amount of yarn and time needed to knit this blanket. I am currently about halfway through and I have used 4.5 balls.

It is a very easy knit and I have been watching Call the Midwife season 8 while working on it. This does mean my socks have taken a back seat (and the Hansel Wrap).

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June 3, 2019 · 3:33 pm

June Sock Project

June Sock Progress

This is my second attempt at my June Sock. I started with a K3P1 rib, but I didn’t really like how it looked. I have unravelled and now I am doing a K2P2 rib.

I don’t really like the way the colours work in this yarn, but it is in the stash and I want to use it.

I am using 2.75mm needles as well (which is unusal, but I couldn’t find my 2.25mm needles).

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May 27, 2019 · 1:21 pm

June Sock Project

Swatch for my June Sock

I finished my may sock early, which means I can try something a bit more adventurous for June.

Above is my swatch, which is a bit disappointing. The ball looks like

King Cole Zig Zag Colour Magic

which is quite pretty, but the swatch has large colour blocks (pooling) that I am not so keen on. So I have decided this probably isn’t the yarn for a special project, but is the yarn to practise a special project.

I want to make something historical and have decided on these socks from Knitting Vintage Socks

Evening Stockings for a young lady

The lace pattern requires a multiple of 6 plus 1, so I have decided to cast on 60 and make one in the round before starting the lace – the ribbing is K2P1, so a multiple of 3. It’s not possible to have a multiple of 6 plus 1 and have it be a multiple of 3.

This is different to the pattern, but I think I should be able to use the same heel (Dutch heel) and toe (round) as the pattern.

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