WIP Wednesday- Sock skills

I do not usually do WIP Wednesday posts because small projects like socks don't look att that different between being WIPs and being finished, so I tend to save the suprise for a big reveal at the end.

Today however I have an ongoing project that I can talk about- Two at a time socks, yeah baby! (Sorry Austin Powers moment there)

In an attempt to get the festive season under control I have started the Christmas socks and it seemed like a good opportunity to try out two at a time (TAAT) magic loop style.

I have magic looped socks before, and generally prefer dpns. This is a first for TAAT though, and so far it is going well. It is a thick yarn so quick to make, meaning I should not get bored that it is taking twice as long. I suspect the final tada moment will be good when I realise that I don't need to start a second sock.

I have also added a WIP widget to the blog, I was just looking through Ravelry and spotted it so thought I would give it a go. I need to take more WIP photos though.

In computer news it is still playing up, but I have found a way round it that lets me post on the blog. More seriously yesterday it would not let me buy yarn! That being the final straw I whinged about it until my OH looked into it (He is much more computer minded). There verdict is that it is an issue with java and I will have to wait until the computer wizards fix it. That is one way to stick to a yarn diet!

FO Friday- Mistake rib hat

This is the last of my Christmas present FOs, a hat for my brother in law. I need to get knitting to have something for next week!
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Pattern: Mistake Rib Beanie by Anne Macri

Yarn: DK superwash merino, immersion dyed with a blue and black mix.

Needles: 3.5mm
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A good pattern, makes a nice unisex beanie type hat. A very simple pattern, I did need to resize it for DK yarn, which I made a mess of the first time and ended up with a HUGE hat!

I mastered the longtail cast on for this one as the green hat for my brother flared oddly at the bottom edge, this is much better. It has become my new Favouite Thing Ever (the capitals are important).
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The first set of decreases is good, the second part looks like normal ribbing, which gives the very top a slightly odd appearance, but I can't think of a better way to do them.
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Secret Santa sock swap

I am really posting these so I can link to them in the Ravelry group, not for purposes of yarny gloating (although- Whoop! I have yarn :) ).

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I took part in a secret Santa swap with the UK sock knitters group. I was going to enter a couple of other, but this was the only one with a spending limit (£15, sock yarn must be included). I prefer it when they have a target to aim for, avoids feeling guilty or getting annoyed when it doesn't even out by a long way. It is also fun to try and get the best value for your money by finding bargains and making items.

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The parcel arrived early in the month as the posting deadline was the 1st. As I wanted to open it as a Christmas present I had to wait for most of the month with this tempting me. It was hard work, so in the end it had to be hidden out of sight. In fact I hid it so well that I forgot to take it with me when we left to stay with my family over the holiday- there was some colourful language when I realised half way down the motorway!

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It did mean I had a lovely extra present waiting for me when I got back. Each part of the parcel was wrapped up so it was a bit like opening a stocking.

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And inside was this wonderful display of treasures. The sock yarn requirement was met twice over, with some undyed and a lovely pair of 50g skeins called Same difference in the Menace colourway. From looking at them I assume they are dyed as a pair but one has red as the dominant colour and one has black. I have not decided how to make socks with them yet, either non matching fraternal socks or the leg in one and the foot in the other on both socks.
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The parcel also contained some lovely treats, including needles (magically in the size I don't own, how did she know?!), chocolate, wool wash and a little felted flower bowl with some cute stitch markers.

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All in all a lovely swap. I am off to share this on the Ravelry thread and then to enjoy some knitting. I am allowing myself a few days of knitting and loafing around before the thesis writing starts in earnest in the New Year. I have something quite different and exciting on the needles!

Merry Christmas everyone!

The title says it all, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday. And in lieu of actual cards here is a virtual card for you all:

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Christmas decorations

I have seen a lot of blog posts about Christmas decorations in the last few weeks, so I thought I would share mine.

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First up is a sock garland, this one is for taking home. There is a rule in my parents' house that if you are coming for Christmas you have to bring a handmade decoration, maximum spend £5 and bonus points for using recycled/salvaged materials. We have had lots of different things, this year mine is mini socks on a crochet chain. They are made from various leftovers from sock yarn projects, the pattern is Tiny Sock Ornament by Everwhelming Liz.

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I have been wondering what to do with some of my knitted critters, they are cute and fun to make, but then they just sort of hang around the place. A crochet hook and a short length of ribbon and they have been converted to tree decorations. This is a Knitted Bunny by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer, made from a square of knitting and two ears. He may have got a little lost from Easter :D

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I received this little bluebird in a swap, so converted him into a tree decoration too.
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I didn't make this one, bought it at a craft fair in town as want to start finding a special, and preferably hand made decoration each year. It is made from green glass and there is a glass robin to go with it, but I don't have a photo of the robin.
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Decorated tree next to the sofa. There is only a tiny gap to squeeze past and get in and out of the room, but the tree had to go somewhere and the new fish tank is now sitting where we put the tree last year. I have had to temporarily evict my spinning wheel as well :(
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I might even attempt a fair isle mini stocking decoration in the next few days, I am determined to master colourwork during the next year and finally remake those duck socks!

Year of the sock November- More Christmas socks

I realised this morning that I forgot to post my November sock of the month while it was still November, oops!
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Technically that is not quite true, these appeared as a finished object a few weeks back:
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But they have friends! :
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That's right, thanks to the wonders of 6ply speedy knitting I managed to get two pairs done, which is convenient as that is one pair for each parent. The blue stripes are for my Mum, the brown and grey for my Dad. I added grey heels and toes as I thought there was not going to be enough yarn, there would have been so it was a lot of unnecessary ends to sew in, but at least they look a little snazzy (as snazzy as grey and brown can get anyway!).
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The pattern for both is Thuja by Bobby Ziegler. I love this pattern, it is so fast and more interesting than a standard rib sock. They were both made in Regia 6 ply for speed and durability- past Christmas socks have worn to holes in about 4 wears so a yarn with a 10 year guarantee sounded good to me.

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I am not sure where I am going to fit socks in this month, still a lot of presents to see to. Wonder if I can make a pair in the 5 days left after Christmas is done with :D

FO Friday- Staying on the hat theme

Another Christmas hat, this one I know will be going to my brother. I have seen him wearing hat, although whether he will wear a hand knitted one I don't know, but at least I tried.

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The pattern on this one is A Hat Fit for a Boyfriend by Stephanie Nicole, it is a K3P2 rib then has some nifty decreases. The yarn used is some random superwash merino DK that I had lying around, I dyed it a dark green, which unintentionally came out in a mix of shades, I rather like it, although doubt it can be repeated as it was an accident, might have been something to do with the yarn.

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I seem to have a bit of a problem with hats that the bottom couple of inches ends up looser than the rest, you can see it flares out a little in the photo (no change in gauge or anything, just a bit floppy). Fortunately it should be OK in wearing thanks to the rib.
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I am going to go back to staring at the hat I have on the needles now, it is mostly done, but I think I might want to reknit it (3rd time lucky) as I think it is too big, even allowing for the ribbing to pull in a little it seems huge. 3 weeks to go!

Giftaway

Happy first of December! The countdown begins, as does the impending panic that despite my attempts to be organised I still have at least three presents to make.

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Anyway, in the interest of spreading a little Christmas cheer I decided to hold my first ever giveaway. It would also be a blog anniversary celebration but I missed that, it was about 10 days ago.

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So, what can you win? This lovely cowl with gorgeous buttons. It is handknit with tiny cables and has its own blog post all about the pattern, yarn etc here.

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And how do you win? Visit this post, make a comment. That's it, no fancy tricks or hoops to jump through. Please make sure there is a way of contacting you (Rav name, email, blog link etc), if not I will post the winners name and you will have to get back to me within three days or I will redo the draw. The comment can be anything (preferably nice things), maybe why Christmas is so great? Or what is awesome about knitting?

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I will post anywhere so it is open to all, only post one comment please, no attempts to up the odds with multiple posts.

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This will stay open until 12.30pm on 10th December (UK time). I am not sure if this will give it enough time to reach far corners of the Globe, so if you win and live a long way away it might be a late Christmas present.
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I will find a random number generator online somewhere and use that to pick the number.