Share your square

Sunday has rolled around again, so it is time for another blanket square from my never ending sock yarn blanket.

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This week it is made from leftover mini mochi in the rainbow colourway, it is some of what was left after making the A socks in my A-Z sock knitting challenge. The colours in this yarn are fanstastic!

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Use the linky below to share your blog posts about your squares or other modular shaped projects, it is always great to hear the stories behind them.

FO Friday- Mochi the rainbow snail

This is both a FO and a Scrap down, you would not believe how long knitting tiny critters can take!

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Yarn: Mini mochi leftovers

Pattern: Garden Snail by Hansi Singh, from the book Amigurumi knits

Needles: 2.5mm

Notes: No Whiskers. Pipe cleaner used in the shell, I think without it you would have to stitch the spiral in place.

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The pattern makes for a really cute snail or a slug if you don't bother with the shell. I did get stuck on the body and have to get help from Ravelry, the instructions in the book are ok, but not the best (more on that in another post).

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It takes really very little yarn, I used what was left after making a sock out of a 50g ball and still didn't get through all of it, it did use up an entire rainbow though which is cool, you can't see it in the pictures but his base is blue to purple.

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I am glad I used sock yarn for this, there is nothing for scale in the pictures but he is about the length of my hand (which is a fairly normal sized hand). The pattern uses worsted weight which would give one huge snail!

FO Friday- A socks and squares

Not a grammatical error, these are the socks for my A in the A-Z knitting challenge.

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Pattern- Ampersand by Kirsten Kapur

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Needles- 2.5mm dpns

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Yarn- Mini mochi in rainbow (Crystal Palace yarns) and Regia 4 ply in black

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New skills- Eye of partridge heel

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Mods- Altered the ribbing on both sides to add extra stitches. Heel and toe in different yarn. Deeper heel flap for fit and to keep the tougher yarn in the high wear areas.

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Side detail:

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Top of foot/front and back of leg detail:

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I really liked this pattern once I had got over my temporary inability to read the chart and worked an inch or so. I usually can't decide if I really like a pattern until I have a bit of it worked up, and often decide I don't in the first few rows only to change my mind once it is more established.
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It is a very simple two row pattern, easy to work and remember and nice and quick to knit. I am not too fussed about the eye of partridge heel, will probably go back to a standard slip stitch heel flap- I kept forgetting which row I was working!
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The yarn is lovely, so soft and squooshy and the colours are just gorgeous. I did have to rewind the ball to get matching socks, and even then the feet are a little off. It is a loosely spun single, so I am not sure how it will stand up to wear, I changed yarn to super tough Regia for the high wear bits in the hope of having long lasting socks. The loose nature means it can be a little splitty and there are a few thicker and thinner spots but it is not too much of an issue and worth it for the colours (I really love the colours, can you tell?). It is also a little fluffy so there is a risk of tickle factor, but they seem ok so far today.
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If I was naming these they would be "The colour of magic", partly because I have just finished reading the book (The colour of magic by Terry Pratchett) and mostly because of the colours. Technically the colour of magic is octarine, but it is described as being a greeny blue by Rincewind, so that odd bit on one foot counts for me. (For those who think I have gone insane, read any or all of the Discworld books, they rock!). Anyway, I can't call them that as they would not start with A, so A socks they shall stay.
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In between challenge socks I am working on my WIPs; casting on is banned, which is a shame, because there is something I REALLY want to start. I have been working on a few squares of sock yarn blanket instead.
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Yarn from a dye colourway experiment:
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Leftovers from the A socks. This yarn is great for the blanket because there are loads of colours it has the potential to make a different square each time.
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Some handspun 2 ply.
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More A sock leftovers.
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Yarn shop review- Addicted 2 knitting

This week I finally have another shop review as I have been breaking my self imposed yarn purchase ban. This was a little treat for me as I had a fail on a rainbow themed swap- my parcel never turned up. To be honest I was looking for an excuse to try some mini mochi so it all worked out quite well really.

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I will get to the yarn in a minute, the shop first:

I found the appropriately named Addicted 2 knitting via a Google search. I was looking for the specific yarn and they had it at a good price.

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It is perhaps not the most beautiful website, but well worth a look as the prices seems good and the yarns are well illustrated with photos of each colourway. They also carry a good range of tasty yarn, including Zauberballs, Fyberspates, Artesano and Manos del Uruguay. There are also some cheaper options such as Opal. I had to resist the temptation to fill my virtual basket!

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Delivery was great, a reasonably priced £1.60 or free with a spend of over £30. My parcel came first class, so I had it less than 48 hours after ordering. The packaging was good, well wrapped up in a plastic delivery bag so no chance of damage (although I do prefer packaging I can recycle or reuse).

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I would say they are definitely worth a look, good prices and service and tasty yarn, what more could you want?!

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And of course, I couldn't post this without a picture of the yarn. It is delicious, the colours are fantastic and it is soft and even machine washable. I will do a proper yarn review once I have used it to make something (socks of course, in January most likely), but for now here it is in its balled state:

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