Once Upon a Sock: September

Remember last month when I was being a bit smug about lifelines.  I claimed that if I put them in, I wouldn't need them.  Oh dear.

I was trying to use the short row heel found on the Arne and Carlos Youtube channel.   I had the idea that if I increased stitches, then I wouldn't need to make so many stitches after knitting two together.  Whilst the logic was good, because I increased the stitch count, the rest of the maths was thrown out of whack.  In the end, I decided to use a Fleegle heel instead.  To be honest, it's not my favourite heel, but so many things had gone wrong with this pair of socks I just wanted to get them finished. 

Yarn is Schoeller und Stahl Esslinger Sockenwolle in colourway beige-orange

The next pair I completed since last month, were a pair I cast on at the end of February.  I was going to use the short row heel used in the knitting expat vanilla sock pattern.  However, she has written the pattern over 64 stitches, and I only had 60 stitches. So, instead, I used the fish lips kiss heel and worked out how to do it in a contrasting colour.

Main yarn is Regia 4ply, colourway Brazil.
Contrasting yarn is West Yorkshire Spinners 4 play, colourway Cayenne Pepper

Also completed over the last month, were the toe-up Hermione's which I cast on back in July last year.  The good thing about me having similar sized feet to Mr Knitty, is that I can get him to try on pairs of socks I have knit for me, and then work out any amendments which I need to make.  Luckily, these fit him perfectly.

Main yarn is West Yorkshire Spinners 4 ply in Rum Paradise
Contrasting yarn is West Yorkshire Spinners 4 ply in Bubblegum

I also need to be less of a slattern when it comes to weaving in my ends.

Also on the needles at the moment are the candy socks and the mosaic socks.  Both of these have been made with the Sockmatician toe-up recipe.  The last time I made these, I got into a muddle with the heel turn.  This time, I have used lifelines , just in case.  I have managed one heel turn, so I know I can do it.  The second heel has gone wrong twice, so I'm putting it to one side for the time being.  This pattern uses German short rows, which are just as easy to use as people say they are.  I think I still prefer the shadow wrap short row heel used in the fish lips kiss heel, but I would definitely use of German short rows again.

As I have a hospital appointment today, I plan to cast on a new pair of socks, so I have something to do whilst waiting.  These are going to be my May socks for the box of socks challenge.  Once I've cleared another pair of needles, I'll cast on my socks for July and September.  Even better, all of this sock knitting has given me more scraps for my memory scrap blanket! 

There are a group of us who blog about socks on the first Thursday of the month.  If you knit socks, whether one pair a year or one pair a year, you are more than welcome to join us.  All you need to do is write a blog entry and add it to the link-up page which is here.  Alternatively, you can just click on the link-up and read more about other peoples' sock knitting. 

Just for today, I'm going to leave with a song.  No idea why this one is on earworm....

Once Upon a Sock - May 2018

Today was mostly about this:

Today was a local election; we had the option of three red, one blue and a yellow (of which we could vote for a maximum of three).  Mr Knitty and I went and made our crosses in the respective boxes this morning, before he went to work.  This afternoon, somebody from the red party came buzzing at the door, interrupting my afternoon nap.  I told her that I'd already voted; she asked how.  It was only as I was closing the door that I thought to reply: 'with a pencil'. 

The blanket is going well.  I absolutely love it as a project.  There's no point it being a memory blanket, if the only memories I have in it, are of the minis I've bought.  However, these arrived this week, and are worth a mention.  There are a couple of other minis that I want from them; the leftovers may well end up as a pair of socks.

From top to bottom:
Calico Cat
Lungwort
Industrial Accident
Crocus patch

All from the amazing Mothy and the Squid

On to the socks.....

These are the current pair, knit with Regia Pairfect

The yarn is designed to be knit from the cuff down.  However, I prefer knitting from the toe up.  Looking at all the projects on Ravelry with the same yarn - they all look the same.  I like the fact that mine are (almost) completely different.  I'm using Sockmatician's toe-ups and when it comes to turning the heel, I want to do it in orange, because different. 

The wonderful thing about the Once Upon a Sock project, is the number of people who have joined in.  Instead of linking all the blogs here as I did last month, if you go to this link you'll see all the sock knitting projects from our group. 

See you next month for more of the same! 

All Day I Dream About Socks

Sometimes I have odd dreams.  At the moment, is one of those times.  

I've only got a few days left at work before my contract runs out.  I pretty much don't care any more.  I've let go a little bit, but I'm still upset at the lack of acknowledgement from my consultants. 

My current socks at the beginning of my journey to work 

I decided that I would be happier if I had something to knit, so that I could do job applications using  voice recognition software, so I cast on a pair of socks. 

My current socks at the end of my journey into work

I wasn't quite sure to start with about the single row of red, immediately after the toes - but I think it works quite well to delineate the toe from the rest of the sock.  The yarn is Regia Brazil, in colourway Multi (the only one which hasn't been discontinued, it would seem) 

My current socks at the beginning of my journey home

Last night I dreamed about them; that I had knit all the way up to the foot, ready to turn the heel - and that I had decided to turn the heel in red, rather than orange.  This is the first time that I've done the toe in a different colour to the rest of the sock.  

My current socks a the end of my journey home

I've decided to try the Box O Socks challenge again this year - the aim being to knit at least twelve pairs of socks for me, between January 1st and December 31st.  I tried last year, but only managed eight pairs.  Maybe I'll do better this year by starting in January rather than March! 

My socks just before bedtime

What have you been dreaming about this week?

I Totally Knit a Hat!

Yesterday wasn't the greatest.  This is the end of my time being signed off sick with work related stress.  Given how the NHS is supposedly so stretched, it's odd that they choose not to avoid sickness levels in their staff - but there you go.

I don't have the inclination to go into all the reasons why I'm not happy with the situation - but suffice it to say, I don't think I've been treated fairly and my work clearly has not been valued in the way it should have been.  It's one of these workplaces where people who are lazy or cut corners are rewarded, and those who work hard and do a good job are treated badly or let go.  It's totally the wrong way round, and I don't understand how it's allowed to happen.

Yesterday I spoke to my line manager about coming back to work.  I'm not going back to the department which caused me the problems (hurrah!).  However, the thought of going back has made me feel teary and anxious, which isn't a good thing.

However, I do have some things to cheer me up:

Wednesday's haul from the charity shop

Whilst talking to one of my neighbours last year, she commented that I only read non fiction, which I entirely refuted - before realising the truth in the comment.  This year, I've decided to alternate a fiction with a non-fiction book.  Buying from the charity shop makes more sense; it's cheaper than first hand, and when I've finished with them, I can return them to the charity shop. 

Thursday's package.  Yes, we do have an underground bedspread.  All the best people do. 

Whilst on the phone, these arrived. Not all were for me; some were for Mr Knitty.  This package included books from Oxfam; radios and trains for Mr Knitty, knitting for me.   All my books were from the 50s, back when measurements were in imperial, and illustrations looked like this: 

Illustrations from Odhams Knitting Encyclopaedia 

and schematics looked like this: 

Schematic from The Complete Knitting Book, by Marjorie Tillotson

The bottom package was my (slightly drunken) Amazon purchase from New Year's Eve.  During the Design Your Own Lace class last year, Karie Westerman made mention of the stitch dictionaries by Barbara G. Walker - so they were on the wish list, and they are glorious.  

Today I finished knitting a hat for Mr Knitty.  It's slightly loose on him, but he says that's OK.  I had to let it swing, to try and untwist the yarn - and it was slightly hypnotic to watch. 

Pattern - Invisicrown by Sockmatician
Yarn - Regia, double knit. 

Right 2018, I've actually managed to achieve something.  I feel far more prepared for whatever Monday brings.  Bring it on!