Once Upon a (Southwark) sock - November

I think this is the first time that Once Upon a Sock and the first of the month have coincided for quite a while.  (Having checked, it was back in March).  Today is also the first day of Wovember - a celebration of all things wool.

A drainpipe outside the main cathedral

On Thursday of last week, Mr Knitty and I spent an evening at Southwark Cathedral, to see a talk on the book that goes alongside the All The Stations project, by Geoff Marshall and Vicki Pipe.  For those who don't know the project - Geoff and Vicki did a trip last summer, where they visited every single train station in the mainland UK.  (The full documentary is here )

The cathedral is gorgeous.  There was a monument to Shakespeare (given that he worked in the parish when he was at The Globe Theatre.

Of course, I had a pair of socks on the needles, which I worked on during the talk.  I'd decided that if anybody complained, I'd be prepared to stop.  Luckily, I was sitting at the back and nobody was paying attention to me, as they were listening to the talk and taking part in the Q&As. 

The socks at the beginning of the Q&A

When it came to the book signing afterwards, it made perfect sense to knit in the queue.  I think we were waiting about 90 minutes, so it was a good distraction and more work towards this year's box o' socks.  (Please can we ignore the dropped stitch somewhere round the toe which I found a couple of days ago).  Geoff could not get over the fact that I was knitting whilst waiting, to the extent that he asked if he could write it in the book.

The Candy socks are finally finished.  After messing up the heel at least three times, I told the socks that I didn't want them languishing in the project bag; I didn't think that it wanted to be languishing in the project bag - so could we please work together to get the heel turn sorted.  

Yarn - Regia Pairfect, in the colourway Candy.
Pattern is Sockmatician's toe-ups. 

These are knit in Regia Pairfect - designed to be knit from the cuff down.  I chose to knit it toe up, so the pink on the toe should be the cuff, and the thick stripes on the feet should be on the legs.  If I were to knit them again, I'd either try cuff down (gulp) or knit the toes and heels in orange and re-jig the yarn so that the pink cuff and thick stripes are in the right place. 

Last month, I also cast on an orange pair.  This was meant to be my socks for last June, then this June and then whenever-I-could-get-round-to-knit it. 

I've recently started using this progress keeper, because it's gorgeous.  I think it came with a yarn purchase...

Yarn: Opal 20 Years, colourway 9285 - Candle

The final pair, which still need a heel are my third time lucky socks.  This was the yarn I used in my first attempt at socks over four years ago.  The next attempt was over three years ago where I got halfway through the heel and no further.  (My friend Jane was telling me how to turn the heel with wraps and turns.  The lesson finished before the heel did).  They're now nearly finished - pending an afterthought heel.  

Yarn is Sirdar Heart and Sole.  I cannot remember the colourway.

There are a group of us who blog about socks on the first Thursday of the month.  If you knit socks and want to join us, you would be most welcome.  Each month we have a live link-up, hosted by Paula at Spin a Yarn.  If you want to join us, all you need to do is post your blog entry, add your link to the link up and link back to Paula's blog.  It doesn't matter if you crank out a pair of socks a week, or just manage a couple of rows a month - if you knit socks, you're part of our gang and it would be lovely to share your projects!   

Once Upon a Sock - March 2018

This morning started like this: 

West Yorkshire Spinners signature 4 ply in colourway 'Bubblegum' from the sweet shop range

Actually, I lie.  The morning started with Mr Knitty asking if I was awake, then doing the 'pinch and a punch' thing that always happens on the first of the month.  The day improved with tea and knitting.  You will notice that this isn't a sock.  They are one of a pair of baby boots, which I'm knitting, so that I can find out how much yarn it weighs.  

I've started a sock yarn/scrap yarn blanket.  It's been on the radar for a while, but I didn't have enough spare yarn to start anything worthwhile.  Now I've got lots of scraps, I'm 13 squares into a 280 square project.  I'm finding it real fun to work out where the squares should go, so there's not too much of one colour at a time, or that all dark colours are kept together.  Add to that the mixture of plain squares, mottled squares and striped squares, and it's a lovely project to keep me occupied.  I'm even weaving my ends in as I go! 

The current socks are going to end up as a short pair, as I've not got that much yarn left.  They accompanied me to the theatre last night (for the journey there and back, not for the show itself) and are probably feeling a bit neglected. 

Red toes = West Yorkshire Spinners signature 4 ply in colourway Cayenne Pepper from the spice rack range
Foot = Regia 4 ply Brazil in colourway 5478

Since I knit my socks concurrently, I have lots of pairs of balls which may be useful for making baby boots.  However, I need to make one boot to find out how much yarn each boot takes, to make sure that I have enough yarn left for the boots and to use for squares for the blanket - hence the knitting in bed this morning.  It seems a pretty easy pattern to follow - but it does have the increases on the purl rows, which is unusual.  Yesterday, Mr Knitty was trying to nudge up to me on the increase rows; today he was helping untangle a massive yarn barf, leaving me to increase without distraction. 

Two other things happened today - Isla from Brit Yarn announced that she was closing her business and the Sock Yarn Shop sent me their March newsletter.  Not that I've been making online purchases from either website - oh no.  Nor have I been working out what colours are missing in my scrap blanket and buying new sock yarn accordingly.  That's not the kind of thing I'd do at all! 

There will be more sock knitting between now and 3rd April, and hopefully I'll remember to join in once upon a sock again!  I'm going to set a reminder, just in case. 

Joining in with: 

Kat at Felinity Knits
Steph at My Making Do Adventure
Kathy B at Compassionknit
Stephanie at Stefanie Crafts with Wool Paper Fabric
Katherine at Fiber and Sustenance
Paula at Spin a Yarn

Blisters

0300 on 6th February.  Insomnia. 

I think I've been knitting so much this last week, that I've managed to give myself a blister on my middle finger.  That hasn't stopped me in the least.

Current socks - Opal Funny with Silver in colourway Droll

I currently have two pairs of socks on the needles; one was cast on a couple of days ago, the others are waiting for a heel turn.  There was a third pair, but they were too loose, so have been frogged.  The purple and green pair have already been frogged once, and when I realised that 64 stitches was too many, one of them got frogged a second time.  My logic is, that if I knit a lot of socks now whilst I've got time, I'll be well underway for twelve socks by the end of the year.  In all honesty, I'm longing for some lace!

Other current socks - Opal Mein Sockendesign in colourway Over the Rainbow

Since I've had so much time at home, I've been watching random videos on Youtube - some more random than others.  I think I've bored Mr Knitty slightly with the amount of blooper reels I've played for him.  However, I'm having a lot of fun with the knitting tutorials.  At the moment, I'm trying to educate myself on different ways of doing short row heels. 

On the left - what happens if you don't follow instructions
On the right - what happens when you do! 

I've also been swatching for a sock yarn scrap blanket.  I've not quite got enough spare sock yarn to get going, but I've got enough to think about it.  I'm going to have to duplicate some colours, but I want them as far apart from each other as possible. 

A proper mitred square - 50 stitches

The two free patterns I've found on Ravelry are the Knitted Patchwork recipe by Martine Ellis and Memory Blanket by Georgie Nicholson.  Between the two of them, I'll work something out.  I've decided that I want each square to start with 60 stitches; the next step is to knit a square of that size to work out how much each one weighs.

Indy yarn dyer - colourway Bonfire

I've also invested in a yarn swift and ball winder.  Now I know how to use them properly, I'm smitten - as is Mr Knitty.  He even asked what I would do if I came home, and found that all my skeins had been turned into balls.  Hey, if I can't get him knitting, at least I can get him involved in the gadget side of things!  The above is the first ball that was wound from a skein, and I can't wait to turn it into something luscious.  I think it actually looks better in a ball than it did in a skein. 

And finally, because I'm a bit bored of photos of yarn, have a photo of me looking slightly vampiric at The London Transport Museum ten days ago:

Oh to Heel With It!

I've turned the heel on the first of the current pair of socks.  I've used the fish lips kiss heel and, in an attempt at being clever, have actually ended up being quite the opposite:

One of the two holes at each end of the heel rows

There is part of me who wants the socks finished on target, so is happy to fudge it (either by making new stitches to close the gap, or by sewing up the holes) and part of me knows that this will always bug me, so it's worth ripping it out and starting again. 

Next time, I will use a different heel construction.

Meanwhile, I've been chatting with friends about going to Unravel next months and discussing the possibilities of going to Dublin with Mr Knitty for Woollinn, combined with a weekend away, in May. 

To blow away the cobwebs, Mr Knitty and I have spent this afternoon feeding the ducks.  And the coots, and the moorhens and the gulls, and the swans and the geese.  

I never realised quite how big a coot's feet really are

The other visitors to the park were mostly families with small children or dogs, or both.  Mr Knitty was heard to comment: "There's a very happy boy dog with a big bit of wood" and he wasn't talking about the stick in the dog's mouth. 

A mute swan - just after it was trying to assert its authority

Feeding the birds took the ultimate in diplomacy, given how territorial some of them were getting.  The Egyptian geese in particular did not like the Canada geese, so he fed the Egyptian geese at one end of the inlet and I fed the Canada geese at the other.  We've got another half bag of bird food, so we can do it all again in a couple of weekends time. 

Egyptian geese - who always have better eye make-up than I do.

I have three more days at work - and I've already planned which hand knit socks I will be wearing on those days.  I just need to work out what clothes are going to go with them. 

What is on the horizon for you this week? 

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! 

I hear they make good ice-cream there

This morning, I fly out to Iceland, and I cannot wait.  The first part of the trip is for The World Scout Moot.  This is an international event for young people aged between 18 - 25.  The general format is that everybody starts off in one location, then move to a second location, known as an expedition centre (Kenya in 2010 had three or four; Iceland has ten) before all joining back up together in a final location.  In this case, our final destination is Úlfljótsvatn Scout Centre (where my friend Amy will be staying with a group of Guides just after we leave).

I've spent most of the prep time (up until the last fortnight or so) feeling entirely under prepared.  I didn't go to the first briefing weekend and I slept through half of the second.  I hadn't slept well on the Saturday night, woke up with a headache and halfway through breakfast felt like I was going to throw up.

Half asleep in a tent; exactly how I expect to look in Iceland

I have a two bag allowance for both the outbound and homebound flights.  On the way out, my tent will be my second bag, and I'll be taking this pouch in my rucksack.

On the way back, this pouch will be opened out into my second bag, containing my tent

Oh look - lots of lovely space.  What on earth could I put in there?!   Since my friend Jane wants to knit this sweater (PDF) from Istex and I want to knit the Lauvisa jumper by Karie Westermann I don't think filling the bag is going to be much of an issue. If I can find any Icelandic related stitch markers, or nal for nalbinding, then so much the better.

Of course, I've prepped all the essentials:

Yarn: Opal 20 Years, Kerzen/Candles colourway
Patter: Flying North by Maria Montzka

The pattern is free on Loveknitting and is called Flying North which is exactly what I'll be doing.  As we're above the Arctic circle, there'll be a lot of orange and yellow sun, and orange is the colour of the moot, so it all works out quite nicely.

I've got a list of stuff to do - including a thermal spa (it's been a horrifically stressful week; I'm surprised I've cried as little as I have).  I've been told about the Icelandic Phallalogical Museum which sounds right up my street.  As part of the trip, I'm going to be snorkelling in (or near) Thingvellir National Park.  As it's a Scouting event - there will be badges.

Naturally, I'll be visiting The National Handknitting Association of Iceland.  This blog mentions wool being available at the grocery stores, which is something I want to see for myself and this blog mentions Icelandic yarn with silk.

 I need to be on the train in about an hour and still haven't bought my insurance.  (Yes, I've sorted my knitting, but not the important stuff; priorities!)  I've got a three hour flight which will be dedicated to sleeping rather than knitting.  I have no idea how all my gear fitted into the rucksack, but it did.  

Let's do this.  See you on the other side - with photos and yarn! 

Flying out on Friday

I'm flying out on holiday on Friday and have an overwhelmingly long to-do list.  So, of course the most important thing to be doing is writing blog entries!  

The multi-coloured fraternal socks are finished, and I had a happy yarn accident, courtesy of Phileas Yarns (with a 10% discount, it would be rude not to).  I went for the yarn/colourways of: Explorer - Reynisfjara, Rambler - Hot Dog in Coney Island and Rambler - Bac Ha.  There were at least three others I wanted, but I was being restrained.  There will be photos...

Pattern - Time Traveller Socks by Liz Sedmak
Yarn - King Cole 50 50 (discontinued)

I did try to make sure that both socks were started at the same point of the colour patterning, but somehow it didn't work as expected.  I guess that's part of the fun of knitting; seeing how it all turns out.  I also did a garter stitch gusset for a bit of variety. 

The toe-up Hermione's are going better than expected.  I was going to wait until after holidays to make them, but what the heck.

The Gender Games by Juno Dawson
Hermione's Every Day Socks - yarn: West Yorkshire Spinners

The Gender Games by Juno Dawson is the book I borrowed last week - and it seemed the perfect book to start reading over Pride weekend.  I don't always like the style of writing, but I agree with the points that she's making - so am sticking with it.

 Look at the waffle-y lusciousness of these socks:

Just look!

I love them - and I cannot wait to knit another pair (or several) after coming back from holidays.  I think I've worked out how to do the waffle pattern on the toes as well.

Yesterday, we went to a barbeque, held at a colleague's house, the other side of London and then some.  (Hertfordshire, to be exact).  That meant train journeys, which meant knitting time.  I decided to take the blue and red socks, on which I'd turned the heel too early.  Sock one has been sorted and knitted up to the point that I can do the gusset increase - but hadn't quite steeled myself up to sort out sock two - until yesterday.  On the down side, it's fiddly sorting out mistakes on socks.  On the plus side, I could get rid of this:

Remember - mistakes remind you that it's hand knit by a human.

I have no idea how it got there, and I had begrudgingly accepted it was there.  However, the perfectionist in me is pleased to get rid of it.

I put a lifeline in, trying to catch every stitch:

 and then pulled the needles out and ripped.  It's only on doing that, I found the two stitches that I hadn't caught on the lifeline.  Such is.

Counting stitches on the Thameslink platform at St Pancras railway station holds no fear for me.

59 stitches.  No, 61 stitches.  What ?

So - 59 stitches. Does that include the dropped stitches or not? 

No photos of the party - I was too busy having fun.  I knew a grand total of three people at the beginning of the party, and several more by the end.  We discussed French politics, built a fire and toasted marshmallows.  I also found out that one of my consultants is also a knitter.  We've already bonded over sharing a name and now this!  She's only been in our department five days and I already like her.

Do you have a summer holiday planned?  What's on your to-do list, and what have you been knitting? 

Weighing it up

OK, so I’m still technically frogging or finishing all current WIPs, and being pretty tardy on the latter.  The question for yesterday was, ‘do I start a new project’.  The project I had in mind was the Hitchhiker scarf, using King Cole yarn in the lightening colourway.  It just looks the right colourway for intergalactic travel.  

King Cole Zig Zag yarn - lightening colourway

Close up - an intergalactic yarn

Let’s ignore the fact that I have a slightly wonky half pi shawl to deal with.  Given that this week was pi day it did seem the perfect opportunity to resolve the problems, but I chose not to.

So after nice careful consideration of pros and cons, I decided:

Reasons against

• I already have so many WIPs, it would be better to get them finished
• Is there anything else I can knit, other than scarves and shawls?

Reasons for

• I’ve finished one, so it’s logical to knit another
• Something to easily knit on the train
• It gets rid of more sock yarn(if socks are my knitting nemesis, this can only be a good thing, right?)
• It’s mostly garter stitch – so a good opportunity to learn continental knitting

The ayes have it, especially on the last point.

So I watched some Youtube videos and am pretty sure I know what I’m doing with the continental stuff.  On the off chance that I forgot, I didn’t really want to be hoiking my copy of S & B in and out of London as an aide memoire.  So, a last minute substitution brought me to Nurmilintu.  Now, ideally I’d knit this pattern in something bought in Sweden, or a green yarn, or ideally a Swedish green yarn.  (Sweden has pine trees; it fits in my mind).  However, as a non-Green, non-Swedish yarn, this  from Regia Colour Blitz is pretty beautiful, and had been stored together with the pattern, so was an easy one to grab and go.

Regia 4 ply Colour Blitz 

Yarny close up! 

Anyway, lace charts on an overcrowded commuter train?  What could possibly go wrong?