Once Upon a Sock - January 2019

Well hello!  Not only is it a new month, it is a New Year.  I missed Once Upon a Sock in December, because I was attempting Vlogmas and did not have enough hours in the day , or mental energy to blog as well.  It was a project worth doing, but it took up more time than I was expecting.

For those who do not know, a group of us who knit socks all meet up and blog about socks on the first Thursday of every month.  If you wish to join us, you are more than welcome.  All you need to do is add a link to your blog at the link up found here, hosted by Paula of Spin a Yarn

Since I last posted, we had a new member of the family join us; my sister's second son.  Of course, proud auntie that I am, I knit him some hats - which was an excellent way of getting rid of spare scraps of sock yarn.

Baby hats for my nephew

So, casting a brief eye over 2018 and looking forward to 2019:

I attempted the box of socks challenge, hosted by Voolenvine and didn't complete it.  (The challenge was to knit at least 12 pairs of socks over the year, ready to be worn this year).  On New Year's Eve, I had three pairs of socks (which would have completed my 12) yet to be completed.  What was waiting for a pair of afterthought heels, one had a dropped stitch which needed dealing with and the last needed its heels turned.

My incomplete Box o' Socks - with only nine pairs of the twelve finished

In my eagerness to get everything finished by midnight (and after messing up the heel three times from not properly concentrating), I ripped back one of this pair with the aim of doing a fish lips kiss heel instead.  I then realised that would mean knitting with kinked wool, which I would only do if my life depended on it.  So, in an attempt to get everything finished on time, I actually made more work for myself by messing up what had already done.

Messing up was a theme with my December socks, after inadvertently increasing a stitch, then dropping the stitch back to where the error was, so that I could pick it back up again.

Oops! 

At the beginning of today, that sock looked liked this:

Add caption

I ended up sorting out the unintentional increase by ripping back 17 rows, then somehow managed to drop a stitch just before the ribbing!

And again, oops!

So, that was that.  I accepted the challenge; whilst I did not complete it, I still have some lovely socks to show for it.  I had decided this year, but I was not going to do the box of socks challenge again.  There are more things that I want to knit than socks, and socks I would like to knit for more people than me.  

Then I saw Amy Florence's video on 25 Days of Christmas Socks (and the associated discussion on her Ravelry group), and then somebody pointed me towards the UK sock knitters group on Ravelry, who are doing a year long KAL based on the periodic table of the elements - and suddenly I want to knit all the socks again!

Some of the socks I knit this year

To help me on my way, I have some very nice yarn for Christmas.

The first is some red and white striped yarn from Twinkly Knits on Etsy.  I bought this before seeing Amy's video, but after seeing a pair of red and white socks with a contrasting green toes, heels and cuffs.

The next was a gift from Mr Knitty; London House YarnsLondon House Yarns in the colourway Baubles. 

The last one was bought in the sales from Giddy Yarns in the colourway Christmas Tree Fairy.  The suggested contrast colour was pink, however, I preferred a more vibrant red.

Whatever happens, I will be knitting Christmas socks at some point before December this year.

At the moment, I don't have any socks on the needles.  Well OK, I have a pair for Mr Knitty, which are a belated Christmas present/ very early birthday present and the mosaic socks which need some work.  Apart from that, I don't have any socks on the needles and have a mass of yarns to choose for socks to get on the train when I visit my dad and his wife tomorrow.

And the candy cane socks?  I finished them whilst watching a film this evening .....

They may be The Wrong Trousers - but Gromit has certainly chosen the right craft! 

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....

USA: The Stash

Believe it or not, I was pretty restrained.  There was one yarn shop in Washington DC, which I didn't visit, as I knew there was more to explore in New York.

On my first night, I found Knitty City

Now, because that photo was taken after the shop closed, it doesn't show the baskets outside with the yarn on sale, or the boxes of books, or even the lady sitting outside knitting and telling me that all the books were free.

Oh dear.

Clockwise, from top left: 

• Intermix - Stacy Charles
• Kristin Knits - Kristin Nicholas
• Hat Couture - Theresa Silver
• Backyard Silk Blend Collection - Manos del Uruguay
• Vogue Knitting: Teen Knits on the Go
• Gotham - Stacy Charles
• Curvy Knits x 2 - Jillian Moreno
• Funky Knits - Carol Meldrum & Julie Marchington

I wasn't completely sure if I had enough weight allowance to bring back all of these books (let alone the space), so I had to go shopping for a new suitcase to carry the extra books back.  What started off at RRP of $170, was in the sale at $85.  The cashier who ran the transaction asked if he could try a mystery coupon to see if it made a difference.  Final cost, $46.40, including taxes! 

I will admit that the constant declarations that things were made the US, or the proliferation of flags got a bit irritating.  I get it, you're proud of your country/ isolationism!  However, when it came to yarn 'made in the US' is exactly what I was looking for! 

The first skein of yarn I found:

Knitted Wit Victory Sock
Colourway - Grand Canyon

Then I saw this one:

Knitted Wit Victory Sock
Colourway - Everglades

Then I saw a third one.  I wasn't sure if I could really justify a third skein.  However, I'd been sitting in Central Park listening to a guy playing his guitar and singing, including songs by REM, so I had to get it, given their song of the same name.  

Knitted Wit Victory Sock
Colourway - Cuyahoga Valley

I had a few hours to kill on the Saturday morning, and wanted to go to Lion Brand Studios (mostly because I knew they had a sale on, and the thought of getting some of the nicer yarns for a reduced cost was a tempting one).  In the end, the shop wasn't open at the same time I was free to visit it.  I also had Purl Soho on my list.  I've seen a video of it, and it looks like nothing on earth!  I'd planned to visit on the way back from Liberty and Ellis Islands.  However, I took more time than expected, by which point the shop had closed. 

Returning from Ellis Island

I have a very bad picture of me sitting inside Knitty City, in front of the bookshelf.  I hadn't even given it a glance!  I did have a plan to go back on the penultimate day I was in New York, but I decided that I'd done enough walking on the day in question, so didn't return after all.  

After walking to find the Alice statue, I didn't have the energy to return to Knitty City

Whilst I never went back to Knitty City, a couple of people had recommended Strand Books to me - and oh boy, was it a good recommendation!  The shelves for knitting and crochet were floor to ceiling; I had to borrow a ladder to peruse the top two shelves.  There was another lady looking for crochet books; every time I found one on the knitting shelves, I'd pass it down to her, just in case. 

Clockwise, from top left: 

• Knitting in America by Susan M. Strawn 
• The Best of Vogue Knitting: 25 Years of Articles, Techniques and Expert Advice
• The Knit Generation, ed. Sarah Hatton
• Knitting from the Centre Out by Daniel Yuhas

Knitting in America is one I saw at Knitty City; after looking it up online, it seemed right up my street - so I was very pleased to see it on the shelves at Strand Books.  (Ravelry page here).  Knitting from the Centre Out looked like an interesting way of approaching patterns and The Knit Generation featured designers I liked. 

They were also selling the famous Vogue Knitting Book - both the old and new editions.  I really wanted to get one of them, but didn't know if it was cheaper than in the UK, nor whether I'd have enough space in my luggage.  Despite the extra suitcase, books are heavy!  There was one by Amy Herzog which also had to go on the 'maybe later' pile.  

The last book from Strand Books, was one that is mostly intended for my very good friend and knitting mentor who had a baby, whilst I was in West Virginia.  If she likes the book, it's hers.  If she doesn't, I'll keep it.  Either way it works out, and some of the dresses are adorable. 

Also, in the knitting related purchases:

I first read about Kool Aid as a dye in Stitch and Bitch.  I couldn't quite get my head around the idea of using a drink powder to create a permanent colour to yarn.  I'm still not sure I've got my head around it, but with some packets of dye, space in the kitchen and an internet tutorial or two, I'm sure I can work something out.  

The final thing were a couple of bracelet charms which were on reduction at Girl Scout Central - the Manhattan shop for the Girl Scouts.  I thought they'd do quite nicely as stitch markers.  The one on the left is to celebrate 100 years of selling cookies; the one on the right is a Brownie elf.  

I'm due to go back to the US next year for a Scout camp, with Mr Knitty joining me afterwards for a holiday.  I'll either be going back to places I visited this year, or go somewhere new, with new yarn shops to explore.  It's a win-win.

What have you been up to this summer?

Where's Your Brain At?

In the most recent episode of Tea and Possibilities recent Tea and Possibilities podcast, Nikki talks about not completing a project, because that's not really where her brain's at.   At the moment, my brain's at my blanket.  I thought there was going to be a fight between me and the hot weather as to who lasted out the longest - but actually the weather only popped its head in for a couple of days. 

Last Saturday, I went on a group cycle ride of 11.5 miles, and really felt it when I came back!  I spent the afternoon crashed out on the sofa, with the blanket (as it currently stands), keeping my legs warm.  There was another one today, but it's a longer ride for the last weekend of the month.  I've decided against, as I need my energy for this evening. 

I've had to get over my aversion to the colour pink.  In fairness, it's not the colour that's the problem - it's the way it's always used to girl-ify everything.  You like fishing?  Have a grey fishing rod.  You're a woman who likes fishing?  Have a pink fishing rod.  You need a pen; here's a blue one.  You're a woman who needs a pen - here, have a special pink one.  The list is endless, but the worst I saw was the pink 'Big Red Bus Shape Sorter' from Early Learning Centre.  Because, of course we female Londoners have a completely different colour transport system to our male counterparts.

Anyway, I digress.....

The blanket as it stands has quite a lot of green and purple, and a pretty decent amount of blues.  To try and break it up a bit, I bought a whole load of My First Regia sock yarns in shades and patterns of pink.

The thing I love doing, is mixing and matching scraps of yarn - so a light pink ball and a dark pink ball will give me three squares; one plain in each shade of pink, and one square of pink stripes.  Factor in the patterned yarns and other scraps I had, and I had around balls for around seventeen squares, all stored in bags for each quarter, to try and make sure there's an even spread of colours.

Yarn received as a swap 

Then I received the swap to the yarns I sent off last weekend - and hey presto, another twenty or so balls are now ready to be knitted up. 

..... So, guess what I've been doing this last week? 

The blanket, as of 27th April 2018

Memories

My late grandmother, at her 90th birthday party

Whilst my grandmother was alive, she knitted me a scarf of scraps of yarn - all long and multicoloured, with tassels at the end.  At the time, I didn't realise what happens with garter stitch when you change colours (ie, you can see where the change happens) and I got rid of it.  I cannot tell you how much I now regret that decision.  (I'd also love to be able to get my hands on the pattern for the sweaters she knit us as kids).

In my time off, I've started knitting a memories blanket/sock yarn scrap blanket.  After doing some swatching, I decided that 50 was too few stitches for each square; 60 was too many.  As a kid, I remember my grandmother drilling into us that 7 x 8 = 56, after she had problems remembering it when she was a kid.  It's about one of the only multiplications I can easily remember, so of course it had to be the number of stitches I cast on for each square!

27th February 2018

I've been ripping along with it, and really happy at how it's going - until today, when I realised just how little I've actually completed, percentage wise.  The whole thing is due to be 280 squares in total; I've done less than a quarter of it so far.  I've also decided that I want each square to be different - although repetition of the same yarn is allowed.

2nd March 2018

There are some minis I have which are too similar to the squares which have already been knitted, so they're wrapped up, waiting to be used in a different part of the blanket.  I have enough full balls of sock yarn to carry me through the next three or four years, the scraps of which will be used in the blanket.  Until I have knitted some more socks, or bought some more minis, I feel that I've slowed down somewhat.  

9th March 2018

I did email somebody via Ravelry to see if she wanted to swap skeins (she didn't, as she has enough) and one of my friends is going to pass on any scraps of sock yarn she has left over, and occasionally lots come up on ebay, so there are ways to get the blanket finished, it's just likely to take longer than I was expecting.  Until then I'm going to carry on being as imaginative as I can in creating as many different mini skeins as possible, with the yarn I currently have. 

Oh, and the leftovers of the leftovers?  They're going to become another randomly striped scarf.