Funny pink socks

I've been looking after my DD today who has some sort of weird virus which I haven't seen before. But we have a nice time keeping each other company and chatting.

I have been finishing off these socks this week. I started to knit these for the solid socks January KAL on Ravelry but didn't get them finished as I got sick of the tiny cables and decided that I wasn't sure they were going to fit anyone. I can't seem to get toe-up socks right. I think these should have been knitted with thicker yarn and fatter needles to fit someone. Anyhow there must be someone I know who would like them. They are the Bouton d'Or socks. Yarn is Cocoon by Cleckheaton. Very splitty for some reason. The pink is less mauve than the picture. They are very tight on me.

I have been making good progress on my Noro blankie and am now up to 12 finished rectangles.
Lots of lovely colourways in there but I have a few duller ones to provide contrast. Of course the weather warmed up again this week.

Last I have started on this

This is not the February lady but another garter rib cardi which is also quite popular. I'll tell you more when I have progressed a bit further.

have a good weekend everyone. Cheers

Guess what

This is going to be.Does this help?

Or this?



Have you guessed yet. It's been a favourite pattern that I have been preparing for for a long time. Collecting up different colourways of Noro Kureyon from different places and I've finally started and it's fun. I have to knit about 20 of these rectangles and then join them all together. Even though every piece is the same pattern the different colours make it interesting. I've done about 9 so it should be ready for winter which we have had warning of this week. In fact I have had to get out my warm hand-knitted socks.

Here's a last picture of my cat, Misty, helping lay out the Noro rectangles.

Sorry not the best photo. Now she is helping me by chasing my yarn around the floor.
What am I knitting. It's this.

Cheers

Socks and lace

Hope to keep this going a bit more regularly from now on.

Said goodbye to my DS who went off to university in Christchurch a couple of weeks ago. I'm missing him but I know he is fine. It's very strange as he has hardly ever been away from home but seems to be adapted really well.

I have been knitting. Mostly socks of various kinds as you can see. Find details on Ravelry as I can't remember them all.




This which is the Chic Pulli is now finished but I haven't got an up-to date photo. Great pattern and I especially like the neck which has a simple lace rib and a nice shape. Made in Brown Sheep cotton fleece.

I have counted up my sock projects which are started and I have 3 single socks, 2 pairs about 3/4 finished and another single half finished and my sock-knitting mojo is disappearing. This is especially disappointing as I have two installments of Vintage Purls Summer Sock Club unstarted and they are both so gorgeous. Perhaps when winter comes it might come back. Right now I am contemplating which cardigan or pullover project i might start or should it be a lace project. I have recently acquired 2 skeins of lace-weight yarn from Vintage Purls. Here is one of my Vintage Purls skeins. Wonderful colour - a real teal blue.

It actually darker than this but I love it. I also have a purple one from Vintage Purls. What shall I make. I see Kiwichicknits has made a Woodland shawl which looks rather good and which I just realised is in my Ravelry queue. But maybe I'll try Twinings from Knitspot which I bought a while ago. Any suggestions for a shawl which looks good but isn't too complicated. Think I'll have to browse in Ravelry again.

Enough. See you soon Cheers

Just discovered SSof S is on again

And I would like to be in again but I am going to be very careful about what I promise. Have been knitting socks and acquiring stash all year so am looking forward to this. I want to try out new ways of making socks. Also would love to take part in a swap. cheers

Sun at last

Hi, thought I had better get back to this. It's been a long wet miserable winter here but we are finally coming out of it and today the sun is shining mostly and there is only a mild breeze. The bluebells are out.

I have been knitting (of course). Current favourites are:

The Myrtle leaf shawl with willow border from Victorian Lace Today in Dream in Color Baby, colour Strange Harvest. I bought the yarn from The Loopy Ewe and the shawl is for a KAL for a project using this yarn. I started knitting Madli's Shawl which is in Interweave Knits Summer 2004 but I was defeated by the nupps and the wavering pattern which couldn't be tamed by markers. Perhaps I'll try it again when I am more experienced with lace knitting. The Mytle leaf shawl is a delight to knit and although I haven't memorised the pattern it is easy to follow.
This is a funny photo but this sock is based on the scroll socks from More Sensational Knitted Socks with a different toe and heel. I love this yarn it is soft and stripes beautifully. It's Zen String Lotus Toes. She hasn't got any at the moment but other shops might have some. I think this also came from The Loopy Ewe.

Libby has tagged me to reveal 6 random facts about myself. Here they are:

1. I got married on New Year's Day in Perth Western Australia with only family attending and had a great time. Great to have such a low key day and so relaxing. Our friends were a little peeved that they weren't invited.
   
   
2. I am also a quilter as well as a knitter. I started knitting much earlier though but I love my quilting just about as much. I once won a price for one of my quilts - much to my surprise.
   
   
3. I decided that looking after my children was much more important than having a career and spent about 8 years out of the workforce and now only work part-time. I was lucky to be able to do this.
   
   
4. I have two children who are now teenagers. They seem to have turned out okay although some of the teen responses are a bit hard to deal with.
   
   
5. I once knitted a Kaffe Fassett cardigan - it was a dotty pattern. I used his tie lots of different yarns together trick, mixed up lots of different weights of yarns. It turned out okay except that it made me look like a sausage - my son called it my balloon jersey but it was very warm. I have since felted it (despite the acrylics in the yarns) and I think I will cut it up an make a bag (if I can be bothered).
   
   
6. I come from a small town in the South Island called Motueka. When I was a child the main products of Motueka were hops (for beer) and tobacco. Now Motueka is booming on the back of tourism. I was happy to escape from there when I went to Uni.

Now I am supposed to tag some more people which is a challenge. I am tagging Brooklyne, Nikki, Beverley, ennavic, Michelle and Hazel.

Here are the rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know your entry is up.

Back again

Hi there

It's been a while since I posted anything on here but I haven't been idle. Projects completed include:

Serendipity socks from the Socks that Rock sock club - January - STR lightweight

Tangled Yoke cardigan from Interweave Knits Fall 2007 in Naturally Yarns Harmony 8 ply.

Leafling socks, Socks that rock sock club - March STR mediumweight
and Salvia from Knitter's magazine No.86, made with Yarn Bee, Hues of Opulence #088 - not quite finished. I'm just working on the i-cord which finishes the fronts.
I joined the Dream-in-Color classy KAL with the The Loopy Groupies on Ravelry and am making Bristow using the Blue Lagoon colourway. Here are the sleeves which look as though they could be pants - done on one circular in the round up to the armhole. A bit tricky at the armhole but okay.


I am also making a scarf in white tencel/acrylic ( Moda Vera Jaclyn) for my DD because she says wool makes her itch. The stitch pattern is Close-woven basket lattice from A Treasury of Knitting Patterns by Barbara G Walker. Still have 4 balls of yarn to go and quite slow knitting. Hope she wears it.

I have also joined the Rowanette exchange this year and have cast on for my exchange gift but that's a secret.

Cheers

Sock/ yarn clubs

Hi, how are you all? I was lying in bed last night about midnight planning what I was going to write here. I'd been at Stitching Group and had come home all hyped up with looking at everyone's work and thinking about my own. Love going to my various groups but I often can't sleep afterwards.

Stell asked about my sock clubs. Actually one of them is a sock club and the other is really a yarn club. I have just got the first posting from the Rockin Sock Club 2008.

I was thrilled because red has got to be my favourite colour. The pattern is a little bit lacey. You'll see it when I have made some progress but I have already cast on and am a little past the cuff ribbing. Love knitting around and around to see how the colours develop on the sock. I think this one is pooling rather than striping but I like that. This sock club is a yearly one with 5 postings. I had to pay the whole amount for the year upfront which was a bit of a blip on the Visa. The wool yarn is lovely and soft although I have heard it doesn't wear very well might have to strengthen the heels.

The other club I belong to is the Spunky Club. Here are most of the yarns I have received over the past year.
There is a mix of sport, DK and fingering weight yarns. Some are pure wool, others are a mix of nylon and wool or tencel and wool. Each is enough to knit a pair of socks, a hat or scarf. I like this club because there is no pattern that I feel I should knit and I can pay monthly not for the whole year.

There are lots of other clubs out there here are some of shops which have them:

Simply Socks Yarn Company
The Loopy Ewe
The Wool Girl
The Art Walk Sock Yarn Club
The Tvyarn Sock Club
Sockamania
Harmony Semi-Solid Sock Yarn Club
Hipknits Project Club
The Yarn Tree Sock Club
The Zen String Sock Yarn Club
Joslyn's Fiber Farm

Well that's enough for now. I'm sure there are lots more out there. There are also clubs for roving for spinners as well.

Have to go. Work calls.

Cheers

Seasonal knitting

Hi, this is bit of an up-date of what I have been knitting (or actually mostly crocheting) and what my plans are for this year.

Spent most of my holidays crocheting various scarves, some for presents. I finished my Boteh scarf from Interweave Crochet, Spring 2007 in Handmaiden seasilk (Sangria) and sent it to my sis for her birthday.

I also made one for myself in Colinette Jitterbug (Marble). I wasn't sure how this colour would work out but I think it is great and so soft and warm.
Then I finished off the Open Diamond Scarf which is from Vogue Knitting on the Go: Crocheted Scarves II. The yarn is Holly Spring Homespun Scarlet Fleece in Poodle.

Being a new year, I have been having a bit of a think about what I am going to do with knitting and other crafting this year. I think I've gone a bit overboard with the knitting and especially the stash enhancement and in fact I've totally run out of storage space. I'm not sure why but I'm finding it very hard to stop buying yarn and I've really got far more than I will ever need. I think Ive been using yarn buying as a kind of stress release but it really causes more stress when you have to deal with the Visa bill. I also have too many magazines many of which I'll never use to make anything. So I've decided to:

1 Finish off as many of my WIPs that it is worth finishing and frog the rest.

2 Decide which yarn I will definitely use and sell off or give away the rest. This is going to be very hard because I love most of it. Some of it will be hard to even give away though! Unless someone out there really likes shiny variegated polyester ribbon!

3 Make a list of what I really want to make this year (after I finish the worthy WIPs that is) Most of my WIPs are on Ravelry.

This list might look something like this:

• Tangled yoke cardigan- Interweave Knits, Fall 2007
  
• Fifi - From French Girl
  
• Cobblestone for DH - Interweave Knits, Fall 2007
  
• Swallowtail shawl - Interweave Knits Fall 2006
  
• Chevron scarf - Last Minute Knitted Gifts
• Serrano - Knitty, Fall 2006
• Plus a range of socks and scarves.

4 Go through all my magazines and decide which I want to keep. I have heaps of those English knitting magazines which don't often have patterns I like.

5 I am also not going to buy any more yarn (well I am going to try not to buy more yarn) although I have already joined a couple of yarn/sock clubs. I'm hoping that getting a monthly yarn "present" will help.

6 Limited browsing of yarn shops on the Internet - except I still hanker after some Wollmeise.

That's enough for now. I'll report back on progress.

Cheers

Time for a catch-up

Well, it's a long time since I've been on here. Hope you all had a decent holiday and some fun over the Christmas/other holiday break. Lots of picture on this one. We all went off to Victoria in Australia for Christmas and met up with lots of my relations whom I hadn't seen for about 30 years. Really great to catch up and meet all their children and children's children. Here's a photo of one of our get-togethers.

We spent about two weeks in and around Ararat which was orginally a gold-mining town but is now a centre for farming and a "gateway to the Grampians". The Grampians is a pretty spectacular range of mountains near-by. We visited them twice, one day it poured with rain and we couldn't see much of the mountains and the next time it was about 40 Celcius and we couldn't bear the heat! Here's my mum sheltering from the sun.


We also did a trip to Bendigo and explored a gold-mine and took a tram tour.

We spent a couple of nights in Portland on the south coast. It was supposed to be mostly industrial (there is an aluminium smelter there) but it was surprisingly pretty and interesting and much less over populated than some of the other south coast beach towns. Here is where we stayed.

Finished our time in Victoria by taking a trip down the Great Ocean Road which is supposed to be one of the great drives in the world. I have to agree. It was spectacular.

That's part of the 12 Apostles - I think there are only 11 now though because one fell down. And of course the obligatory koala. The photo was taken by DD of a koala in the wild. Pretty good I thought.

And although I didn't do any knitting I did do some crochet. Crochet is easier on a plane especially with a wooden crochet hook which doesn't seem to excite the security people. Here's a scarf I finished.

Made from Cherry Tree Hill Sockittome, pattern is the Cluster Stitch Fiesta Scarf from Vogue Knitting on the Go: Crocheted Scarves II.

Enough for today. I'll be back soon with more of the knitting I have been doing. If you are on Ravelry you can see some of my other projects - I am Diantee.

Cheers

Rushing up to Christmas

Hi, I know some of you are celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend( Happy Thanksgiving) but I've only got three weeks until my Christmas holidays and I have done NO Christmas shopping. Think it might be very basic this year. I have had hints from the teenage daughter who wants either a new iPod or a new digital camera! I'm trying to think of something more imaginative and creative and it can't be knitted because knitted things except scarves and gloves are not cool enough. What fun! Any suggestions?

Have been working on finishing this.


This is the second half of Clementine from Interweave Knits Spring 2007. I have to get it finished by tomorrow for a friend's birthday so I'll have to get off here soon. Only managed to get some sock knitting time at a meeting the other night. Working on the next exhibition for my quilt guild. We have a biennial exhibition which as some of you will know takes quite a bit of work to organise. Good way to get to know members better though.

Have to take the teenage son to his NCEA level 2 exam shortly. He's quite happy with another Playstation game or a book for a Christmas gift.

I'll catch up again soon. Cheers

A fine weekend

Hi, thought I would show off what I achieved during the UFO Weekend. Finished piecing a large log-cabin quilt with flying geese sort of. Here's another photo. Quilting next!

I also finished piecing this quilt which I made from left-overs from another quilt - overestimated how many blocks I would need. Surrounded by fellow UFOers.
It was a great weekend. Sharing everyone's stories and quilts and also not having to do a spot of housework or cooking.

Cheers

Stuck on socks

Hi there, well I'm stuck on socks and loving it but all my other projects are suffering. Am off for a UFO weekend this weekend. Yes, it is for finished unfinished projects and starting new ones. The best thing is, no housework and no cooking for two whole days. Yayyyy! I'm planning to finish piecing a very large log cabin quilt I have been making for a friend and hopefully layer it ready for quilting. Picture next time.

Have finished a couple of pairs of socks one pair for DH in size 12! See above. Took forever so hope he wears them. Yarn details etc are in my previous blog.


Also finished a pair of baby socks. Such fun to knit. Did them on one 2.00 mm circular and before the baby was born. In Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Child's Play left over from my Jaywalkers. The pattern is Better than Bootees socks that are free on Knitting Daily. You can see my Jaywalkers and other projects on Ravelry, I'm Diantee. Have also started another pair of socks using a free Wendy Knits' pattern, Southwestern Socks which I downloaded from The Loopy Ewe. It's an easy pattern, toe up and great when you don't know how far the yarn will go. Yarn is Cider Moon Glacier in Victoria (purple). It's a "sport" weight - seems like an NZ DK. I'm using two 2.75 mm circulars. Have finished one and about halfway up the foot with the other. Knits up pretty quickly.
I notice that the preview for the next Interweave Knits magazine is up. Some lovely pullovers (jerseys, jumpers or sweaters) and a nice assortment of other patterns. This magazine is just so good. I don't subscribe but Magnetix in Lambton Quay, Wellington has it about a week after it is released in the US.

Well, got to go, have to make sure there is plenty of food in the house for the troops.

Cheers

Southern Summer of Socks

Hi, a short one this time. I wanted to say I have joined the Southern Summer of Socks KAL so I will get some of my largish stash of sock yarn knitted up. Some of it I'm saving for the Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts which is gorgeous. I'll have to pick the yarn for that first.

We're supposed to set some goals for this KAL and these are mine:

1. Knit a pair of socks from every type of yarn I have.
2. Practise toe up socks at least twice.
3.Knit a pair of socks for every member of my family and some of my friends.
4. Try a new technique - maybe fair isle socks.

Here's my first pair which I cast on on Monday. I'm just decreasing the gusset after turning the heel and I think I am going to run out of wool because they are for DH who has very large feet. Here's where I am now. The wool is Sheldridge Farm Soft Touch Sock from the Simply Socks Yarn Company

I'm hoping to make a pair of baby socks next. There's an imminent arrival for one of my workmates!

I'm making progress with my cozy v-necked pullover from Fitted Knits. Have finished the body and started on a sleeve. Will have to rip it a bit as I don't like the ribbing starting so soon. I think it would be better below my elbow.

Cheers

Finished Objects

I finished the lacy cardigan from the Cleckheaton Vintage Hues pattern book. I love it and its quite warm and cozy. It took 8 skeins of Cleckheaton Vintage Hues which I got half price at Spotlight. Love this colour combination but have not yet found the right pin for the cardigan. I knitted the pattern as written and it went very fast on 6 mm needles and the bulky wool. The size is 12-14.

I also finished my sidewinder socks. I found these really fun to knit and the hand-painted yarn looks so good knitted sideways. The yarn was the Celebration colourway from the Spunky Yarn Club in Tough Sock. I knitted the largest size and the socks are too big but they can stay that way. Probably shrink a bit anyway.

I have also finished these recently. They are made from Patons Patonyle in colourway 4309 which is very pretty. I used the On-Your_Toes sock pattern from Interweave Knits Summer 2007. I found the Turkish cast on with the pattern used left a bit of a hole in the toe which I had to darn up later. Probably my inexperience with the cast on.

I also went to a really great class last weekend. It was a experimental knitting class with Prudence Mapstone. I've been aware of her work for some time but was thrilled when Nancy's, one of our local embroidery and quilt shops offered a class. I found it was a lot of fun and came away with a couple of small pieces from a day's work. Think it would take a while to make something larger but I thought I might incorporate these into one of my quilts.

Sunny day with wind

Good Morning. Running a bit late this week. I finished my Juno and sewed it up. That's a close-up of the collar above and the whole thing below. Have decided I don't like the buttons - too shiny and will have to find something else. I couldn't get a decent photo of it on me so this will have to do.

Details

Pattern: Juno from Rowan 40.
Yarn: Rowan Yorkshire Tweed Aran from Jannette's Rare Yarns. Used about 51/2 balls for Size medium.
Amendments: Added about 15 rows to the length - not sure it really needed it though.
Comments: An easy knit, even the collar once I got the pattern worked out and I like the Yorkshire tweed - quite soft once it is washed. Not much available now though. Sleeves are too long again. Can't seem to get them right.

Have been making a cardigan from Cleckheaton Vintage Hues which is waiting to be sewed up. It has a lace edging which I'm still working on. I used the Green/Burgundy/Blue colourway which is more subdued than some of the colourways.

Had a early morning this morning. Had to be up at the crack of dawn -well not quite -so I could do the weekly shop - how boring before DH went off to help his BIL to build a platform for the spa pool. Hope he's back in time to do some things around here that need doing especially as he is going on a bike ride (motorbike) tomorrow. Anyway I've started on a pair of socks for him - size 12 feet so it'll take a while! I'm using some subdued blue-green Trekking XXL.

Went a bit mad and ordered some things from Loopy Ewe in the States. Naughty especially as I already have too much sock wool. The colours are so lovely I can hardly resist.

Well, hope everything is okay with all of you.

Cheers