That’s how I get by. I always keep a sock in progress in my purse where ever I go and make sure to work on it whenever my hands aren’ doing anything. And it pays off, I have several finished objects socks, even though my knitting time has been very limited.
2 pairs of socks for children, in medium weight Socks That Rock, a rare gem colourway.
Two pairs of socks from Nancy Bush’ wonderful books. First, Conwy from Knitting on the road in lightweight Socks That Rock, the Mustang Sally colourway.
The colours look so different in the snow in the first rays of the sun.
And, Child’s French sock from Knitting Vintage Socks in Opal UNI.
I knit these socks with my sockkompis in mind, but I think they turned out to be a little big. I love the pattern and the colour and the socks fit me perfectly so they are staying with me and I will knit something else for my pal.
Nancy Bush’ books are wonderful sources of inspiration. My current sock in progress is Gentleman’s plain winte sock from Knitting Vintage Socks. The yarn is Regia 4-ply in Nation color, and the nation is Germany! I purchased the yarn when I visited Hamburg last summer when the Soccer World Championships were taking place there. When we were there Germany played Sweden in Hamburg and won and the whole city just went crazy. That’s probably what inspired me to buy this yarn. And the gentleman these socks are intended for is my boyfriend.
I hope that I will get the opportunity to work on this shawl, Mim’s Hidcote Garden, but for the moment socks are all I have time for.
After 84 continous days of rain, the sun finally came back, almost as celebration of my second Sunwheel shawl which I just finished!
Here are some close ups of the unwashed shawl:
And here it is: washed, blocked, light fluffy and beautiful:
Close ups:
I love this shawl, maybe I have to knit a third shawl and keep it.
PS. For specs, see here, here and here.
Some time before Christmas I came across the Swedish book Tvåändssticka and some z-plied yarn in a yarn store and of course I bought both the book and a few skeins of the yarn. I have been intrigued by twined knitting for quite some time and really wanted to learn. Seeing what other people have knitted this way made me want to learn even more.
My first attempt at twined knitting was quite successful, I made one mitten!
Twined knitting is very time consuming, at least for someone who like me, does not have the experience. And then you constantly have to untwist the yarn. I know that winding my skein into two separate balls of yarn was not very wise. It would have been smarter to wind it into one center-pull ball and use both ends. I will try that with the next skein.
Twined knitting makes the perfect fabric for mittens. It is so dense and keep your hands nice and warm even in the most windy weather.
I think it is interesting how the knit stitches look like ordinary knit stitches, while the purl stitches look so different from regular purl stitches. In the picture above there are both all purl rows and rows with a combination of knit and purl stitches.
Why haven’t I made the second mitten? Well, I started it, and then one of my needles broke and I found a few mistakes and decided to frog the whole thing. I will start the second mitten as soon as I buy new needles. I used a set of five 2,75 mm double pointed needles which I purchased in England last summer. No LYS close to me carry that size needles. I know I can get them on-line, but I have decided to wait till next time I go abroad. I originally intended these mittens to be a Christmas present for my Mother, now I plan on saving them for the next.
I always wish to start off the new year with clean sheets and empty needles. Unfortunately, that never happens and probably never will. So instead of trying and failing, I decided to start the new year by finishing the projects in my knitting basket. My knitting basket takes care of three shawls in progress, a Faroese Sunwheel shawl, a Swallowtail shawl and a Hidcote Garden shawl.
The Faroese Shawl is a gift for my Aunt’s 80th birthday in the middle of next month. I started it in late August to make sure I would finish it in time. Well, after a few rows the shawl has been laying untouched in the knitting basket. When I started thinking about all my loose ends a few weeks ago and pulled it out I was actually quite worried that I wouldn’t have time to finish. I made the same shawl in July so I know the amount of work needed. I am proud to tell you that over the weekend I really pulled myself together and finished the knitting. Here it is:
I still have to weave in the ends, crochet the edging, add fringes, wash and block it. Hopefully, I will be able to get that done by the end of this week. I am using the same yarn as last time, but in a different colour. I really love this yarn. The yarn is unwashed and the colour is the sheep’s own. I love the oily feel of it. I also enjoy its coarseness and the smell of sheep. I have to admit, the shawl isn’t very impressing in its present state, but once it has been washed it completely transforms. It turns into a wonderfully warm and light shawl. The smell of sheep stays on, but not as intense. I don’t mind though, and neither do my old aunts, because we all love sheep!
(More detergent or a scented detergent would make the smell go away completely.)
