3rd Day of Christmas - Socks

Socks.  You can never have enough knitted socks.  And having knitted around 200 pairs, I know!  I have been a bit slack of late - quite a few pairs on the needles, so I thought that it was time to finish them off and free up the needles for more . . . . . socks!!

There is nothing special about these socks - I have used my own pattern, Billy Basic Socks, that can be found on Ravelry and the yarn is for both is a self striping yarn.  One is called Rainbow from Knit Picks and is lovely and soft.  I'm afraid I can't remember the name of the other yarn :(  I love hand-knitted socks, especially at this time of the year, so I now have some more to add to my collection!!

As you can see, Nico is new to all of this photo taking and wanted in on the action!!

I also knit some fingerless gloves using a pattern called Cortland.  This was a quick and fun pattern, and they knit up quickly.  I like the pointed cuff - quite unusual - but it was fun to knit and looks great.  The lace pattern was a 4 row repeat and very straight forward, and the thumb is a 'proper' (in my estimation!) thumb.  Much better than a slit/hole to poke your thumb through.  These were knitted in the round, so no seams to sew up at the end.  Like socks.  Are you seeing a patter here?!  

My project is here.  The yarn is lovely soft merino/silk blend and these gloves have been worn a lot recently too.

And finally . . . . . I completed a cowl.  

The yarn is called Sockittome and I made some socks out of a different colourway last Christmas.  It was a pain to knit with using 2.5mm needles, but an absolute pleasure using 3.5mm needles.  How bizarre.  I actually saw another lady had made a cowl using this yarn, so I shamelessly copied her!  I know, I have no shame!

The cowl is long enough to wrap around my neck twice, but as the temperatures are -20c right now, indoor pics on Polly (my polystyrene head double) will have to suffice!

I have found that my knitting often takes a back seat to my sewing, and I had forgotten how much I enjoyed knitting.  My output this year was quite minimal, and I look forward to upping that in 2016!

Do you find that one hobby tends to get pushed aside for another?

Singer Perfect Plus - update

I am excited to say that I have been on a bit of a roll sewing wise.  It is interesting to note (well, it is for me anyway!!) that I work better when I have a number of items cut our and ready to go.  It can take a good day or so to get lots cut out and then I can disappear into my sewing room and can work for ten minutes, three hours, whatever time I have available.  So, when I cut out Mr. SDSC's shirt, and my Chartreuse Sorbetto dress, I also cut out a couple of pairs of trousers and a top for myself.  And here are the results!

First up is a pair of grey trousers made out of suiting with a touch of lycra.  They hang really well, but are a little too heavy for the summer - they will be really warm in the winter.  I put side pockets in these and I am not that happy with them.  Pockets don't excite me like they do with others, so I will probably not put them in the next pair.

Just look at how they hang at the back (forget the dodgy pocket peeking out on the left!), I am just thrilled that they don't bunch up under my butt like my old RTW trousers do.  I used McCalls 5239 again - I love that pattern!

Hey, I hear you shout - that's a cute top . . . you know what, I have all sorts of conversations in my head, and I guess this is one of them . . . well thank-you!  I really want to make a great co-ordinated work wardrobe.  Although I work in an environment where casual clothing is acceptable, I personally like to dress up a bit and 'look the part'.  Using the information and suggestions in the Singer Perfect Plus book, I made the 'shapely shirt' out of some cotton with lovely woven thick and thin stripes.  I made a number of alterations such as a FBA, sway back and rounded back adjustment.  All in all, I am happy with this.  Seeing the photos of the back, it looks as though I can take in the excess fabric under the swayback adjustment - you can see it in the photo above where the fabric sticks out and catches the light.  I like the cute little sleeves and I love a collar on my tops as they help disguise my rounded upper back.

As with Mr. SDSC's shirt, I used my old, old, Singer Featherweight and buttonholer attachment to make the buttonholes.  Boy that is a good combination!

The other pair of trousers are from some black suiting that has woven black on black stripes that you cannot see in these photos, but they do look rather smart.

Again, I am really please with how they hang, and I am happy to be able to knock these out with some consistency, quickly and easily.

The same pattern (with more generous seam allowances) also made these jimmy jam trousers:

And the cute socks?  They were a 'mystery sock pattern' on Ravelry.  They have little glass beads down the side and are very soft and smooshy!

Well, having polished off that sewing, I am ready to have another cutting out marathon.  I have three lengths of linen/rayon in grey, natural and chartreuse, so I plan to cut out a 'shapely blouse' and a Sorbetto from each of the lengths.

These will be part of my 'Antipodean Adventure' collection for my trip to Australia.  The blouse and the Sorbetto can be worn on their own, or layered with the blouse acting as a lightweight jacket.  I also have fabric for three more shirts for Mr. SDSC and finally, oh yes finally, I am going to cut out my Oscar de la Renta shift dress.  The fabric has been washed (a 70/30 wool/silk houndstooth) that I planned to make for the Pattern Review RTW competition that  never made.  Here is the original version that I love so much!

So there we go, that should keep me busy for a while - what about you?

Mojo

I kind of lost my sewing mojo.  It was linked into moving house and my sewing room looking like this:

 

But, Mr. SDSC has been very busy building my units, and I will be back to full sewing speed pretty soon,  There are still some things that need moving from the old house (we downsized our house without downsizing our possessions.  Oops!)

In the meantime, I resorted to my more portable hobby - some knitting, and have cast on a cute scarf called Hitchhiker (you can pick up the pattern on Ravelry).  I am using some lovely self-striping yarn called Schoppel-Wolle Crazy Zauberball.  The scarf has teeth along one edge and gently curves.  Very cute!  Here is my progress so far:

And here is a photo of my little helper enjoying the afternoon sun - Rocky the greyhound:

Sapphire Cheer

I love knitting test knits.  Like really, they are the best knitting ever.  So when I saw a request to knit this gorgeous shawl, I had to give it a go.  This beautiful design is knit bottom up in the shape of a long, wide crescent. 

  It is heavily beaded . . .

 And I had some lovely self-dyed Knit Picks Shadow lace-weight that was just calling out to be used

 So what about this - stunning, right?!

 It was an absolute delight to knit, very quick and easy.  The beads add a touch of glamour and a bit of weight.

The stats are:
Yarn: Knit Picks Shadow lace yarn - 44gms
Needles: 32” Knit Picks Options, 4mm (larger size for cast on)
Pre-blocking: 11” width centre, 6.5” width each side, 33” across
Post Blocking: 14” width centre, 9.5” width each side, 60” across
Beads: Clear glass, silver lined
Cast On: Backwards loop
Cast Off: 3 stitch iCord

I love, love, love this pattern, so why don't you pop over to Ravelry and get your own pattern?   :o)

What is next on the needles I hear you shout . . . . hey, I can be delusional if I so choose . . . well, I am going to work my way through Cookie A's two sock books, knitting up socks mostly as gifts - that way I don't need to get too hung up on sizing, I can just knit them as is, and if they don't fit me, I have a gift for someone else!  The first pattern is Glynis which is quite a straightforward pattern and I hope to have these completed in a couple of weeks as I have an Aunt and Uncle coming to visit from the UK and I think they would be perfect for my Aunt.

Beaded Mitts

I really can't resist test knits . . . . and when I saw the lovely request to knit some beaded fingerless gloves designed by Stephannie Tallent on Ravelry, I had to try them out.  So, what do you think?

These were a quick and easy knit that used hardly any yarn at all - fabulous. I really enjoy knitting with beads, I love the weight that they give to a garment and the fact that on the inside you still have the softness of the yarn against your skin.

So, less than 1 ball of yarn - just 35gms used so these would be perfect for that special skein that you have tucked away. I used silver lined beads - I love the sparkle - in pale pink, fresh green and brown to get that contrast.

My tension was slightly out - I was spot on for stitches (28sts = 4”), but used more rows (50 rather than 40 - I may need to recount), but the fit is perfect - I probably had to knit a few more rows, but I would rather do that and know that the circumference fits well.

This was my first time knitting a picot edge - it was a little fiddly, but boy, the results are fantastic. I will certainly be using it on some socks!!

A Hound in Need

I was saddened to read about poor Giles, a lovely old greyhound that had been dumped by his owners in a terrible state - covered in fleas, anaemic, underweight.  Terrible. 

 
However, the greyhound community is very committed to looking after these lovely retired racers, and as a result, this page has been set up on Facebook - it is an auction to raise money for Giles's treatment.

My contribution is to offer a 'snood' or three, as modelled by the lovely Hobbes (above).  The pattern was designed by Erssie Major and she donates all the proceeds of the sales of the pattern to her local greyhound agency in the UK.

So drop by, take a look at Hobbes, and maybe put a little bid in on something that catches your eye!!

Get well soon Giles xx

Aasha Cowl

I have been taking part in a test knit on Ravelry for a very cute cowl.  Ravelry has a neat set up for designers that would like their patterns tested, and knitters who would like to knit a pattern for free, and before it is released to the public.  So here I am, testing!  I am using sportweight rather than DK or Laceweight, so I will probably need to knit a second item to comply with the test.  However, as I was in Tofino on a knitting retreat -d this is what I found in the local (very lovely) knitting shop!

I knit five repeats, wet & blocked and then grafted together.  I started trying to match my stitches for grafting and got in a bit of a mess, so I 're' grafted all the stitches the same (knit) and it looks perfect!

The time that I took to knit this are misleading - I have been on vacation with little knitting time.  I think it would only take a couple of evenings if this was your only project on the go (if you get what I am saying!!)

Measurements:

Pre Blocking - 15" x 3.5"
Post Blocking - 17.5" x 7.5"

I wasn't very aggressive with the blocking - I read the comments from one of the other testers who did not want a baggy cowl, so I was more concerned with the width rather than the length.  As it is, is snugs beautifully around my neck and will be great in the autumn/winter.  The alpaca in the yarn makes it VERY warm!

I had no problem with the pattern - I use charts and it is well set out and easy to read.

This would be a perfect 'last minute' gift, knitted up in a special yarn.

Thank-you for letting me test :o)

The Yarn:

 Pre-Blocking:

Upside Down Blocking - Hey, it looks good both sides!

All Done!