The trouble with socks (FO and WIP)

A while ago (early April) I cast on some husband socks for my dear husband's birthday. I cracked on with the Java pattern from Knitty, which I've been itching to knit for a while. Apart from messing up the rib, and having to redo that a couple of times, it was all going swimmingly until i got down the first foot towards the toe  (although by then the birthday deadline had been and gone). At that point it started to look like there was a problem with the yarn. By which I mean, there wasn't going to be enough of it. When we went on holiday at the end of June, I packed a bag of projects and my digital scales. I weighed the sock (making allowance for the needles) and I weighed the remaining yarn. They were about the same. No chance then of making a pair of socks. A slight drawback in a sock project. So, I started again.

I pulled some interesting leftovers out of my sock yarn stash, including a small ball of sock yarn I bought in a charity shop and I cast on for a pair of stripey scrap socks. The trouble was that these would never do for my husband, so they had to be for me. I polished them off in about a week (there is something very, very more-ish about those stripes).

(This is a WIP shot. Haven't yet had chance to take a FO picture)

Pattern: generic top-down, using a grumperina stripe

Yarn: Regia semi solid (dark grey); unknown self-striping sock yarn (paler green/cream); unknown (?Rowan) 4-ply (darker green).

Once those were off the needles (and on my feet) I got round to the subject of socks with my other half. Yes, he would like some (rather belated birthday socks) but they would have to be different to the Christmas pair. No problem. I wanted to do more stripes, but to make something a bit more subtle, so I cast on with two grey yarns this time, one ball of trekking in charcoal grey and another charity shop yarn which is a bit paler and has a strand of blue to give it a bit of extra something. These aren't quite floating my boat in the same way as the green ones, but I'm hoping they won't take too long. I'm a bit behind with a few. other. things.

While we were on holiday, celebrating my birthday, I managed another FO - the scarf I had been knitting from last-minute knitted gifts (chevron scarf). Here it is enjoying the morning sun in the blue bedroom and waiting to be packed in the knitting bag to go home. There it was washed and blocked and wrapped and sent. A belated birthday gift for my cousin, Emma. Happy Birthday Em!

Pattern: Chevron Scarf (Last-minute knitted gifts)

Yarn: 50g Rowan Cashsoft and 50g or so of hand-dyed yarn by Jenny Cook

Birthday Bling

After 40 years on this earth, I seem (finally) to have got my dearest and nearest into the groove in terms of gifts. My husband gave me some splendid jewellery - pearls (my birthstone) and diamonds - from the rather nice Lime Blue in Edinburgh.

My mother and mother-in-law both gave me sock yarn. Mum gave me some more of Jenny Cook's yarn from Hay-on-Wye - this time a blue yarn with a silver sparkle; my mother-in-law gave me two differnet yarns - a hank of purpley blue Malabrigo, and a ball of pinky Berocco, also with a sparkle. My mother-in-law also gave me Jane Brocket's latest book - the Gentle Art of Knitting. I foresee several tea cosies in the near future.

There were other gifts too, notably, a copy of Ysolda Teague's 'little red in the city' (which hasn't quite arrived yet) and several bottles of wine... It's nice to be of an age where people give you lovely wine and good books.

Forty Love

Last week I was forty. It is quite something to be inhabiting a new decade on this earth. I remember my mother being very grumpy about the big 4-0, but I am not - I am happy. My thirties were all about forging my life, establishing my career, finding the right man, getting married and starting a family. My forties will be different - the baby days are behind us, and we are settled in this city (if not this house). There is much to do - much to knit, to sew, to craft, to bake, to write, to garden, to love, to live, to see, touch and taste - and I am looking forward to it all. To living for another 40 splendid years.

The midsummer is such a special time - with the long days (sometimes sunny) and the fat, lushness of the garden - and of course strawberries and Pimms and cream and ice-cream and Wimbledon and tennis and dashed hopes (c'mon Andy!) It's also our wedding anniversary. 6 happy years. Thank you my love. Happy anniversary.

Smitten Shmitten

Well now. The sun may be shining, but there are clouds overhead, and poor old Drew has gone back to the drawing (drew-ing?) board.

So, having knit furiously up to the armholes and completed the back and started on one of the fronts, I took stock. Hmmm. Less than three balls of yarn used for a project that is supposed to take 9 balls. Hmm. And, only 21cm below the armhole for something meant to fit a 4-5 yr old, even before washing/shrinking. Hmmmmm.

It wasn't stacking up. I checked on Ravelry, and I think there's only one completed Drew (perhaps that says something), which had the comment that it came up small. A forum post about the pattern and yarn requirement mismatch generated various comments mostly saying 'dont forget the hood' - which is a bit bamboozling as this pattern doesn't have a hood, but anyway. I usually find Rowan patterns/sizing to be generous, so thought age 4-5 would be fine for my average/slim 4 1/2 year old son. Then I got the tape measure - you know like proper knitters do - and actually measured my son and a couple of his jackets, and have decided to start all over again. This time I am going to use the age 6-7 size in terms of chest size/width, but aim for something which is about the same length as the age 10-11 size. I hope I'll end up with a jacket which he can wear for a little while at least, and not something which is so short he'll grow out of it before I have had chance to sew the zipper in. 

I spend an unhappy half an hour or so on Wednesday morning frogging all the lovely stripes, and then I took a deep breath and started again. I went to an interesting lecture later on that day, and got on with the reknitting while Carolyn Steel talked about cities and food and her book 'Hungry City'. Food for thought. If you are interested at all in issues around food shopping and supermarkets and growing your own (which of course most people are) then it's worth having a look and/or listening to Carolyn speak. She is very passionate about her subject, and there is lots of interesting info on her website and blog.

Smitten

The boys went out on Saturday to watch the rugby sevens at Murrayfield. While they were out I grabbed a little pile of Rowan Denim which has been marinading in the stash for a while. I swatched for Drew - something new to knit for the bean. I got gauge and cast on, and I'm smitten. I can't put it down, even though there are a million other things to do like finish Grace, plant out the runner beans, hoover up the dust bunnies, make the supper, write a presentation for Wednesday. You know how it is. I can't stop. It's only been on the needles since Saturday afternoon and I'm almost at the armholes. It's yummy. I love the feel of the fabric in my hands.

My stash of Rowan Denim doesnt quite run to the required 9 balls of one colour/dye lot, so I'm going all stripey instead. The bean declared yesterday that he "...doesnt like stripes..." but he added that when it's finished, then he might like them then. I'm smitten, even if he isnt (yet). And, as he is only 4, I like to think I'll be able to make him wear it anyway.

Betty is looking pretty good too, but she's one for a quiet corner when there is space and time and light to concentrate on the pattern and the increases (that's a lower cuff in case you're wondering).

The wild weather has kept us mostly inside this weekend. The wind has been incredible and both children have been blown over by it, making outside walks/adventures rather difficult. The sun has been glorious, but the showers frequent and heavy and the wind very, very strong. I managed a few minutes of gardening between the showers, earthing up the spuds and weeding the denuded rows of salad and beetroot. Pesky slugs.

Sew...

A few FOs to record and celebrate (it's been a long, long time coming). I foresee more in the next days...

  

upcycled baby wipes and an upcycled dribble bib (tutorial here)

my first home sewn nappy

oh, and this one isnt finished, but she's perfect in every way...

WIPs

The WIPs are getting a bit out of hand.

1. Grace is still OTN, but progress has been made. I've redone the button bands - with the correct number of buttonholes this time - and I've knitted the collar again but have a little modification in mind to make it look even better. Then there's the small matter of sewing it up...

2. The Java socks are not done. I'm just about ready to do the toe decreases on the first sock - but I need to check the length with DH's foot, and I have a sneaking suspicion that I dont have enough yarn to make two - which is a major drawback in a sock project.

3. My fingers were itching the other evening, so I cast on for a Betty (Rowan Winter Kids)in a lovely raspberry pink colour very similar to this (although it a substitute yarn) ...

4. The scarf is bimbling along. I am not expecting to finish this soon - it's my fall back project, something to grab when there's a chance of knitting a few rows here or there. The colours are gorgeous...

5. And then there's the sewing. We've been having a few nappy issues lately, and it's getting harder to wrangle the jelly bean (now almost 21 months) into her nappies because she's getting bigger, and they aren't, and there's been a lot of leaking and changing of clothes going on (particularly at nursery). For the most part we use Totsbot bamboozles - a shaped nappy made from bamboo terry, and we also have a couple of the Ella's house hemp nappy. The hemp nappies have a longer rise and fit better than the bamboozles now that the jelly bean is bigger. We love our cloth nappies, and have used them very happily for both of our babies. Given that we are hoping not to need them for too much longer, I have been experimenting. I have made a nappy!!

It makes me very happy. I'm not an accomplished seamstress (I find using a sewing machine awkward, no doubt because it is not designed for a left-hander) so I feel very pleased to have done this. Of course, things may yet unravel when we try it out for real, but so far so good. I used the hemp nappy as a template and constructed the new nappy from a single bamboo terry square and two layers of cotton flannel cut from a crib sheet/head cloth. I elasticated the waist/leg openings with regular elastic from my sewing box, and I'm now waiting for some aplix to arrive so that I can finish it off and try it out! While I had the machine out the other evening, I also got started on the pile of wipes and dribble bibs that I cut out a few weeks ago, and I ironed some patchwork pieces ready for stitching. It's satisfying to get things done...