Needle Talk

 Hello friends, this past couple of weeks I have spent some time evaluating my use of knitting needles. I learned to knit on straight needles which I found cumbersome and unwieldy, especially as I was under 10 and therefore quite small. I all but gave up in my early twenties and when the bug finally caught in my early forties I was astounded to discover the magic of circular needles for any project. They were simply perfection, small tips and a cable to take the weight of the work transformed me from a reluctant to a passionate knitter. I felt ready to tackle anything and I did, lace, garments, and finally my beloved socks. Over the years I have tried many brands and while they all have some virtues I have come to the conclusion that my favourites are ChiaGoo, whether fixed or interchangeable they have what I need in a needle. Points sharp enough for lace or picking up stitches, a cable that stays put and doesn't curl all over the place, always smooth joins allowing the stitches to glide and best of all for me, nickel free. Sadly I cannot afford to buy a set but I have a plan. I will ask for a fixed circular needle case for my birthday and I will buy the sizes as and when to build my set up.

Picture from The Little Knitting Company Website

And then last Sunday, this happened

Yep, the needle tip and cable parted company in a way that cannot be fixed. Now, this is the third time this has happened to me with this brand so I have rescinded my request to hubby for the above needle case and have asked instead for a set of HiyaHiya Steels in the small size with 5" tips.

A to Z of Socks

I am delighted to say that more folks have joined in with my mad idea. it would seem that others also want to expand their sock collections and with no deadlines or particular requirement to knit in alphabetical order, folks are attracted to the simplicity of the KAL.

That said, I have personally started in alphabetical order and have completed my A socks which I talked about in the last post.

Ash Socks

I have also completed my B pair.

Bark socks

The free pattern for Bark socks by Wei S. Leong caught my eye and the simplicity of the textured design was a joy to knit. I used an MCN sock yarn from a past mystery box from Rosie's Moments, the colour was Pig Robinson at Sea from the Beatrix Potter series. These lovely socks knit up very quickly and I was just about finished the second when the above needle mishap occurred. Luckily I had a spare needle and was able to rescue the stitches.

The Handmade Sock Society 4

Serendipity struck with the release of the first pattern in this collection in that the socks are called Curling Mist. I cast on the day the pattern was released and yesterday finished the first sock.

I am knitting these on a ChiaGoo 2.25mm 100cm needle using magic loop and I am doing the medium size with 64 sts. The yarn is EasyKnits Big Boy in the Fields of Gold colour which I was gifted some time ago. 

Other FO's

Nothing at all.

Incomings

Well, as I mentioned above I asked my lovely hubby for the HiyaHiya steel needle set for my birthday which is not until June and he very kindly said why wait until June, get them now and so I did a little research and found them on the Fig Tree Yarns website. I ordered on Wednesday and on Friday morning the package arrived from Jersey.

It looks too beautiful to use. I also ordered a 2.5mm 80cm fixed circular to complete my most used sizes. 

Race to the Bottom

My figures as of Feb 1st

Total knitted - 2,380 yards
Current Level - Dust Bunny (1,000 - 4,999 yds)
Goal - Cashmere (30,000 yds)
% of goal reached - 7.93%
Yards to go - 27,620

Books

As with my knitting monogamy is also not a strong point with books and I have a few on the go so I can listen to whatever takes my fancy.

In My Ears 

1. Gargantua and Pantagruel (Librivox) Still on book 2 waiting for book 3 recording to be completed
2. Love in the Time of Cholera (Audible)
3. Don Quixote (Audible)
4. The Complete Little Women (Audible) Now on Jo's Boys
5. A Room With a View (Audible)

On My Kindle

The Inferno - Henri Barbusse

Finished in the last Fortnight

• The Return of the King - JRR Tolkein, whilst I enjoyed the series I can honestly say I did not love it. Hence it took me 3 years. Fantasy is really not my preferred genre and I can take it or leave it.
• Pere Goirot - Honore de Balzac, I did enjoy this sad tale from a Paris of long ago. I will admit to shedding a few tears along the way.
• The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn - Colin Dexter, I have watched all the Morse episodes multiple times but the books bring so much more depth of character.

Well, I think that's it for this week, time for me to cast on my second sock since it is Sunday, a very Happy Valentine's Day to you all.

Stay safe and healthy

Mary

Sock It To Me

 Hello friends, in the past couple of weeks when the knitting world has been taken by storm by Bernie Sanders' mittens. I have had socks on my mind. Ever since I discovered the beauty of magic loop and the magic of turning a heel I have been a sock knitting addict. I have, however, in the past few years become stuck in a bit of a rut knitting all my socks toe-up and mostly the same pattern over and over. This year I have decided that it is time to change things up and challenge myself somewhat. My second and third pairs of socks this year have been knitted top-down with heel-flap and gusset so I have made a start. I have revived an A-Z thread in our Ravelry group, and have been joined by five intrepid knitters, to knit 26 pairs of socks, a pattern from each letter of the alphabet. I have also purchased The Handmade Sock Society 4 by Curious Handmade. I have not, however, gone the whole hog and joined Sock Madness, nor shall I. I like to knit at my own pace rather than have a deadline or trying to be first.

There is still time to join in the Sock Society at the reduced price of £9.95 (UK) for all six patterns, one each month until July, before the first pattern is released on Thursday, Feb 4th. 

I have my yarn wound, Easyknits BigBoy in Fields of Gold from deep stash, and bought a new 2.25mm needle so I am all set to cast on the first sock on Thursday as soon as the first pattern comes out.

A-Z of Socks

My A socks are well underway. I chose the free Ash Socks pattern by Jenny Love. I have had the pattern in my queue for a long time and finally took the plunge to cast on.

I have the second sock well on the way now too. The yarn is 75% Wool 25% Polyamide by Regia and I am using 2.5mm Chiagoo circular needles for magic loop.

Incomings

Just the one incoming since I last blogged and it is a beauty. The first mystery sock box from Rosie's Moments Around the UK in 12 boxes 2021.

Based on Somerset, her home county, the box is full of goodies representing the area. 

• Postcard of her village
• Apple soap
• Swans travel mug
• Sour apple candy
• Glastonbury Tor pin badge
• Apple blossom yarn

I am always blown away by the thought and beauty of these boxes and, yes, I have already bought the next one.

Books

I was so excited last evening to find two Kindle collections of classics with a total of 100 books for just £1.50, 75p each, these will be my bedtime reading for many, many months.

In my ears as I knit I have these 4

1. Gargantua and Pantagruel (Librivox) down to 1 chapter per day as the book is still being uploaded
2. The Complete Little Women Series (Audible) On Little Men now
3. The Return of the King (Audible) 1 chapter each evening as I fall asleep
4. Don Quixote (Audible) 5 chapters per afternoon, I have to say I am loving this. 

I think that's it for now, my socks are calling, stay safe and healthy, see you in two weeks

Mary

Sunday 17th March

Hello friends, welcome to The Sunday Sock and a happy St Patrick's day to all you Irish out there. It has been a very quiet week here with really not much happening at all except some knitting and clearing out of excess stuff. How on earth just two of us have accumulated so much is a mystery. I have even, shock-horror, put some yarn into the bag for the charity shop.
Preparations, however, are well underway for my expedition with Yvonne to EYF next Saturday. To say that I am excited about this event is an understatement. I missed out last year as hubby and I were holidaying on the beautiful island of Mull, but I have been to every other EYF since the beginning. A meet-up has been planned on Ravelry with some fellow knitters from the Ripples Craft group and we shall be meeting at Helen's stand, E4, at 2.30 pm on Saturday 23rd then heading round to the marquee for coffee, cake and a blether. Anyone is welcome to join us and I will be wearing my Ravelry badge so if you are there and want to say hello, please do.

Now for some knitting.
I have been, very unusually for me, totally monogamous this week as I really want to wear my Sorrento shawl on Saturday. I have finished the body of the shawl and am about 2/3 through the picot bind off.

This has been pure joy to knit and I am already thinking of doing another one in different colours. I made one small modification to the pattern in that on the last section the lace and my yarn were not playing kindly, so about half-way through I switched back to the pattern of section 6. This made me much happier with the result.
I do have some other super secret knitting on the needles but you will have to wait a while before I can share these projects with you.

Books In My Ears

This month accompanying me as I knit I have been listening to A Second Chance by Jodi Taylor, narrated by Zara Ramm. This is the third book in the most enjoyable and at times hilarious time travelling historians series, The Chronicles of St Mary's. The scrapes the contemporary characters get themselves into whilst travelling back in time, in this instance to Troy, lends itself to some very entertaining listening. I would recommend starting this series with the first book, Just One Damned Thing After Another, as I did, and continue chronologically as there are references to the earlier books and it helps the story to flow.

So that's it. a very short post this week. I am hoping to get lots of photos and maybe even a wee bit of video next week. 

Thanks for reading my ramblings.

Happy crafting

Mary

WIP Wednesday

Having finished the test knit I was working on, (I will share finished photos when the designer allows), I decided that once again it was time to stretch my knitting skills and try something new. I have never knitted anything which starts in the middle before and my eye was caught by the beautiful India Stole free pattern on Ravelry.
Using the ever helpful Google I found the Provisional Cast On  on Knitty.com and proceeded to give it a go. I used a spare interchangeable cable rather than waste yarn to make life easier later on and off I went. I am using Drops lace in baby blue with tiny silver lined blue Matsuno beads.

Today finds me almost at the end of chart 1 and enjoying this project immensely.
My companion book today is Murder On The Orient Express by Agatha Christie narrated by David Suchet from my local library.

Seeing Stars

The other day I was keeping one eye on the Ravelry radar when a test knit opportunity caught my eye. A sideways knit shawl for which I just knew I had the perfect yarn.
I volunteered my services and was lucky enough to be chosen. Today whilst DH is sick I am sitting happily listening to Kim by Rudyard Kipling and working on said test knit using this wonderfully sparkly gradient yarn which I bought at Edinburgh Yarn Festival.

Reading Corner

Anyone who knows me from Facebook will know that I have two book challenges running at the moment. One with Goodreads to read 50 books this year and another to read all 200 books from the 2003 BBC Big Read.
Due to my passion for knitting I am choosing to use audiobooks for my reading as I can totally immerse myself in the stories whilst still following a pattern. I have two sources for my reading pleasure, the One Click Digital service from my local library and my Audible subscription. I currently have a subscription for two books a month and as far as I am concerned it is the best value for money I get from anything I buy, (other than yarn of course).
Anyhoo, back to my challenge progress.
I have so far this year completed

7/50 Books in the Goodreads challenge

and overall

10/200 from the Big Read

As most of the reading I do comes from the library the Goodreads total will increase much quicker and I shall just dip into my Big Read challenge from time to time. I am not reading the Big Read books in any particular order, rather I am using a random number generator to choose my next book for me. 

My reading will slow down drastically in the summer when I am back at work but the winter months are just perfect for curling up with a good book.

My current book is The English Girl by Daniel Silva read by Jim Barclay

This fast moving thriller has really gripped me and I am racing through the story.

I will declare now that I am not a book reviewer, rather I am an avid reader who will share with you what I am currently reading and whether I like it or not.

Half Way to February

We are now half way through the first month of the year and what a first 15 days it has been. Floods have wrecked homes and lives and for a while it seemed the rain would never stop. Every day it was just grey and wet.
Then came the shock of two men passing.
David Bowie was the epitome of a star. His ability to re-invent himself to suit the music tastes of the time was flawless. He could take a feeling, capture it and make it his own. From Major Tom to Dancing in the Street with Mick Jagger there was something for everyone. Even to the end the last photos of him showed a stylish man who gave nothing away that he was so ill. He will be sadly missed but his music will live on forever.
Whilst still reeling from the death of David we were hit with the passing also from cancer of the wonderful actor Alan Rickman. Although best known to younger folk as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films this man was so much more. Through decades he has entertained us on stage and screen. The world of acting is so much poorer today.

Knitting

Moving forward this month I have a new MKAL to look forward to.

I love Susanna's patterns and will be looking forward to a new clue coming out each week. There is still time to sign up via Ravelry if you want to join in.
As it is a winter theme I have chosen to use Drops Lace yarn in a beautiful icy baby blue and silver lined blue beads.

I will keep you updated with my progress each week as the KAL continues.
The red jumper for my Mum is growing and I am almost at the place to put it aside and knit the sleeves.

Walking

My walking has slowed down this week as a cold has kept me mostly indoors. But as soon as I can I will get myself back out and get steps added to my journey.

Books

This week I finished  The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith, read by the actor Robert Glenister. This is the first in a series of novels written by JK Rowling using this pseudonym. It took me a while to get into the book but once I did I really started to care for the characters, especially Robin. I will definitely be looking for more of these.

Monday Musings

First Steps

Walking

Traditionally in January people make resolutions. One popular one is to join a gym and exercise more. Usually by the end of the month this has fallen by the wayside. This year rather than make such a commitment I have taken on a challenge. I discovered a Scottish website which aims to encourage folk to walk more. World Walking have a huge variety of virtual walks which you can take on as a solo walker, like me, or as part of a larger group. All you need to take part is a pedometer and the will to give it a go. I have chosen to do the North Coast 500, which is a 500 mile circular route from Inverness around the north coast of Scotland. Along each walk are key points to aim for. I have decided that to keep me totally motivated that each time I reach a key point I am allowed to purchase some yarn for my knitting. I am not allowed to purchase at any other time with 2 exceptions, Edinburgh Yarn Festival in March and if I need more to finish a project.

Knitting

Another first step I have taken this week is to cast on a jumper for my mum.

  The Firenze pattern is available for free on Ravelry and is essentially a male pattern. However I have already finished 2, one for DH and one for me, more about that later.

Saving

I have also taken the first steps in the savings challenge I mentioned last week and have kept up with the daily amount. It is easy to do at this this early stage but I know it will get harder as the year goes on. 

Books

A new book was started this week, War at the Edge of the World by Ian Ross. I am not normally the sort to want to read about Roman soldiers battling the Picts but DH was keen and surprisingly I am really enjoying it. The narrator is very good and the writing truly paints a picture in your head as to what is happening.

Finishes

Knitting

As I mentioned earlier I have already finished two jumpers in the Firenze pattern. The first, on the left, for DH and the second for me.

The pattern is one of the easiest I have ever knitted. The jumper is knitted more or less in one piece from the bottom up. Using  strands of yarn held together you knit the main body, put it aside then knit the sleeves. Once they are done you put them all on the one needle and knit the raglan yoke and neck. The only seaming is 8 stitches under each arm which is an absolute joy for someone like me who detests seaming.

The pattern is from Drops and I knitted his in the yarn suggested, Drops Alpaca in Petrol Mix and Drops Fabel in Blue Lagoon Print. For mine I once again used Drops Alpaca in Petrol Mix but this time used King Cole Zig Zag in Thistle from my stash as the 2nd yarn. Zig Zag is now discontinued so I wanted to get some of it used up. I find it amazing that 2 jumpers using the same base shade can look so different just by changing the accent.

Books

I have finished the first book in my Goodreads reading challenge. Not Dead Enough by Peter James was a gripping murder mystery set in Brighton. It had me hooked from the first chapter and all I wanted to do was stay up listening till the early hours to find out more and more. The twist at the end was a complete surprise and I am looking forward to listening to more of his books.

New Year New Beginnings

May I wish everyone a happy and healthy 2016.

I have been very remiss at keeping this blog and I promise I will try my very best to post more this year.

Knitting

2015 was one of my very best years for churning out knitted projects. I managed to knit my way through 12.6 miles of yarn on various projects including jumpers, socks, shawls and new for me, fingerless mitts. I still have to block and photo some of the projects and when I do I will get the photos up here for you to peruse.

This year I am hopefully, starting as I mean to go on with a loose resolution to curb my "ooh shiny, must cast on" attitude. I say loose as my aim at this time is to stick to 5 projects a month or less. A jumper, socks, a shawl, fingerless mitts and my ongoing sock yarn blanket.

I also truly need to reduce the stash this year. I am beginning the year with 181,658 yards of yarn and whilst I know I simply cannot go all out "cold sheep" I feel that moderation is in order. I will be aiming for at least 2 out to 1 in. I will here and now confess that this will be hard in the months of Jan and Mar as already I have some new yarn for a jumper for my Mum to be added in and in March we have the wonderful Edinburgh Yarn Festival. It just means that in all the other months I will have to knit more and be frugal with purchasing.

Books 

I have set myself up with a Goodreads reading challenge of finishing 50 books this year. I am still plugging my way through the BBC Big Read list but I am also indulging my passion for crime novels with library downloads. I do not do much eye reading any more, preferring to listen to books on my laptop so i can knit at the same time. I find this combination of my hobbies most satisfying and I am sure it has speeded up my needles.

I am currently listening to a library book, Not Dead Enough by Peter James, this is a new author to me and so far I am enjoying both the story and the narrator.

Life

Things are quiet at the minute as it is the winter season at work and the weather is not great for going out gallivanting. I do hope however this year to share things I have been up to and places I have been. Where this will take me, who knows?, but hey, it will be an adventure.

It Has Been a While

Gosh, how time flies.I am having difficulty believing that I last posted in January.
However I am still here knitting away and dreaming up new challenges for myself to keep life interesting.
One of the things I have challenged myself to I have been thinking about for a number of years and now I have finally figured out how to take it forward and continue with my main passion. Way back in 2003 the BBC commissioned a year long survey to find the nation's favourite books, full list of the top 200 can be found here, I have often thought about trying to read as many as I can but was foiled by the fact you cannot turn pages or read words and read patterns and knit at the same time. The bingo! a solution came to me. I have an Audible subscription, why not have the books read to me whilst I relax with my sticks and string thus combining two of my favourite things.
I took the plunge and started at No 1. The Lord of the Rings. I have now finished the first of the 6 books and am a way through the second. You may find it hard to believe, especially with all the hype there has been in the last few years, but this is a book I have never read nor have I seen any of the films. I will admit that at times I am struggling to stay focused with the story but I will persevere and I am sure I shall enjoy it.
Another challenge to myself is to knit 24 pairs of socks this year. To many folk that will sound a lot but in my mind it is 2 pairs a month, not so bad. So far I have 7 pairs completed so am bang on schedule.

To keep things interesting I am trying to use a different pattern for every pair. My Ravelry queue has expanded madly as I have added nearly 500 of the free sock patterns available. In my mind this equates to roughly 20 years of socks. Hey, we can but dream.
I am not just knitting socks though, I have a few other projects on the go and one of my Ravelry groups has a basket challenge about to begin. This involves filling a basket, real or imaginary with yarn, or wip's and trying to do as much as you can from that basket within a set period of time. It is a great way to stay focused and work your way through the stash.
Speaking of stash, mine has taken a bit of a giant leap in the wrong direction twice already this year. Firstly when a dear friend was de-stashing and I got some gorgeous yarn and a very good discount and secondly when I took myself along to the Edinburgh Yarn Festival. What a wonderful day out that was. Over a hundred stalls packed with yarnie goodies of all descriptions. It was heavenly. However being me I was like a deer caught in the headlights and there was simply way too much to choose from. I ended up just buying yarn from my favourite hand dyer and a beautiful basket for my basket challenges.

The dates for next year's festival have just been announced and I have already made a promise to myself that I will branch out and try some new yarn.
Other than that I have no major planned yarn purchases this year so it is time to climb back on the sheep and work my stash down. I will however have one skein of yarn arriving each month as my wonderful hubby gave me the most amazing gift this past Christmas. He has signed me up for the Yarn Notes from Assynt yarn club which includes a skein of hand dyed sock yarn, a beautiful picture card and some very well researched and written information about the area around the picture. The first 4 months of this club have been a joy to receive and I look forward to each and every parcel arriving.
That is all I can think of for now.

Stay safe and happy crafting
Mary

Flaming June

Life

I love my job! I really do. I meet some of the nicest people and it is my pleasure to help them make the most of their visit to our wee museum. If you want to come along and see for yourself where I work all the details are here!

I other news this week, hubby had a hospital appointment at Edinburgh's Royal Infirmary. We were so lucky in that we quickly found a parking space, he was seen promptly by a lovely Dr who explained why she wanted to do further tests and she organised for most of them to be done there and then. The only one she could not get done was a MRI scan on his brain, that will be organised and an appointment sent out in due course. Of course this has left me worrying, does he even have a brain? And if he does will they find it to scan it? Shush, don't let on I said that. 

Another thing odd this week was the weather. It has been glorious, warm sunny days followed for the most part by warm muggy nights. Now seeing that big shiny yellow thing in the sky is a most welcome sight, but it is tempered slightly by the high humidity we suffer. It must seem strange to some that we go nuts in this country when the temperature climbs to over 16 Degrees Celsius but with the addition of the humidity that spells hot to our pasty selves. Also this year we seem to have gone straight from Winter to Summer. Spring forgot to turn up at all. 

New to the home this week is that instead of having the TV on we have been enjoying books of an evening. A while ago I downloaded Audible for my laptop and took a 1 book a month subscription. This past few days Bill and I have been rediscovering our mutual enjoyment of the Skinner books by Quintin Jardine. These crime novels are set for the most part in and around Edinburgh and East Lothian and we both find them most enjoyable. It is lovely in the evening for both of us to just sit and relax whilst listening to the story unfold. 

Knitting

The needles have been cracking on apace this week and my Camp Loopy project No1 is complete. I just have to bath and block it. Now it is a modified version as for some reason I ran out of yarn with a fair few rows to go but I like how it turned out. No finished photos yet so you will have to make do with an in progress

The yarn I used is one of the softest I have ever worked with and I loved it. It was Skein Top Draw Sock in the Sunspots colour.

My other KAL of the socks is not moving quite so quickly but I do hope to have a progress report next week.

The only other thing I have to share is that a new resident has come to stay.

Little Loopy arrived along with a lovely skein of Lorna's-Laces Shepherd Sock in Iris Garden and my Loopy reward for reaching Cotton Club.

Knitting calls

Stay safe and happy crafting

Mary