Twitching without Socks and Advent looms.

 Hello friends, after my profound realisation in the last post I have discovered something else about myself. I get twitchy if I have no socks to knit. I am like a bear with a sore head. I have been trying very hard to free up my knitting time for upcoming Advent projects but yesterday I just had to cast on some socks for me. It was a compulsion and no matter what else I tried my brain kept screaming you must knit socks. 

Advent Knitting

When I was little a highlight of the year was the Advent countdown to Christmas day. I got a new Advent Calendar every year which had in those days pictures hidden behind each door. As time went on the calendars started to have tiny chocolates hidden in them, now we have Advent calendars for everything you could think of. There are coffee, tea, gardener's, beer, toiletries, lego, toys, tools, you name it and I bet there is one to find and of course, there are yarn Advent calendars. In the year we have had where it seemed at times all hope was lost I have been given the gift of hope by having been the lucky recipient of two yarn calendars.

The first of these is EasyKnits 10g lux which has some beautifully intriguing boxes to open each day with a full skein for Christmas morning.

With this kit, I am hoping to knit a Habitation Throw by designer Helen Stewart. This pattern from last year is written for 10g mini-skeins and with Jon's dyeing I am sure it will be a colourful addition to my home.

My second kit is from a favourite dyer of mine, Rosie's Moments. This is my third year of Advent kits from her and they never disappoint. Rosie packs so much love into everything she sends that you can happily know whatever you order you will be more than delighted.

This kit came with a mystery wrap pattern which I am sure I will enjoy knitting and will love the finished item. Rosie also notes that Christian Advent officially begins today with the first Sunday of Advent and has added two little extra gifts to open today and tomorrow. 

Finally, I have my homemade effort. Each year the wonderful Australian designer, Ambah O'Brien, hosts a fabulously fun Advent knit-a-long in her group on Ravelry. She designs new patterns each year especially to knit with your Advent calendars. Her Advent bundle can be found here, there are 11 patterns to choose from and this year I was especially drawn to the Radvent Cardigan. 

This cardigan was designed to use a 25 x 20g advent kit plus an extra full skein for ribs and cuffs. Now whilst I desperately need a new cardi I could not afford a kit that size so I have made my own using yarns leftover from the various socks and other things I have knitted this year. My cardi will be full of memories and full of fun as I have put all these leftovers in a bag and my dear hubby will draw out one each morning to be used that day.

I think that's all for this week and hopefully, I will be back next Sunday with some knitting to show and progress on my Advent projects.

Stay safe everyone

Mary

OCS 2nd November

 Hello friends, these 5 beautiful squares for an OCS blanket were sent all the way from New York state. Thank you, Barbara, for taking the time to support the OCS knitting community.

Today I am concentrating on knitting a hat to help keep someone cosy in the coming winter months.

I am using a super simple pattern which was only released yesterday, Warmest Regards is written for 3 yarn weights and best of all its free. The designer asks that in return for her offering her pattern to the knitting community you knit a hat for charity. That box is ticked here and the yarn was a donation from the wonderful Ripples Crafts. Helen has been a wonderful supporter of the initiative from the beginning 3 years ago and her yarn is a delight to knit. This particular yarn is Doubly Reliable Sock in an Assynt Storms colourway. 

Back to the knitting now,

Stay safe and healthy

Mary

The OCS Blanket Square

 Hello friends, today I have a plea and a pattern to share

The plea comes from Crisis the homeless charity and I will copy here the message our Operation Christmas Stocking co-ordinator, Carol, posted to Ravelry.

Due to the situation this year the charity that we are knitting for, Crisis UK, in Edinburgh, is changing it’s approach at Christmas time.

The vast majority (theoretically all) of the people who had been rough sleeping have been offered some kind of temporary accommodation (B&Bs, hotels, hostels etc). The charity will also have a base open during the day to provide support during these challenging times. This should mean that everyone they engage with over Christmas has a roof, although likely a temporary one. They will then be supporting people in temporary accommodation into more secure housing.

This should mean that their guests will have more space of their own, and larger items such as blankets, and scarves and hats will be gratefully received as well as socks this year.

They won’t be running a physical Christmas centre this year with foot treatments etc. They will instead be offering delivered food, and “wellbeing packs” for their guests, which will include any items we make, both knitted and crocheted. Handmade items go a long way to letting our friends know that people are thinking of them at a difficult time of year, and help to build this essential sense of connection. They are planning to include various other items in their well being packs such as toiletries, underwear, gift items etc.

The charity is also planning to offer chat phone calls and digital activity sessions to try and provide some of the connection and support that their guests can expect from Christmas.

Thank you so much to everyone who has volunteered already to be involved. Your help will make such a difference. If anyone else wants to join in and help in some way by making any of these items please let us know here or PM me if you prefer.

Some of us have been knitting socks, hats ane the like all year to donate but I for one was slightly concerned when blankets were mentioned with only a couple of months to go. After a few discussions with friends we decided that blanket squares would be a good option, at that point the OCS blanket square was born and I happily offered to assemble the blankets from any donated squares. We decided on a 12" (30cm) square so that 20 squares would make a decent sized blanket and involve minimal making up due to time constraints.

The OCS Blanket Square

Yarn 

DK weight, leftovers from projects are ideal. Or

2 strands of sock weight yarn held together

Needles

4mm needles

Notions

A tapestry needle to sew in ends.

Abbreviations

K - Knit

KFB - Knit into the front and back of stitch (one stitch increased)

K2tog - Knit 2 stitches Together (one stitch decreased)

K3tog - Knit 3 stitches together (two stitches decreased)

S1 - Slip stitch purlwise with yarn in front

Pattern

Cast on 3 stitches

Row 1 - S1 KFB K to end of row

Repeat row 1 until you have 80 stitches on the needles and the side measures approx 12" or 30cm

Row 2 S1 K2tog K to end of row

Repeat row 2 until there is 3 stitches left on needle then K3tog fasten off and sew in ends.

And that's it your square is done.

For those knitting for OCS please message me on 

Ravelry - mazbil or

Instagram - The_Sunday_Sock

for my address to send completed squares for me to assemble into blankets.

Thank you all in advance for helping this wonderful cause.

Sunday 26th July 2020

Hello friends, sorry for being MIA last week, we had an awful week after finding our old lady cat Connie passed away on the living room floor just a few weeks after we lost her twin brother Frankie. Coming on top of everything else I simply did not have the wherewithal to get the words out to you all. Luckily as always, I had my knitting and my stash to keep me sane.

The Knitting Toolbox

As a new segment, I thought I would give you a glimpse into my knitting toolbox, having the right tools for the job is an important part of any tradesman's ability to do the job well and it is the same for any knitter who wants to be able to expand their skills.

This week we start with the box itself,

I got my multi-layer hobby box from Lidl a few years ago but you can find similar at hobby shops or on Amazon and such like websites. Next week we will start to delve deeper and find out more about what I have in there, much like a ladies handbag you just never know what we might find.

On the Needles

As per usual I have way too many things on the needles to show you everything, like many knitters I have different projects on the go to suit my mood at any given moment. 

I joined a new group on Ravelry last week called The Testing Pool. This is a group where designers put a call out to ask people to test knit their patterns and check for any mistakes and such before publication. Within a few hours, I was lucky enough to be accepted to test the Jupiter Shawl by and new to me designer, Sambaknits, from Chile. Into the stash I dove and came up with this beautiful combination

The top yarn is from the Natural Dye Studio and is a Merino/Alpaca blend in gorgeous primrose yellow tones and feels divine to knit with. This was a gift from a good friend and had arrived just a few days beforehand so it felt very serendipitous to choose this yarn.

Below is yarn from one of last year's Rosie's Moments Beatrix Potter mystery boxes. The yarn is Merino wool and Donegal Nep in the Mr. McGregor's Garder colour. It is also a dream to knit with.

I have completed Section 1 of the pattern and am about 3/4 through Section 2

I must say that it is a very enjoyable experience so far and I will have a beautiful shawl at the end.

Finished Items

I only have one finish to share this week, or rather 12. 

Hubs and I nipped into our local wee Scotmid on Tuesday afternoon for a couple of items and we were speaking to a staff member who was saying how their ears were hurting with the pressure from the elastic on the masks we all have to wear here in Scotland when in shops. It is very easy for us shoppers to not realise how it must be for them as we can take our masks off after we have shopped but the have to wear them for many hours. I had seen these mask extenders popping up all over Ravelry in the last few months and decided that in the spirit of local support I would knit a few. They were so easy with each one taking just 30mins to complete that I managed a full dozen. Now hopefully wearing a mask for many hours will be much more comfortable.

Coming to my Needles Soon

Next week I will be able to share with you the full glory of the Stillness Shawl MKAL which came off the needles yesterday. I had such a good time knitting it that I really wanted to do another straight away. Luck must have been on my side as up popped Casapinka's The Sharon Show MKAL. This one will certainly be fun as it is not designed by Casapinka herself but by Sharon from Security her 1-year-old cat. I duly joined her group on Ravelry and will buy the pattern tomorrow. There will be 6 weeks of clues beginning with the first on August 7th, which gives me time to finish my test knit, and I have already chosen my yarn which has also been approved by Sharon herself.

I really love the colours and am chomping at the bit to get started but will have to be patient for a while longer. 

I think that's it for this week, thank you for reading my ramblings and happy crafting,

Mary

Find me on Ravelry as mazbil and on Instagram as The_Sunday_Sock

Rays of Sunset Shawl

A few weeks ago I told you about a test knit I was doing. Well now the test is over and the pattern has been released.

Rays of Sunset Shawl  is an addictive sideways knit with the border knitted on as you go. The pattern is very easy to follow and I found that I memorised the lace section very quickly.
The pattern is on sale now with an introductory discount of 20% until 7th June 2016.
If you are looking for a relaxing knit which looks much harder than it is then give this shawl a bash.