WIP Bingo

 When it comes to my knitting I am totally disorganised and have way too many works in progress. I am very easily seduced by the new shiny yarn and/or pattern. This has led me to re-evaluate my knitting practices and with the upcoming Westknits MKAL I know I want to free up a project bag, needles and notions so I can have everything together. To that end,  I have joined some fun threads in the Stash Knit Down group on Ravelry and this led me to discover how to make a bingo card of my WIPs to try to concentrate on just a few this month.

Some of these, most of the socks, are not yet cast on and I don't have a current photo of my Bits and Bobs blanket but here are photos taken this morning of where I am with the others.

Shawlography

This is the second time I have knitted this glorious Westknits pattern. I am on part 9 of the shawl on the right-hand wedge.

The yarn is all Ripples Crafts Burras a gorgeous single-ply merino yarn dyed in the northwest highlands of Scotland. The colours are Peat, Moonshine, A Slice of Lime, Crushed Blaeberries and A Cerise that Demands Attention.

As I mentioned this is my second time with this pattern, the first one I gave to my Mum for Christmas.

Dustland Sweater

Bill's sweater is now at the most amount of stitches on the needle stage and is slow going. I make myself knit 4 rounds each day and I enjoy seeing my progress when I take my Sunday photos.

For the yarn details see When it all Goes Horribly Wrong.

Dust of Snow

The wrap is going very slowly, partly due to my concentrating on other things and partly as it has still been a bit on the warm side to work with mohair. There has been some progress though, and I am about to start on colour 6.

Heel Toe Do Si Do

These socks for a friend have only just passed the heel turn on the first sock. This is my only real deadline project as they need to be done by the 28th of the month.

I do hope this system helps keep me on track and that my enormous pile of WIPs sees some reduction over the coming weeks.

Remember to Be the reason that Someone Smiles Today, and have a fun week.

Dreaming of Pink

 Hello friends, it has been somewhat grey and gloomy around these parts recently and I have been craving some brighter colours, pink in particular. Whilst socks and blanket squares are still high on the agenda I really wanted to start getting to grips with some languishing  WIP's. The one that instantly sprang to mind was my Breathing Space which I started at the end of June 2019. 

As you can see I haven't got very far and I have no idea why I set it aside. I worked out where in the pattern I had reached, which was surprisingly easy considering I have no idea where my notes are and have resumed the project. I am sincerely hoping that this time I will keep it going and very soon will have a fabulous jumper on my shoulders instead of on my needles.

Mary

Sunday 2nd Aug 2020

Hello friends, how the heck is it August already? This year is running away and for obvious reasons, it has been such a sucker. It has been hard on everyone and I really hope you are all keeping safe and healthy. 

I have an apology straight away as I promised to show my Stillness shawl this week but it is still not blocked so I have no pictures to share. I have however spent the morning taking photos of the socks I have so far completed for Operation Christmas Stocking. For those who haven't heard of it, we are now in the third, (I think), year of providing hand knit socks for the homeless in the Edinburgh area at Christmastime. They also get a free foot treatment from a podiatrist and our hope is that they realise that someone truly cares for them. I am slowly but surely filling a box with the socks.

I am using a hybrid pattern of Fiona Tulloch's Milkshake toe-up sock and the ever-popular Vanilla Latte. This is such an easy and intuitive sock to knit and they just fly off the needles. It also works with all yarns whether they be solid, variegated, or self-striping.

I have slightly modified the vanilla latte pattern to centre the strips of purls and love that the pattern is unisex. Both patterns can be found on Ravelry and are free.

 The Knitting Toolbox

Since we are talking socks this week I have chosen my two favourite sock knitting tools from the toolbox. First up is something which was a true gamechanger for me, the sock ruler.

This simple gadget, which I found on Etsy has made knitting the right size socks so easy. As I knit toe-up I just pop the ruler into the toe and can see at a glance how much further I have to knit to get to the heel. For you top-down knitters you simply pop it in the heel and measure towards the toe. 

The second item is my sock blockers

These are Knit-Pro blockers which I think I got from Wool Warehouse a few years ago. I have the large for man-size socks and the small for ladies. I use them mostly for taking photos as the make the socks look so good. There are many types out there from plastic to metal and hand-cut wooden ones.

On the Needles

I was catching up with the Grocery Girls podcast on YouTube and Tracie showed her Sweet and Tartan socks which is a pattern she released around the start of the lockdown and I fell instantly in love so bought it there and then. I could picture using the leftovers of my Stillness Shawl to knit a pair. I cast on right away but haven't got too far.

This is a great pattern for using up leftovers, and I am knitting these as a treat for me. 

Hopefully, I have not bored you to bits, that's all for this week. Stay safe and look after yourselves

Mary

Find me on Ravelry as mazbil and Instagram as The_Sunday_Sock

Podcasts I am watching, The Grocery Girls, and listening to, Curious Handmade.

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

Sunday 7th April

Hello friends, welcome to The Sunday Sock. I do hope you have all had a great week. My week did not go according to plan. Yesterday I had been hoping to go to The St Abbs Wool Festival in Eyemouth but a conspiracy of bad weather, really bad headache and really, really poorly bank account made it an impossibility. Not to worry, I think I have just enough yarn to keep me going for a while.

As it is the first Sunday of the month I have an Around the World update for you.
In March I knitted 1316 rows and have moved along the A2 a little.

 I am now just a few rows short of 10,000 since I started this mammoth journey.

FO's

I have one FO this week. The Minecraft Socks are finished and have been gifted to their recipient.

I have it on good authority that they were well received.

Close up of the pattern.

This free pattern was knitted with RipplesCrafts BFL sock in the Smokey colour, toe-up on a 2.5mm circular needle using magic-loop and a Fleegle Heel.

This finished project, of course, takes us further on our journey round Scottish Burghs. This time to the Aberdeenshire fishing port of  Fraserburgh. This finish also takes me to 9 projects completed so far this year. it also adds £4.64, 1p per yard, to my yarn savings. 

I did have one other finish this week but being the numpty that I am I parcelled it up and posted it off completely forgetting to take a FO picture. I will ask the recipient to do a picture once it has been opened.

Wip's

I have two main wip's this week. One I can share and one I can't. The one I can share is my Good Vibes shawl.

I have finished the main section and am now into the stripes. This is a lovely pattern and not at all boring to work on.

Forward Planning

I have a wee list of things I have to do for gifts and such and now that I am nearly finished the WIP that I can't share yet I went stash diving for my next project. 

This gorgeous skein has been in my stash for many years and was part of The Orkney Collection of skeins dyed by Ripples Crafts. Helen did this collection after she and her hubby visited Orkney for the first time and she was inspired by the colours she saw there.  This particular colour is called St Magnus Cathedral Floor Tiles and is destined to become a Downtown Chicago cowl This will also be gift knitting but I will be able to share progress photos as the giftee, my aunt has no online presence. 

Incomings

Just one wee thing came into my possession this week.

Another gorgeous project bag from Sew Ray Me. As you will know I have quite a number of one skein project bags from Rachael but I needed something bigger for my shawl knitting so I ordered this beauty. It is plenty big enough for a three skein project and is deliciously well made. 

I think that is all for this week. Have a great week everyone

Happy crafting

Mary 

WIP Wednesday

Wednesday is nearly always a WIP (work in progress) day.
Today I am working on the beautiful Wild Flowers shawl by Kitman Figueroa. I knitted this shawl last year for my best friend for her wedding and decided I also wanted on for my cruise next year. The pattern is a stunning mix of lace, nupps and beads.

The Wedding Shawl

It is a pleasure to knit if you have the time to concentrate and results in a stunning addition to a wardrobe. Just right for adding a bit of bling.
My shawl is a beautiful shade of Violet and is growing very slowly.

Beads and Yarn

The yarn is one I bought to knit something else but it lends itself so much better to this pattern.

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

Reclaiming the Needles

WIP's I have way too many. I have tried to follow others in WIP down groups and have let myself become overwhelmed by the enormity of the task which has led to ultimate failure. I sorely needed to find another way. I hope that in my own way I have now found it, reclaiming the needles! Instead of putting myself under too much pressure that I must finish the project I have begun to tell myself I need to have some needles spare and at the ready to indulge my passion for MKAL's. I spent the month of January getting stuck in. I managed to reclaim 3 sets in that time. This made me feel so happy. I have yet to block the said projects but at least I had the needles ready to start 2 mysteries in the last week.
This has in turn led to much more overall enjoyment of my knitting. I work on the clues as they come out and in between times I work on the WIP's, whichever takes my fancy at any given time.
I have confidence in myself that for me, reclaiming the needles, is the way to go.

Pictures of completed projects will follow soon.

Stay safe and happy crafting

Mary