FO Friday

FO Friday, originally uploaded by lyndsey-jane.

I may have been absent from blogging but not from knitting.
Two recent FO’s are:

Burning Rings of Fire socks (Ravelry link)
Yarn: Sock Hop in Pink Cadillac
Needles: Knitpicks Harmony DPNs (2.5mm)
Love this yarn and love this pattern.

Baby Surprise Jacket (Ravelry Link)
Yarn: Opal Rodeo Cotton
Needles: Knitpicks Harmony 3.25mm
Great quick knit, definetely planning more.
The only trouble with this is I am not sure it is neutral enough. It is for Karl’s niece or nephew (due sometime next month) but we are unsure whether this is suitable for boy. Would love to hear your opinions on whether you would dress a boy in these colours.

Eleanor Socks for Mother’s Day

Eleanor Socks for Mother’s Day, originally uploaded by lyndsey-jane.

Pattern: Eleanor by Gigi Silva (Momma Monkey)
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino in Spring Frost
Needle: Knitpicks, Harmony dpns 2.5mm
Mods: Only decreases to 18sts not 12 as prefer a rounder toe.

I am so pleased with these and hope Mum likes them too. I am not seeing her on Mother’s Day but Saturday instead. The small ball of yarn in the picture is all I had left – talk about knitting by the seat of my pants. i was really worried I would run out of yarn, but luckily I had just enough.
Happy St David’s Day to any Welsh readers!

Pay It Forward

PIF socks, originally uploaded by lyndsey-jane.

I joined Pay it Forward through Stariel and she sent me these gorgeous socks. They are knit with Yarn Pirate and I love them. They are a perfect fit (even better than some I’ve knit myself) and are quickly becoming my ‘must wear’ socks.
Included with the socks was a packet of Boston Baked Beans – sugar coated peanuts which reminded me of peanut m&ms without the chocolate.
Thank you Stariel!

Sock It To Me Swap Parcel

Sock It To Me Swap Parcel, originally uploaded by lyndsey-jane.

How lucky am I! This wonderful parcel arrived whilst I was ill last week and although I managed to take photos whilst unwrapping it I haven’t had time to blog about it.
This was the second parcel Wendy sent me, the first contained Knitting Under the Influence, some Opal sock yarn and lovely keyring.
This parcel was my reveal parcel and had my socks. Wendy made me the Genome Socks (perfect for a biomedical scientist student) from Natural Dye Studios BFl yarn. The socks are a perfect fit, really warm and the colours are fab.
Also included was some chocolate, a lovely pink/white hamster keyring ( I have never seen toy hamster things before and am so glad it was pink or Karl may well have tried to steal it), a lovely washcloth and Cath Kidston soap and some Camomile tea bags for my eyes.
Included but not pictured (apparently my early morning ill photo taken isn’t too great) some stitch markers, some energy teabags, a breast cancer phone charm (which I have on my palm pilot as my crappy mobile phone doesn’t deserve decoration), a breast cancer badge (which is on my laptop case, with my breast cancer ribbon) and a lovely beaded book thong.
I feel so spoilt and can’t believe how much energy Wendy went to personalise the gift so well for me.
Each gift was wrapped with instructions on the front, for example, the chocolates had ‘Eat Me’, the cloth and soap had ‘for the body’ etc
It was just what the doctor ordered when I was feeling poorly.
I’m off now to go soak in a bath with my washcloth, soap, eye teabags and a cup of herbal tea.
Wendy you really are a star! Thank you!

wip wednesday

wip wednesday, originally uploaded by lyndsey-jane.

After completing the Clementine Shawlette I have 3 three things on my needles. I know only 2 are pictured but I don’t have a photo of the third and its upstairs and I ‘ve just finished dyeing roving, have dinner to make and I want watch the footie (read as: can’t be assed to take photo right now)
The Sweet Pea socks are half done. They are really great knit i’ve just been lacking the sock mojo lately. They are for my Sock It To Me swap pal, so I had better get a move on.
The Deep V Argyle Vest in just divine! Love the pattern, love the yarn, love the colours. I’m actually further along than this now. I have the waist decreases done and am about to start on the on the bust increases and in a few rounds time I have to place the neck steek stitches.

We have decided on a winner for the Hamsters names, and will awarding a second prize also (this is a a name I really really liked but Karl wasn’t so keen on). We will be doing the draw for the random winner later tonight. I’ll try to post winners later tonight if not I promise they will be posted tomorrow.

Inspired & Sock Yarn

I been wanting to start selling my hand-dyed sock yarn for a while now and have had a great idea for a theme for an etsy.com shop which I hope is original and attractive. It is still very much in the planning stages (I need to persuade my Mum to lend me a small amount of money to purchase some blank sock yarn) but all going well I hope to have some ‘trial’ skeins up for sale in a couple of weeks – weather dependent. I would, however, like some input from all sock knitters. I would like to know what your prefered fiber content is when purchasing sock yarn. Please take a second to fill out the poll, if you choose ‘other’ can u leave a comment stating the content. Thank You!

polls – Take Our Poll

Hogwarts Sock Swap Socks

Hogwarts Sock Swap Socks, originally uploaded by lyndsey-jane.

I finally finished the socks for my pal! A bit late but hopefully she won’t mind. I made a bookmark from some of the left over yarn – i think its pretty cool!
I’ve made a reasonable start on my sockapalooza socks (third time lucky). My pal as pretty narrow feet so I had to make sure I found a pattern that was suitable, i finally opted for Unst from Nancy Bush’s Knitting on the Road. I’ve turned the heel and am liking it a lot. I will post photos once I’ve decreased the gusset and it looks like more than just some random yarn on cocktail sticks.

After completing my first of socks for summer of socks so quickly it then took me a while to get another fo, but this is pair two and pair three shouldn’t be too far behind.

I’ve been having issues with my ME over the past 10 days or so, and i’ve worked out that it flares up when my diet is bad, so after receiving a HUGE delivery of food (so much fresh fruit and veg my fridge is overflowing) i’m hoping to be back on track very soon. It is annoying me at the moment as it means that i can’t concentrate for long and it making HP slow progress. Whereas I would normally have it finished in a couple of days i’m only on chapter 10 at the moment. I’m wishing  I had bought the audio book as well and I could have listened when feeling tired and read when i could. Let’s hope the good food helps. So far it hasn’t as I cut my little finger pretty bad slicing red pepper earlier on – not so bad it needed stitches but still bad enough. I’m normally so careful and can’t remember the last time i cut myself chopping veg (if ever) but am i glad that I didn’t sharpen it before chopping or it could have been worse. It is making typing a nightmare though as i sort of touch type – i use all my fingers but not necessarily for the correct keys but it works for me. Thankfully, it doesn’t effect my knitting just the ability to wash up (Yay!)

For all those on Ravelry have you joined the Sock Knitters Anonymous group yet? They are having year long knitalong with contest etc worth checking out.

I’m not sure what to do next, read HP, listen to new Lime n Violet and knit or listen to my audiobook (The Rotter’s Club – great so far) and knit. Decisions, decisions.

Mystery Stole 3

Mystery Stole 3, originally uploaded by lyndsey-jane.

I have just completed Clue 2. This is only my second attempt at proper lace so I am really pleased that I am managing to keep up. Clue 3 only came out yesterday so ‘m hoping to get that finished before clue 4 comes out next friday. I’m really enjoying the process and love the way the pattern is broken up into digestible pieces.
I have the second Ravenclaw sock to start tonight, but the pattern is so easy I should it have finished by the beginning of next week ready to post out before the deadline. I am falling behind in my Summer of Sock progress and this mainly due to the Mystery Stole.

New Sock Swap

I know there are loads of you sock knitter and swapper out there (although probably not all reading my blog) and I have just found a new sock swap. Sign ups close on 30th June, but the swap runs until 15th October (so plenty of time to get the Sockapalooza socks done first).

If your interest just click the button

Summer Of Socks Progress

I decided to make the Haiku Flower socks for myself and have ordered some Panda Cotton for my Sockapalooza pal. The Haiku Flower Socks are a really quick knit. It only took me two days (of knitting whilst watching a couple hours of TV) to finish the first one. I really like this yarn, it is so soft. It will be interesting to see how it wear and washes. If it seems to be ok, then I may be tempted to make top out of it.

I have cast on the second sock and knit on pattern repeat so hoping to have my first Summer of Socks FO in the next day or so.