All Fingers and Thumbs

What fun Socktober has been. I've had the pleasure of reaching my goal of finishing Esther and making a start on the LoveMeKnot Socks this month. It's been touch and go with the LMKs, and thank you all so much for the tips and the encouragement. I knuckled down to the unpicking last night and I think I am past the worse on the first of them now! Socktober gave me the required push to finish up the Esthers which were starting to languish, to take the plunge on the toe ups and I got a pair of Christmas gift socks done as well. It's also been lovely to see so many knitted socks out there in the world. I am a confirmed sock knitting addict (eleven pairs since last November). I love that they allow me try to try out new techniques and real complexity but on a manageable scale. Seeing this little row drying on the radiator reminds me of how far I've come with socks; my first pair (far left) are well loved and I thought they were great at the time but when I put on my...

My beloved was a little camera shy when I asked him to model his lovely new hat; I guess you can't blame him as it was before 7am and he was on his way to the gym. I can guarantee there will never be a photo of me taken under those circumstances appearing here! I had to get some photos in while it was light though and he does get the hat remember. Though actually come to think of it he was supposed to get the hat as a reward for coming to a lovely yarn shop with me :o) thus this is the Salzburg Souvenir Hat. This now means I have used (well made projects with - the ends don't count) all my tourist yarn from my last trip and can definitely buy more on my next trip - yey for San Francisco in December! Pattern: Skye Rib Hat by Dreamcatcher Yarn: Lana Grossa Dasolo Stripes (87% wool, 13% Polyamide ) 1.25 skeins Needles: 4mm long metal DPNS and short bamboo dpns Started: 27 October 2007 Finished: 29 October 2007 Notes: This is officially my perfect Beanie pattern - makes ...

...entertain a girl with a cold! Who knew it could be so much fun to see your blog title spelt out in pictures of letters :o) Make your own entertainment with Spell with Flickr . I think Lixie mentioned this on her recent podcast but it was when I saw it in action on Terrie's blog that I got how cool it is. As my brain is slightly addled by this evil infection I am capable of knitting only straightforward things this weekend. Dreamcatcher's lovely hat pattern is just the ticket: Thanks again Dreamcatcher for sharing this pattern, it's racing along and the other half is anticipating a warm bonce soon :o) I've managed to finish up my second Christmas gift too: Pattern: My So Called Scarf Yarn: Rowan Plaid - Moonwave , 2 skeins Needles: 8mm Wooden Straights Started: 14 October 2007 Finished: 27 October 2007 Notes: Is this the single most knit scarf after plain garter stitch? There...

Here are my comfort socks, they're done soothing me now and all ready to bring some Christmas warmth. First hand knit gift done, just another 6.2 billion to go. Pattern: Slipped Stitch Rib from SKS Size: 42 stitches in DK weight yarn; h to t length 8.5 inches Yarn: Artesano Alpaca Hummingbird - Turtledove - about 1/2 skein Needles: 3.5mm Bamboo DPNs Started: 18 October 2007 Finished: 24 October 2007 Notes: Simple pattern, gorgeous yarn - definitely a winner. I'm not that fussed for this colourway (though it pleasingly reminds me of Refresher sweets) as I'm not so much of a pastels girl, good job or I'd be keeping these. I'm hoping to squeeze another smaller pair out of the remaining yarn, good coverage with this lovely weight yarn. Some other comfort arrived in the mail today; this is a colourway I'd struggle to give away, the aptly named Stormy Skies. The other part of the parcel is a strict secret, oh yes it is definitely that time of year. Last year I was co...

Ooofff . That, in case it isn't coming across so well in written form, is a big sigh. Ooofff again. This sock is a struggle. Here we have a provisional cast on that won't unzip. I'm sure it's not the first, I'm sure it won't be the last but I just wish it wasn't on my blessed needles! I plucked up the courage to try and unzip it last week - ha think again - I seem to have done what I expressly tried to avoid doing and knitted into the crochet loop rather than the bump at the back. Whatever I did I can't release the monster so need to painstakingly unpick the wretched thing. Can you tell I don't have the energy for that at the moment? For consolation I cast on for the sock equivalent of a big, comfy hug: simple pattern (top down), luscious ( DK ) yarn and big needles. These, in contrast to the sock sulking in the corner, have flown along and I shall soon have Jess' Christmas gift of guilt all done. I've been having a struggle with some blog...

Pattern: Esther Size: 60 stitches - heel to toe length 9in Yarn: Colinette Jitterbug - just under 1 skein in colourway Velvet Plum Needles: 2.5mm Brittany Birches Started: 1 September 2007 Finished: 14 October 2007 Notes: I love the finished socks, they are really beautiful but I can't imagine what would ever induce me to knit this pattern again! It's well written and does produce a lovely sock but is so fiddly to execute and hard to memorise that I just didn't enjoy knitting most of it. I am proud of the complexity of the design but I really had to push myself on through line by line and I want to enjoy knitting my socks more than that. One element of the process I did enjoy was working with this yarn. It is so wonderfully springy and has a great stretch to it which makes the socks a dream to wear. The length of the yarn to 100g (267metres) is quite low compared to many skeins designed to make a pair of socks but I found it was a comfortable amount for these. I think...

I'm having to take things gently at the moment, so the arrival of Jane Brocket's totally glorious ' The Gentle Art of Domesticity ' this week could not have been better timed. Anyone who loves yarnstorm will surely feel the same about this book - its the blog made 3D: great photos and witty words. The production values applied by the publisher are admirable. The wonderfully done covers make it a real pleasure to touch. It has been a very gently arty domestic weekend - we celebrated two years of home ownership yesterday with a meal of take away sushi and squeals of excitement at the rugby . I've done a little weeding, a little bulb planting, a little baking (the Brocket Battenberg Cake naturally), much tea drinking (we've been trying some different teas to get the perfect cuppa with our very hard water - Yorkshire Gold leaf tea is a mile in the lead at the moment) and of course some knitting. The Esthers are nearing completion (hurrah for Socktober ),...

My little cotton hat sure fits Bear well enough - lets hope the little human bean it will end up with has the same size head! Pattern: Cotton Hat from LMKG Yarn: Blue Skys Dyed Cotton; 1/4 skein of Thistle Needles: 5mm Bamboo DPNs Started: 27 September 2007 Finished: 8 October 2007 Modifications: As I was concerned about running out of yarn I made the distance before decreasing for the crown a little shorter which I think has worked out okay. I substituted some ribbon for the I-cord tie. Notes: This feels like a something from nothing hat so would surely always be a winner for that alone; the fact that it is cute is a welcome bonus. Some other smaller hats are all ready to go off to Innocent - did anyone in the UK actually manage to a buy a be-hatted smoothie last year? Hoping to this year. Finally I think I have a yarn talisman - a proof for me that if you give what you can, when you can, however you can - the world will give back. I think I may have got the good end of the d...

...a little help from my friends (both real and virtual) and here we have a bona fide toe: Apparently you don't knit the toe of the socks in the round - yes I know that was obvious to all of you - sadly not to me; still Clare got me past that and introduced me to the wonders of crochet which turned out to be a whole heap easier than I imagined - unlike the overall process of starting this sock! I've frogged and reknit this little toe a couple of times to get the short rows just as I wanted them and I'm feeling quite proud of myself. Some new knitting comes easily, some not so - both I find enjoyable in their own special ways! I thought I'd stick with the recommended toe for the pattern as I wasn't too sure how some of the others would work with magic loopiness but I can see I'll have to try some more toe-ups to try out some of the other options and establish what clicks best with me. So much for the starting for this weekend; the finishing (in the form of ...

CDQ tagged me for a meme on random facts but as I am 100% normal and not one squeak random :o) I couldn't think of any more random facts (still trying to write it as randomn!) So instead I shall do this reading meme from Charity's blo g . 1. Hardcover or paperback, and why? Paperback - I like the lightness in my hands for reading in bed and I like to carry the book everywhere - I feel more guilty if a hardback gets bashed up. 2. If I were to own a book shop, I would call it... A Good Yarn (there would have to be a knitting corner with yarn on sale too :o) 3. My favorite quote from a book (mention the title) is... Various quotes from The English Patient or In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje - this is one of my favourites: "He could lead an iguana on a silver leash to its mistress" 4. The author (alive or deceased) I would love to have lunch with would be... Stephen Fry - not so much for his books, more because I think he would be fabulous company, I'm n...

... but I'll have these socks knit this month even if it sends me over the edge! Thanks for the encouragement with the cast on; boy do I need it. After this mangling I'm going for Clare's ( blogless but she is Borrower in Ravelry so you can check out her fantabulous LMKs ) offer of help with the crochet version. Seeking encouragement in the gift knitting realm I've signed up for a KAL following Charity's lead - I'm quite the joiner-in these days, odd as I don't normally play nicely with others. It's just the badges I like ;o) The socks will be a gift (if they are good enough!) so that's two birds with one stone by my reckoning; though I probably shouldn't count my chickens before they're hatched as a bird in the hand is worth two still on the needles isn't it?

So it's the official month of socky love - I only started sock knitting last November so this is the first October I've had to turn into a Socktober and I'm really looking forward to it. I've tried to limit my ridiculous ambitions of knitting more socks than there are days in the month to something achievable within the month. My aims are to finish up the Esthers and get to work on the LoveMeKnots which I'm more than a bit scared of as they are toe ups and I thought I'd try and expand my horizons beyond dpns and magic loop them as this is the technique the pattern is written for. Bravery at the ready I got the yarn out yesterday but then saw that I need to teach myself crochet to do the provisional cast on, that was one leap too far so I thought I'd save that learning curve till the weekend! However it might have to be next weekend as on Saturday I'm doing a class at Loop on finishing - maybe trying to learn about starting in the same weekend would...