Socks and secrets

Tags

alpaca yarn, Hedgerow socks, Knitting, New Zealand yarn, possum sock yarn, socks

I’ve had my nose buried in a secret test knitting project for the past week.  It’s one of those charted projects that you need to concentrate on, and so for a bit of light relief, I have also started on a couple of socks…

We have another Antarctic blast about to hit, and my feet are saying “Warm socks, NOW!!!!”

This is Hedgerow, a free pattern by Jane Cochran.  Like a few others who have knitted this pattern, I misread the instructions somehow (goodness knows how, as the instructions clearly say rows 1 and 2… and then rows 3 and 4…!). I ended up putting seed stitch between the ribs, not moss (or as some know it, double moss).  Never mind, it still looks good, so that’s all that matters.

The yarn is exquisite and enchanting.  It’s Fibre Alive’s Awesome Alpaca sock yarn, in the Scottish Moors colourway.  You can see in the photo just how soft it is.  It’s just wonderful to knit, and the colours are enchanting – they make me happy just looking at them!!  Most relevantly at the moment, the yarn is super warm, with a 60% New Zealand alpaca content.  Toasty toes coming up!

Sometimes I feel that yarn is too pretty to knit, and then it has to be savoured in the stash for a while.  Other times, I feel that a yarn is so pretty that it must be knit, right now, and this is certainly the case with this yarn – I only got it this weekend at the Social Wool Fair!

Of course, I believe that good things must come in pairs, and so I have also cast on this pair for my older son:

This yarn has sat in my stash for far too long.  Why on earth have I not knit it sooner?  It’s the John Q Earth Wear possum sock blend yarn (85% recycled possum, 15% nylon).  The recycled possum is pre-consumer possum yarn that is essentially ‘factory waste’, so this is a good opportunity to make use of a perfectly good product that would otherwise truly go to waste.

It makes a very squishy, delightfully warm sock.  Good thing I have another ball stashed away, as I want a pair for myself!  In fact, I have a terrible desire to hop in the car and run to the yarn store to stock up on this yarn, as it is so lovely that I am now worried about what would might happen if they stop selling it before I go to get more!???

Ah, the worries of a knitter, eh?

Little ones

Tags

baby clothing, gift, Knitting, New Zealand yarn, The Wool Company, Wool

I have forgotten how little they come.  This little jacket started off life two sizes larger… I was convinced my 18 month old nephew must be that size by now!  Halfway up the back, a sneaking suspicion overtook me that I might have misjudged the size I needed to knit.  A quick call to my sister confirmed the fact.  Rip, rip!

Small knits are super fast to knit.  So small, soooo cuuuuute!!

It still needs a zip, but essentially, it’s done.

This is a Naturally NZ Yarns pattern by the number N1087.  I’ve knitted it in The Wool Company’s natural mid-brown 100% New Zealand Corriedale yarn, a DK weight yarn. I needed just over 200g to knit the smallest size (to fit a 2yr old).

The pattern is a goodie – you get instructions for all of 8 ply (DK), 10 ply (worsted) and 14 ply (chunky) weights, and the instructions come for both jacket and a sweater in sizing ranging from 2 yrs – 52″ chest adult!  Fantastic!

 

 

Mimer

Tags

Knitsch, Knitting, Mia, Mimer, sock yarn, socks, WIP

I think one of the best things about owning a substantial amount of yarn is that when you need to find a match for a pattern, you can go ‘shopping’ in it, and discover all over again, the joy of the yarn you first selected.

Only this time, it’s in the comfort of your own home, you can make as much mess of the yarn as you like, and you can take all the time you want to stroke and dream and squish without feeling like you’re about to be pushed out of the shop, or that you have to leave because a certain small person you’re with becomes impatient and starts pulling you in the direction of the door.

It’s also very convenient when the urge to cast on a pair of socks strikes you at 7pm on a weeknight…

When the perfect combination of yarn and pattern is made, magic happens.

This yarn is from Knitsch, in the Genevieve colourway.  The pattern is Mimer, from Mia Dehmer of VickeVira.  

I love the sock trilogy Mia released recently (Freya, Mimer and Oden).  Every pattern is about a Swedish legend.  In this case, “Mimer is a giant who is guarding the natural spring of wisdom, Mimer’s well. When drinking from the well you will be able to know everything that has ever happened and everything that will happen in the future. The Mimer socks have streams of water down the front and back of the sock, as a symbol for the flowing wisdom”.

The single cables can be knitted entirely with twists and without a cable needle, which I have found to be a great time saver.

I’m supposed to be knitting other things as well (and I am) but I have to sneak back to these pretties and knit a row or two or three every now and again, just because it gives me such a thrill to see the pattern revealing itself, and in how the sock is looking:  the colour matches the wateriness of the pattern theme so well, and the supertwist merino yarn is just the perfect texture to show off the cables.  So satisfying!

So, thank you Mia, for this beautiful pattern.  And thank you, Tash, for this gorgeous yarn and colour!

Snuggly, wuggly, wool

Tags

baby clothing, Just Jussi, Knitting, Wool

Now that I’m very, very, very, nearly finished with the monster hoodie, I’ve been contemplating other knits for family.

This marathon knit which has left my fingers and shoulders very sore (each side is the same length as a dress on me), so I think it’s time for a few quick knits.

The cool of winter has reminded me that there are little nieces and nephews who “require” dressing in the unbeatable snuggly warmth of wool…

I’ve got a few patterns queued, and as I know that there are a number of baby garment knitters among you, thought I’d share:

Fat Kitty makes me giggle.  So cute!!  I will add a fat, fluffy tail though, and maybe some long whiskers.  The pattern actually comes with charts for a rabbit, cat and bear, so you can take your pick.  It looks like it’s designed especially for one of my nieces.  The pattern is from Just Jussi, the talented designer of the hit Aviatrix hat, who is coincidentally also a Kiwi.  I haven’t decided on yarn yet, but I do have quite a bit in the stash, so I will probably pick some machine washable wool (just to avoid being told that it got shrunk in the wash).

Just Jussi has put together some very cute designs.  I also picked out Liam because what keen knitter can say no to fluffy little sheep on a baby knit!?  It also happens to be the name of my nephew, although I think he’s too old for it, and I will probably knit it for his brother when he arrives later in the year.  I have the perfect yarn in mind for that, a beautiful fingering-weight merino in blue that is very soft, and very suitable for a baby.

The aptly named Favourite Hoodie caught my attention recently too, and I can see it knitted up in a lovely, natural coloured pure wool. Perhaps more of that same merino but in a creamy yellow.  The best thing about this yarn is that it is dyed using eco-friendly methods and non-toxic dyes – which makes it very guilt-free knitting for babies.  It’s just a pity it’s not sold any more.

I’m also in love with Bronson, Echo and Addison all of which just happen to be free dowloads from Rowan and also in same issue of Rowan No. 46.

Looks like they’ll be keeping me busy for a while!

Before I do that, I do have a couple more ‘almost done’ knits that the recipients are hanging out for:

This is a scarf I’m knitting in snuggly Zealana Kauri (check out the fancy new packaging!) for a certain young man who has requested a long, warm (and soft) scarf that he can wrap around his neck a couple of times and be able to tuck it into a keyhole so that it doesn’t slip off while he’s wearing it.  It’s based on my Keyhole Scarf pattern which is designed to be unisex.  I’ve adjusted it for worsted weight, and cast on 39 stitches using 6mm (US 10) needles.  It’s coming along beautifully, and such a quick knit!

The other young man’s hat in juicy orange is almost done too:

In case you are wondering about it, here’s the beginning of the Southern Skies.  It has come along a bit since I took this picture.

So… quite a bit on the needles, and that makes me happy.   But the best thing of all, is that it’s all WOOL (even the possum has wool in it). Beautiful, warm, natural wool.  :-)

How’s your knitting going?