Andrew's First Socks

I thought it was about time that I tried my hand at knitting some socks for the long suffering other half. He was initially duboius about the whole "hand knitted socks" idea, but since these beauties have been completed he's totally come around - praise indeed from someone so fussy!

They are made using Easyknits' Superwash Merino/Cashmere in Gun Metal, the most gorgeous light grey colourway, with subtle variations in tone between the lighter and darker regions of the skein.

They are knitted from the top down and use my own easy to execute stitch pattern.

A heel-flap construction with slightly modified heel turn to accomodate a man's rounder heel,

And a wedge toe made to my own formulation.

This pattern will be released as part of a men's mini-ebook that I am working on, although will also be sized for women.

These socks are a quick and easy knit for an experienced sock knitter, and they would serve as an excellent introduction to knitting men's socks, or any socks at all! All techniques will be explained in detail to maximise the audience for this rewarding pattern. The mens size will fit UK shoe sizes 9-11.

Speak soon!

My Excuse

So sorry for the delay since the previous post, I've been fighting a troublesome bout of the flu. So much so, considering I spent two weeks without leaving the house I feel like I have very little to show for it! But I'm a productive soul, so there are a couple of things...

Firstly I finished a pair of socks for Andrew, these are one of my own design, and will have a post all of their own tomorrow.

I also finished a pair of socks for myself. I knitted the first of these a while before Christmas, but was trying to put off knitting the other one in preference for deadline knitting. However, when flu strikes intricate lace is a bit too much effort for me!

The pattern is Sensu by Judy Sumner from the book Knitted Socks East and West, and the yarn is Wollmeise Twin in Daisy. I didn't change the pattern too much, I swapped the ruffle top for a ribbed edge, left out the purl stitches from the stitch pattern, carried the stitch pattern down the foot and used my own wedge toe construction instead of the books (I have stumpy toes!). So by the middle of January I am well on the way to my 11 socks in 2011 target! Hoorah!

You may have noticed a certain someone sneaking into the middle picture up there.....

It seems Joey has a new favourite spot! Andrew was very patient with him and even let him have a little nap! Lucky Joey!

Over the weekend when I was feeling a bit better I even managed some dyeing (abliet only washing machine dyeing) of this Sirdar Denim Ultra, a super bulky acrylic/cotton/wool blend (only 15% wool, otherwise I wouldn't have dared machine dye it!) which came out better than expected:

Note the Elmo cat in the last pic there!

This is a really airy, lightweight yarn I used a lot as a teenager, and I had about 600g to dye. Unfortunately most of this airiness has gone, and the resulting yarn is probably better suited to 8mm needles than 12mm. This is probably not a bad thing, as I get bored very quickly using the really big needles - it's just too much effort to knit at that scale!! The yarn was originally bought by Andrew to crochet a jumper, but he wasn't happy with how that came out so it was sent my way. I can't remember the original colourway (ballbands are long gone), but it was brown and white.

What's interesting about how this yarn has dyed it that seems that the different plys are different fibre types. The cotton content has dyed in some of the plies, but some are near to their original colour. This is not what I expected at all, and was a lovely surprise that I think really adds to the yarn. This yarn is destined to become a lace sweater dress for the show in March.

Speaking of the show, I spent an hour this evening blocking bits and pieces for the show....

Excuse the lighting in this photo, it was dark when I got home!

In the back of the photo is a chunky knit jumper I've made for Andrew. This is actually the third time of blocking, for this jumper, and I've shown you a couple of snapshots before, here and here. It has been seamed, and Andrew has been wearing it, but the seams were a little tight and so I'm trying to relax them. As the jumper has started to felt (!), I felt a re-block was necessary to help reshape a bit.

I must say I'm really disappointed at the speed of which this work seems to be disintegrating. I knew pilling was a risk with using a single (unplied) yarn, but the extent of it is massive. There are large felted patches appearing on the chest and underarms, which, considering this is made with Debbie Bliss Como, an expensive yarn at over £5 for 50g, and which I won't be using again. If the twist was a bit higher it would probably have been a lot better.

In the bottom of the photo are 3 out of 4 sections of a cape that I am working on. I posted about the swatches here. More on this when it's sewn up!

In the top is my favourite piece of the collection. A dress I'm making based around the Not A Drop stitch pattern by Arlene's World of Lace in Wollmeise Lace in Golden Pear. Trust me, there will be a lot more on this dress later.

Oh, and I read another book, The Informers by Bret Easton Ellis. So that's 2 out of 11 done there as well!

Speak soon!

30 Minute Mime Beret

So I finished the first of my 11 books in 2011 today (I know, what a good start to this challenge!) I read The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle. I've been reading quite a lot of Agatha Christie lately, and as such was gifted by my lovely boyfriend a copy of this Sherlock Holmes escapade and The Valley of Fear. I must say I rather enjoyed it, although I did spot several of the "deductions" early on. That being said, I love the style of prose and the manner in which the characters talk to one another.

In other, perhaps more interesting news, I have published another pattern! This lovely hat is a quick knit I made in time for my New Year's Eve celebrations this year, in which I attended a vintage circus themed party as a mime.

The hat is a very simple, stocking stitch beret with tracks of decreases forming a small spiral at the top of the hat.

As you may be able to imagine, it was a very fun evening, with dancing (I was introduced to blues dancing, that was particularly fun!), a live band, poetry and dancers.

The pattern is available for free via Ravelry (pattern page is here), or the PDF can be downloaded directly via this link download now . The pattern calls for less than a skein of Rowan Big Wool and uses 12mm needles. It should be possible to make in half an hour or less!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all, I hope you had a wonderful New Year's Eve!

I've been thinking a lot about some New Year's resolutions/aims for next year, I wrote a few of the more broad ranging ones down the other day:

1. Finish my collection ON TIME. The deadline for my 8 outfits is the 4th of March, currently only 2 are fully complete….
2. Get the patterns for everything in said collection written up and up on Ravelry within at the most a couple of months.
3. Make some sort of a dent in my fibre stash. I have enough BFL/Alpaca blend for a cardigan so it would be nice to spin and knit that!
4. More dyeing. It’s fun, and I’d like to be better at it.
5. Use stash/finish things. Most notably, my Golden Wheat Shawl (an epic, 2m square beauty) is lacking only 3/4 of the edging.

In addition, I'd like to knit 11 pairs of socks for 2011 (at least 11 pairs, anyway!) I haven't planned by patterns and yarns in advance, as I know I wouldn't stick to them, although I have a few planned in advance.

1. Mens sock of my own design using Easyknits Merino/Cashmere/Nylon in Gun Metal (admittedly, these are already half done) - I bought this yarn at the Bothered Owl's Christmas Party to make some socks for Andrew, so far so good!
2. Father's New Socks from Susan Crawford's Vintage Gift To Knit, in Wollmeise 100% Superwash in Zenzi, and Wollmeise Twin in Ebenholz. These have been started, but may be ribbed back, I'm having some serious gague issues!
3. Climbing Mistletoe Socks by Jon Dunn-Ballam in Wollmeise 100% Superwash in Olio vergine (although I may need to make some adjustments to the pattern, as it calls for 3.25mm needles, which won't work with this yarn.
4. Fiori Di Zucca by Alice Yu in Wollmeise 100% Superwash in Single Malt - This is the yarn and pattern I was gifted as part of my Secret Santa gift from Trisha
5. Inside Leaves by Me (I think this is what I'm going to call it), I've already made a practice pair of this design for the show, but it needs a few tweaks. I'm going to use Wollmeise 100% Superwash (spotting a theme there!) in Frosh.

I'll add things to this list/cross things off the list as and when. In addition to the knitting challenges, I'm planning a self imposed book challenge, also along the 11 for 2011 theme. It's not that I didn't read 11 books in 2010, more that I want to ensure I read 11 proper books, Literature with a capital L if you want. I haven't decided on the complete list for this yet either, although I have a number of ideas.

But I won't bore you further, here's some pictures of my only piece of Christmas present knitting for this year, a hat for my Uncle Stu of my own design, as seems to be the theme of this year, pattern coming soon!

Photoshoot part 2

Following on from the photos I posted last week, of the t-shirt and hotpants combo and the leggings, here are some of the other shots that were taken.

Firstly, we have some socks photos:

Photo by Teddy Hla, Modeled by Amy

 

Photo by Slobodan Radosavljevic, Modeled by Amy

The top pair are the Reversing Leaves Socks, by Cat Bordhi, from Clara Parkes' Knitters Book of Wool, in Wollmeise 100% Superwash, colourway Golden Pear. I love this colourway, it's one of my favourite Wollmeise colours, and I think it works well with this pattern. They are a little tight over the heel, which is a pain, and I haven't yet had a fitting with my model for the show for these socks, so I'm hoping she has small feet!

The second pair were finished a while back, I posted some photos of them from the pre-show party a while back, but it's always nice to get some extra photos! These are the Twinkle Twinkle Little Socks, by Aimee Skeers, in Wollmeise 100% Superwash colourway Versuchskaninchen. They are paired with a second pair of hotpants (just seen), based around the same pattern I used for the other pair in the previous post, and a jumper I made when I was 18, that I just happened to have with me on the day of the photoshoot.

Following on from these lovely shots were some photos of the brown yoked jumper of my own design that was also shown at the pre-show party. I've saved these until last because I think that they're my favourite from the whole shoot so far.

Photo by Alex Wakeman, Modeled by Holly

Photo by Alex Wakeman, Modeled by Holly

As I've said before, the pattern will be released as soon as I have time to write it up, once the show is over at the beginning of March, I'll be making another one for myself. I managed to score 10 skeins of Rowan Cashsoft Baby DK for almost nothing in the post-Christmas sales in a lovely very pale baby pink. I'm not sure what I'll use for the yoke just yet though, but I'm sure I'll find something fitting.

Speaking of Christmas, a couple of photos from the big day;

Note the Yorkshire puddings, by far the best I've ever made!

Andrew (left) and Sam (right), full of Festive Spirit

All in all, it was a wonderful day, especially as it was mine and Andrew's first Christmas away from our parents.

I hope that you all had a wonderful day too, and I wish all a Happy New Year!

Photoshoot

One of the best things about being a student is the amazing opportunities that present themselves. At UCL we have our very own Photography Society, and last week I was very fortunate to be invited to one of their small photoshoots. Ok, so invited may be a stretch, but you don't ask, you don't get! The opportunity to have my knitwear photographed by these awesome people is something that would be completely impossible were it not for the awesome society structure that UCL presents and for which I am very grateful.

The shoot was organized by Tori (remember her, one of my wonderful models from the pre-show and a very good friend of mine), and featured 4 lovely models. All in all, it was a very exciting afternoon. Everything you see in the following photos will be featured in my show in March.

Firstly, a t-shirt of my own design in Wollmeise 100% Merino, colourway Versuchskaninchen, paired with the Assets of Evo hotpants by Marnie McLean (Ravelry link here), in Sirdar Wash 'n' Wear in black. This yarn is surprisingly a favourite of mine, it's a cheap, acrylic/nylon blend and pretty hot to wear, but I think it's fantastic for this sort of garment. It will wear well, which is what you need on the seat, and knits up quickly with excellent stitch definition.

Photo by Teddy Hla, Modeled by Katie

This t-shirt has been causing me no-end of stress over the last couple of months, I'm still unsure whether or not I like it. It's a little frustrating that the front has pooled and the back has not, and I remain dubious about the shape. You can see in this photo that it pulls at the side of the breast, which is less of a problem on a tiny model like Katie, but looks ridiculous on me. But then, looking at this photo, I can't help but like how it's turned out. Maybe after the show I'll make another one, work out the kinks, and you'll then see a pattern.

Next comes a photo of the Leggings with Mesh Sides by Joan McGowan-Michael, published in Knitting Lingerie Style (Ravelry link here), with a number of modifications. These have continued to grow to epic proportions (bloody cotton yarn, why do I insist in swapping fibre contents!), and will almost certainly need a complete re-knit before show day, which is frustrating to say the least. But despite myself I can't help but see some potential in them.

Photo by Teddy Hla, Modeled by Badia

That's all for today, there's more photos to come from this shoot, but it's Christmas Eve (and yes, I know I promised you a pattern for a tree decoration, but it turns out it's pretty crap, maybe next year?), and I have to prep the vegetables for tomorrow. As it's mine and Andrew's first Christmas just the two of us, and as such my first Christmas away from my parents, the pressure is well and truly on! We're vegetarians, which does eliminate any turkey related stress, but creates new stress in filling that gap in the plate. I'm planning to make mushroom tartlets, with an alternative of tomato and sweet pepper tartlets too.

Yesterday was the day for preparing the sweet stuff, and I was very productive.

Firstly I iced the cake;

Cake recipe from Nigella's "How to be a Domestic Goddess", Marzipan and Icing from Sainsbury's

Then I made the mince pies (including the pastry, although the mincemeat was bought), some plum fairy cakes with fresh plum baked into the base, and some Christmas cupcakes. I won't ice them as they're sweet enough already, and Andrew and I aren't the biggest fans of icing.

Front: Mince pies, Left: Plum Cakes, Right: Christmas cupcakes, also from Nigella

See the Christmas cupcakes - look at how much they've risen! I tweaked the recipe slightly and didn't add any sour cream, admittedly I haven't tried one yet, but even if they taste awful I'm still chuffed.

Lastly I used the leftover marzipan and icing from the Christmas cake to make some sweets.

Currently in the fridge. Anyone with half a brain (ie. not me) will have noticed that in putting them chocolate side down I've kind of scuppered them, all of the chocolate has run down and stuck to the baking sheet, not so much the sweets. But it's the thought that counts, not necessarily the appearance!

Merry Christmas to all,

Mich xx

Swatching

Swatching is not an entirely new concept for me, but I'll admit I'm not as good at remembering to do it as I should be. I'm in the final stages of designing my collection for this year at the moment, and I want at least a few pieces to be designed and planned properly, swatches included!

I'm experimenting with a new stitch pattern at the moment, and a new yarn, Patons Shadow Tweed. I searched what feels like all of London for a reddy brown chunky yarn to no avail, until a trip to John Lewis brought this to me. Normally I'd avoid something 44% synthetic, not least because I'll still probably overdye this, but it fits the bill for what I was after very well.

The top left swatch was knitted on 6mm needles, the top right one on 5.5mm needles, and the bottom one on 5mm needles. The ball band recommends 6.5mm needles, but I knew I wanted a stiffer fabric. In the end I decided that I liked the 5.5mm swatch the most, the stitch definition was still clear, but the fabric had gained some of the rigitity that I wanted.

I then proceeded to do the maths.

Considering "doing the maths" makes up the majority of what I do for a living, you think I'd be pretty good at it. Turns out I'm not so good, although I did get there in the end! How anyone manages to do knitwear design without a good grasp of geometry and algebra is suddenly beyond me. Now that the maths is done, and the pattern is written in advance, the knitting has begun, and on 5.5mm needles, is coming along very nicely!

In other news, something is blocking.....

Christmas Surprises

Sorry for the absence of a post in the last week, we've got a couple of new arrivals to our household.

 

Joey (top) and Elmo have come to live with Andrew and me from a rescue centre in East London. We believe they are  6-7 years old and are probably/possibly brothers. Joey is pretty nervy at the moment, he likes lots of cuddles but gets irritable if you leave him alone for a long time. Elmo is also a big fan of cuddles, but is a lot more independent. He's pretty podgy, although Joey is the only one who's been begging for food. We pretty much love them already!

In other news, I received a Christmas parcel from my Mammy the other day, inside was a knitted Christmas bauble pattern collection, with two lovely hand knitted decorations for our (yet to be put up) tree.

And a wonderful knitted wire tree decoration;

Note the lovely beads;

I'm a very lucky girl!

The parcel was sent in order to help with a class I was running on Tuesday, although unfortunately it didn't arrive until after I had left on Tuesday morning. The class was another class for MODO, UCL's Fashion Society with whom I am very much involved. I really wanted us to have a nice Christmas party/craft circle this year, and thus arranged "Merry MODO Christmas". We made one or more of a selection of 4 different tree decorations. The parcel from my Mam was a total surprise, so I used 4 decoration ideas of my own. I think it probably says quite a lot about how close my Mam and I are, as one of the decorations we made was;

That's right, wire Christmas trees! These were made with some jewellary wire I found in the MODO cupboard, but I think the similarity between these and the knitted tree my mam made was uncanny! I made them by wrapping the wire around a 6mm knitting needle, easing it into the zig-zag shape of the tree, and then re-wrapping around the knitting needle. I passed a bit of festive ribbon through the loop to make a tie for the tree.

I also ended up teaching another two people how to knit during the class, which I think means I've now taught more than 20 people this year alone - good karma I think! As part of this, I prepped a super easy beginner's tree decoration pattern, which will be coming to you on Monday, once I'm back in the office where the pattern is saved on my computer there. I think I'll call it my "10-minute Tree Decoration"!

It's not going to change the Christmas decoration world (if such a world exists), but it really is that quick, and in being simply garter stitch, really is very easy. I think I'll make another one in wool (this one is acrylic), so that I can block it out flatter, and I'll also build the crochet chain with a crochet hook, and not just my fingers (poor form I know) so the tension is better. Hopefully pictures of this new version will come with the pattern on Monday!

Snowy collection updates!

Ok, so the title of this post is a bit misleading, as today I bring you another item from my collection for MODO this year, and also more pictures of snow, but unfortunately not the two together (maybe next week?)

When I posted the pictures of my new jumper/leggings combo on Tuesday, I completely forgot to mention the other knitting that got displayed that night! It may only be a pair of socks, but they're Wollmeise socks, and I'm very pleased with them!

Again, this isn't the worlds best picture, but these, that stay up all day on my chunky calves, still stay up on the very tiny Tori, so will be perfect for the MODO show this March. They are the Twinkle Twinkle Little Socks, free to download on Ravelry. They are knitted from the toe up on 2.25mm needles. I worked them one sock at a time until the large amount of black pooling you can see above (not my fault, a result of the calf increases), and then two at a time to maximize the yarn. In total they took about 1.5 skeins, which as Wollmeise works out at 150g a skein, is about 225g.

Some other pictures have gone up from the other (better!) photographers in attendance I thought you may like to see these from UCL student Daniel Soh.

I love that last photo of the newly designed jumper I blogged about on Tuesday. In the background you can see another of my designs - the Cell Dress. This was shown at the MODO show last year (see here for more pictures and info). I've yet to publish the pattern because I need some decent pictures of the back of the dress, and although this isn't one, I love this photo too.

This dress is so wearable, despite first appearances! It's flattering, sleek, sexy, and yet totally comfortable. The dress itself is sheer, and as such is paired with a nude slip underneath. In this photo it is modeled by the lovely Annagiulia, whereas Rosa modeled this for me in the show. These girls have very different body types, and it looks great on both of them, I like to think it looks pretty good on me too, and I'm at least 2 dress sizes larger!

In other news, it's still snowing!

It's quite deep now!

And I spotted this guy eating a nut!

Speak soon!