More Simple Skyp Socks

I have made these socks previously but this pattern appears to be a ‘go to’ pattern for me as the finished socks always look great! It’s a free pattern I found on Ravelry called Simple Skyp Socks and they sure are simple. They’re a cuff down pattern and I use five dpns. I can’t seem to deviate from cuff down despite knowing that toe up socks are better when you have limited yarn and can only use half for one sock.

I used two 50g balls of Regia Design Line by Kaffe Fassett 4-fädig which is an amazing sock yarn as it comes in so many lovely colours.

The second pair also uses the same yarn but in other very vivid colours.

The colours are so vibrant; they stripe well and give great stitch definition.

Sometimes it’s just nice to have a simple pattern to add some interest to your socks. I highly recommend this pattern!

As summer rolls into Brisbane I’m not sure why I’m still knitting socks but it seems to be an obsession with me!!

I’ve also been in quite a massive decluttering mode and going through my entire stash and selling the yarn I know I probably won’t use. I seem to gravitate towards 4ply and a bit of 2ply so most of my 8ply wool is now sold. Next I’ll start on all the baby yarn I own and try and destash most of it.

Until next time…

Melanie

 

Socks and Bags Swap

One of the benefits of belonging to different craft groups is you get to meet people who are proficient in crafts that you’re not! This was the case recently when one of my friends showed me a bag she’d made. I instantly wanted to own it so I asked her the cost and rather than give me a price she suggested a swap: I make her a pair of socks in return for the bag. What a win/win situation 🙂 Have a look at this lovely bag made of leather and tapestry fabric and fully lined.

I love all the little pockets that Jo included inside the bag. It’s so easy to find everything. There’s even a key ring holder that’s attached to the bag so you’ll never lose your keys.

In return I made Jo these Cable Rib Socks using Patons Patonyle 4ply yarn, probably one of my favourite sock yarns.

I love the very subtle cable in this pattern. It complements this striped yarn nicely.

When Jo published a comment recently on Facebook that she’d just made herself another denim bag and had cut out two more for sale, I immediately jumped in with a comment that I’d like to buy one as the denim bag would do nicely on the weekends. Again, Jo came back with the comment ‘how about another pair of socks?’. So I made another pair for Jo using the Circle Socks which is a free pattern on Ravelry.

This pattern is deceptively easy and the effect is fantastic!!

I noticed on Ravelry that some people had continued the circle pattern down on the top of the foot but I felt that it would be a bit too textured and maybe uncomfortable when wearing shoes or boots for a while so I kept to the pattern which was just plain knitting for the foot.

And this is my gorgeous denim bag made by Jo using recycled denim jeans.

And customised especially for me 🙂 Love that zippered pocket on the outside of the bag.

It also has the keyring holder attached to the bag. Plus the jeans’ pockets have been used on either side of the bag for more storage.

Love the compartments inside and take a look at that gorgeous lining 🙂

Plus a zippered pocket inside.

I was very lucky as this bag came with its own matching purse.

I am amazed at all the beautiful work including the personalised tag on the zip.

Aren’t these bags just stunning? And they’re one of a kind too! I am very lucky indeed. I also discovered that Jo had kindly given both pairs of socks to family members so I am busily making another pair for Jo to keep for herself as she deserves them!

If you’re interested in Jo’s bags you can contact her via her Facebook page Jo’s Handy Handmade Bags.

And now a quick look at a few bargains I’ve managed to pick up at local Opp Shops. This is becoming quite a habit and is quickly filling my home with all things sheep!

And lastly some good news to share. I recently entered this competition:

And I won the major prize!! A project bag stuffed with yarn 🙂

This a truly wonderful prize and I must thank Alison from Flock and Needle for being so generous 🙂 And if you’re very quick you’ll catch the tail end of the Easter sale where all yarn and project bags are only $25 each!

My prize arrived on the Thursday before Easter so it was a lovely Easter gift without the calories 🙂

That’s all my news for now. I hope you’ve been doing lots of crafting during the Easter break as I have.

Until next time…

Melanie

Swirl E. Socks – Pair # 37

Since making my Dunedin Happy Feet Socks I’ve been in a sock knitting mood and have not long finished these socks called Swirl E.

They’re a cuff down sock knitted on five dpns. The pattern is so easy and does not overpower the striping effect of the yarn.

I must say out of all the beautiful sock yarns on the market today, you can’t really go past Patons Patonyle. It has such a wonderful stretch to it and feels lovely in your hands.

I don’t often knit too much in blue but this yarn has been in my stash for quite a while so I thought I’d actually use it!. The patterning looks lovely and I even managed to get both socks almost identical!

This pattern is by Susie White who’s known as prairiegirl on Ravelry. It’s a free pattern on Ravelry too.

Another successful knitting project done and dusted. They’re very comfy too. I wore them last weekend 🙂

I am busy packing for my holiday to Noosaville which is coming very, very soon so you can expect to hear from me more often while I’m away. Hopefully that is a good thing!

Until next time…

Melanie

 

Dunedin Happy Feet Socks

It’s only appropriate I should name these after the city I purchased the wool in and the name of the wool hence Dunedin Happy Feet!

The wool caught my eye as I was looking through the array of yarn for sale at Knit World in Dunedin during my recent cruise around New Zealand.

The yarn is made by Countrywide Yarn Ltd and is a delight to knit with.

The pattern is called Make Your Heels Strong and is a free sock knitting pattern on Ravelry.

This particular heel does not require picking up stitches along the heel flap so it would be a lot easier for a beginner sock knitter to tackle.

Having said that, I have knit quite a few pairs of socks and really don’t mind picking up the stitches.

I’m very happy with these socks and I certainly love the colour!

I had an absolutely lovely day yesterday at a community Women and Weaving workshop. There are plenty of photos that you can view here.

That’s my news for now. Hope you’re all having a wonderful weekend filled with lots of crafty goodness.

Until next time…

Melanie

Simple Skyp Socks – Pair # 33

It had been ages since I’d made a pair of socks so during my July holidays I started these gorgeous socks from a free pattern I found on Ravelry. They’re called Simple Skyp Socks and they sure are simple.

I love the easy to memorise two row repeat which certainly helped me to get into the rhythm of the pattern.

And for once I selected a solid colour that would really show off the very smart stitch definition.

The yarn I selected is Dyed By Hand Yarns’ Tough Stocking in the colourway called Turmeric. It’s a 75% merino / 15%  nylon yarn and was beautiful to knit with.

In total I used 66g of yarn and also used 2.5mm dpns.

Over 3,400 pairs of this particular sock pattern have been used and recorded on Ravelry!!

This is definitely a ‘come back to’ pattern. It’s a step up from a plain vanilla pattern and yet easy enough to knit when you’re chatting with friends as the pattern is not overly intricate but certainly looks effective.

Now for a little bit of exciting news. I responded to a request on a recent Ravelry forum to test some sock yarn for an Aussie online yarn dyer and I opted to knit a pair of socks so I am using the same pattern to trial the sock yarn. I’ll be posting updates on my Ravelry page as I go so you can drop in at any time to have a look!

The sock yarn arrived today in the mail and I’ve already taken some photos. Here it is…

Aside from my favourite autumn colours, I do love all the different shades of blue. This particular colourway is called ‘Ink’ and I must say I love it!

One last look at my Simple Skyp Socks and then I’m off to wind this skein into a ball so I can get started!

And I’m off to Knit and Knatter tomorrow. We’ll be at the Redland Performing Arts Centre in conjunction with a Suitcase Rummage that is being held there at 11am. Should be an exciting day! Every weekend is now filled with lots of fibre happenings 🙂

Until next time…

Melanie

A Nice Ribbed Sock….Pair # 20 and a Cute Little Baby Hat

While I was reading one of Knitting to Stay Sane’s blog posts I found the link to her free pattern called A Nice Ribbed Sock. I’ve knitted a 3 x 2 ribbed sock previously which I called my Harlequin Rib socks from the pattern Basic Ribbed socks which can be found in Ravelry.

What I love about this pattern is that by just knitting a 3 x 1 rib adds some interest to the sock rather than a plain stockinette stitch. Had some difficulty trying to get a good photo to pick up the colours in the yarn which are charcoal, tan and a little bit of burnt orange.

Hopefully these pictures taken outside may help to give you an idea of the colourway.

The yarn I used is called Lana Grossa Meilenweit Grigio Sockenwolle. I think it may be discontinued now as I can’t find much information about it.

The colour is a bit subdued compared to some of the bright colours I’ve been knitting with but it makes a change.

Thought I might also share with you this absolutely adorable Incredible Expanding Gnome Hat. I thought it was so cute I just had to knit it with no one in mind to give it to so I’ll just hang onto it until a little baby boy is born.

I made it with Patons Big Baby 4ply yarn. Because I don’t have a baby or even a doll to use as a model, I had to resort to a candle jar just to give you an idea of how the hat looks when it’s on a round shape. Don’t laugh!

Here’s the picture from the Ravelry page….much cuter. How can you not want to knit one after seeing this picture.

Isn’t it just delightful? And it’s a free knitting pattern from Ravelry. Here’s the link if you’re interested in knitting one.

Time for me to go. Off to meet some of my crafty friends tonight for some eating, drinking coffee, talking and I’ll be taking my crocheting with me.

Talk soon

Melanie

River Rapids Socks…..Pair # 19 and a Train Crash!

Besides knitting socks from patterns that other very clever knitters have written, I also love the names of their patterns and often wonder about the meaning behind some of them. Some names are quite obvious, others not so much. This particular pattern speaks for itself and for once, I thought I’d actually try and knit a pair of socks in a colour that relates to the name of the pattern. Hence my River Rapids socks are knitted in a lovely greeny/bluey coloured sock yarn.

Socks # 19….and what a delightful pattern this is. I used a size larger needle 2.75mm rather than the 2.5mm that I have been using for all my other socks. I have found that with the finer sock yarn and 2.5mm needles the socks fit quite snugly. Using 2.75mm needles has solved this problem. I am very naughty as I hate knitting tension/gauge squares.

This 16 row repeat pattern is exceptionally easy as 10 of the rows are exactly the same and you soon get used to the other six rows. I used 5 dpns. Also, when doing the heel turn I used a ssk rather than the k2tog…just what I’m used to.

The pattern I used is called River Rapids Socks and it’s another free Ravelry sock pattern.

For such an easy pattern to knit it looks so intricate and beautiful.

Lovely heel detail…

The yarn is called Regia Hand-dye Effect and the colourway is Rock Garden. It’s the same yarn I used to knit my Rhubarb Cobblestone socks. The colour in this photo is slightly more vivid than it actually is.

On a different note, here in Cleveland where I live we were shocked on Thursday (31 January) when a train failed to stop and over ran the platform and into the newly multi million dollar refurbished station house. An investigation is currently being carried out but it looks like there were problems with the train’s brakes. I guess that’s pretty obvious to most of us!

A picture of one of the carriages being lifted by crane during the night.

Even Wikipedia has updated their webpage about Cleveland Railway Station.

Well I’m off to finish another pair of socks. These socks are from a book recommended to me called Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn by Carol Sulcoski. Can’t wait to show them to you.

Bye for now…

Melanie

Maidenhair Fern Socks….Pair # 17

I know I say it in most of my posts but this is another one of my favourite free sock knitting patterns from Ravelry. What would I do without Ravelry I might add! The pattern is called Maidenhair Fern socks and I am enamoured with these socks.

The pattern detail is exquisite and not difficult to knit either. It’s a 16 row repeat pattern. I did make a few variations along the way. To start with I used 5 dpns rather than 4 dpns….only because that was how I was initially taught to knit socks and I find it easier to use 5 dpns. When I cast on there were 18 sts on each needle. As a tip, for the round where you had to increase 3 stitches evenly across (making a total of 75 stitches), I k23, kfb repeat 3 times. I then redistributed the stitches as follows: N1 – 30 sts; N2 – 15 sts; N3 – 15 sts; N4 – 15 sts.

After shaping the heel and picking up the stitches from both sides of the heel flap, I progressed to using 6 dpns!! What! you’re wondering….but I found it easier to use the 6 dpns. My stitches were distributed as follows: N1 – 31 sts; N2 – 15 sts; N3 – 15 sts; N4 – 15 sts; N5 – 31 sts. Needles 2, 3 and 4 were the pattern repeat stitches and because the pattern consisted of 15 stitches it was just easier for me to have one pattern repeat on each needle. It was a bit fiddly but worked for me.

Once the foot section was finished and I was ready to start the toe, I was required to knit one row decreasing 9 sts evenly across Needle 2 (which was my Needles 2, 3 and 4) so I k3, k2tog x 9 times.

I changed the toe decreases section to suit the type of toe finish I like best. First round was the same, followed by Round 2 knit, Round 3 as per Round 1, Round 4 knit and so on until there was a total of 20 sts (5 sts on each needle). Divided the 20 sts between two needles (10 sts on each needle) and then grafted the sts together (Kitchener stitch).

Look at the lovely detail of the maidenhair fern pattern.

I’m also very happy with the yarn choice I made. This is Schoppel-Wolle  Zauberball Orange and what I really like about it is that it’s not a solid colour but two colours that complement each other and yet there is enough colour in each section to really show off the sock pattern to all its glory. What do you think?

I’ve used the Zauberball and Crazy Zauberball and I really love this sock yarn. It’s probably one of my favourite sock yarns to knit with. I used the Crazy Zauberball yarn to knit my Mediterranean socks which I featured on a previous blog post as well as on my Ravelry page.

That’s it for now. I’m going to enjoy my lovely air conditioning as it’s another stinking hot day in Brisbane today. You’d melt if you were outside!

Talk soon,

Melanie

Hot Aussie Weather and Murgrona Socks………….Pair # 16

Here in Australia we are experiencing extremely hot weather which has resulted in many bush fires burning out of control across the eastern side of the country as well as the tragic loss of homes and businesses. In Brisbane today it was around 36 degrees celsius but luckily it was a dry heat and the humidity was relatively low. It hardly feels appropriate that I should be knitting socks during this time but it appears nothing can stop me!

I find the repetitive nature of knitting to be quite therapeutic and calming and it is also something I can do when watching TV. There is also a certain amount of excitement involved watching a pattern and self-patterning yarn evolve.

Interspersed throughout the last 16 pairs of socks I have knitted there are some socks knitted in plain stocking stitch as there are occasionally times when I just want to knit and not think too much. These are ideal times to use some of the exquisitely dyed and self-patterned sock yarns that are now available in such abundance. It takes a lot of self control not to keep clicking ‘Add to Cart’ when I am shopping on line for sock yarn.

I looked up the meaning of the word ‘Murgrona’ and found out that it means “ivy” The designer is Swedish so maybe this pattern reminds her of ivy. This is such an easy sock pattern which consists of only four rounds to create such an intricate pattern.The only mistake I made was to use this yarn with this particular pattern as neither the sock pattern nor yarn are shown to their full advantage. The next pair I make will definitely be in a solid colour. This pattern….Murgrona Socks can be found on Ravelry and guess what…..it’s another free sock knitting pattern.

This close up photo gives you an idea of the lovely detail of the pattern……

as well as the lovely detail of the toe……

which is continued through to the back of the heel.

The yarn I used is called Dornröschens Sockenwolle made by Dornroschen-Wolle. The designer lives in West Germany and loves dyeing so much she creates a new colourway each month.

This is a stunningly gorgeous sock yarn but unfortunately as mentioned previously the pattern doesn’t do the yarn justice and vice versa. Luckily, I purchased two skeins of the yarn so I will knit another pair of socks in just plain stocking stitch so the rich autumn colours of the yarn can be shown off to their full advantage.

Hope you are knitting or crafting lots of things that make you happy. My next pair of socks is already finished so I will post a story about them in the next week or so. They are gorgeously stunning and I’m sure you’re going to love the yarn colour and sock pattern. Stay tuned.

Take care….

Melanie

Leaves of Whimsy Socks…….. Pair # 15

I love this Leaves of Whimsy sock pattern created by Rebecca Mercier and published as one of the many free sock knitting patterns on Ravelry.

This is a lovely sock pattern but takes a bit of concentration. You also need to be extra careful at the end of each Row 1 where it ends with a yo as it’s easy for a large hole to form. I used size 2.5mm dpns with this yarn. It’s a very fine yarn. In hindsight I should probably have used 2.75mm dpns as the socks are quite snug. I am notorious for not knitting tension squares so it’s my own fault.

Reduced the number of repeats for the leg from 5 to 4. Five would have been too long and not have gone up around my calf.

The yarn I used is Ty-Dy Socks by Knit One Crochet Too. I love all the different greenish shades too. It’s very appropriately called ‘camouflage’. I purchased this yarn from one of my favourite Brisbane online yarn shops – Yay for Yarn.

This is the first sock I’ve knitted where the leg pattern continues down the heel flap and I must say I rather like it.

As you can tell from all my socks, I’m a bit partial to autumn colours as I find them so relaxing and easy to blend as there are so many autumn colours available.

Hope you had a fantastic Christmas Day….no doubt you are now gearing up for New Year’s Eve!

Talk soon

Melanie