At long last I have some knitting to write about. This summer has been very busy, and knitting seems to have been put to the side. But whenever I have had time I have been working on these socks for my husband. He retired over the summer, and we are hoping that later in the year we will be spending a lot more time in the country. Some cosy handknit socks might just be what he needs.
The main part of these socks are knitted from Drops Fabel Long Print (colour 917). I love this sock wool, which I bought to put together with another order for a cardigan, which I have not yet started. Adding them to the order just nudged me into the price bracket where there was no postage to pay, so it really came at no cost.
The pattern I used is called Elementary Watson, and is a free download on ravelry. The pattern has this name because it was inspired by Dr Watson's cable pullover in BBC's Sherlock. Like most of the socks I knit they were toe-up, which I just find less stressful than cuff-down, where you always have the worry that you will run out of wool before the foot is long enough. As it was I had quite a bit of wool left from my two balls, but I did use a constrast wool for the toes and cuffs. It meant that my husband could have the socks the exact length he wanted.
Just
a reminder that there is still plenty of time join in my Ginx Woolly Linx party for September.
Click on the photo above or at the top of the page to find the party. I
would love to see what you have been working on this month.
I have a new pattern for sale in my shops. I have made these frog baby shoes for Jennifer, who has just recently had a baby. Although we have never met in person, I have got to know her through knitting and the internet. Quite a while ago she made a Red-eyed Tree Frog, from my Frog Toy pattern. I was so impressed, and since she really seems to get my patterns, she has been testing them and proof checking.
However thorough I think I have been she fairly often finds something. For me it is very reassuring to know that someone has tested the pattern, as before this I would often end of doing multiple test knits myself .... just one more to make sure. I used to do some proof reading myself in a previous job, but I do think that sometimes the eyes see what they expect, and not what is actually there.
So these shoes were posted to Jennifer for her new baby, and here are some adorable photos of him wearing them.
So having made the Frog Baby Shoes in one colour, my husband (who likes to give me helpful suggestions) thought that they might look nice with the frog knitted in a contrast colour. So the pattern contains instructions to make them this way as well.
Although they are quite a quick knit because of the size, I would suggest that anyone making them has a go at the one-coloured version first. On the two colour version you also have to be careful to carry your main shade across the back. Not difficult if you are used to intarsia knitting, but it gets a bit complicated when you are also thinking about the cables.
The beads for the eyes are not sewn on, but threaded on to the wool at the very beginning. I thought this would make them more securely attached to the shoe, so there was not risk of baby pulling them off.
So just to make sure I have done a second speckled frog version using some sock wool. Fortunately quite a few of my friends seem to be becoming grandparents, so I don't seem to have a shortage of babies to give these to.
If you want to make some Frog Baby Shoes for a baby in your life, the pattern is available in my shops on ravelry, Etsy and LoveKnitting. It uses any brand of doubleknit wool, and ..... At the moment of pattern is only available in 0-3 months.
Just
a reminder that there is still time join in my Ginx Woolly Linx party for July.
Click on the photo above or at the top of the page to find the party. I
would love to see what you have been working on this month.
I had an order for two pairs of my wrap over baby shoes, and after emailing the customer found out that she actually was buying them as an Easter present for her two daughters' for their baby dolls. A few more emails flew between the UK and USA, with measurements and photos of the baby dolls' feet, and from me photos of various coloured wools etc. (People moan about the internet, but this sort of thing would just not have been possible before it.) And so these scaled down version of my shoes are now on the way to the USA, where I hope they will be thoroughly played with, and the baby dolls will have warm feet.
Just
a reminder that there is still time join in my Ginx Woolly Linx party for March.
Click on the photo above or at the top of the page to find the party. I
would love to see what you have been working on this month.
In nearly the last of my series of baby shoes, I have strayed from Spring into Summer.
I have not been able to take a photo of the meadow I have in my head that inspired these shoes. I was going to look for a picture online, but perhaps I don't need to.
The meadow I was thinking of is a complete mixture of flowers: a few bold scarlet poppies, a smattering of deep blue cornflowers, some jolly buttercups, a cow parsley reaching above them all, and some daisies down low. Can you see the meadow now in your mind's eye? The sun is shinning and the flowers are blowing in a gentle breeze. It is a perfect day.
Just
a reminder that my Ginx Woolly Linx party for June is now running.
Click on the photo above or at the top of the page to find the party. I
would love to see what you have been working on this month.
I love daisies - such an unassuming little flower but so pretty. I have made daisy shoes before, but looking at the flower really carefully, I realized that by using daisy stitch I was not really reproducing how the flower actually looks.
So with the shoes above I have used a simple circle of stitches, which I think is closer to the real flower. I love the greyish wool, which I think looks like a stone wall. I was going to knit another pair from it, but don't have quite enough. Annoying!
The pattern is my Baby Bee Shoe pattern, and these shoes are also heading for my Etsy Shop. I still have to make some little drawstring bag for them, and am definitely GOING TO DO IT TODAY. (I am shouting at myself.)
Just
a reminder that my Ginx Woolly Linx party for May is now running.
Click on the photo above or at the top of the page to find the party. I
would love to see what you have been working on this month.
