WIP Wednesday: The Saving Postage and my Sanity Edition

I had great plans for today. I was going to get up, go for a swim, go to the park and take photos of my knitting, get back home in time for a client meeting then spend all afternoon working. Unfortunately, this happened:

It's been really cold and wet all day. I'm going a bit stir crazy! Tomorrow's supposed to be sunny and  for my sanity and peace of mind I hope it is.

Fortunately, knitting is not a weather-dependent hobby (or else I really would go mad). I think I've mentioned before that my dad and my sister live overseas. It's not that big a deal - it just means that Christmas presents need to be sent by the start of December. However, I spoke to Dad a few days ago and he told me he plans to come to Melbourne at the end of October. Great, because I can see him and save on postage at the same time.

Not so great because I haven't finished his or his wife's socks! 

This is not a huge deal - both of the socks are more than halfway. It's easily doable.

But then my sister rang, and reminded me that she's coming in the first week of November, so her socks need to be done by then.

Again, they're 80% done, so not a big deal.

Except for this. 

The needles arrived and I got gauge on the second attempt. All I want to do is start knitting my Belmont cardigan! Maybe I'll just do the cast on and then get back to the socks...

WIP Wednesday: It's All Under Control Edition

About two weeks ago, I posted a somewhat panicked picture on Instagram showing all of the projects I was working on:

From top left clockwise, they were Sam's Christmas socks in Schoppel Wolle flying saucer yarn, Sam's aunt's Christmas socks in Shepherdess Aussie Handmade sock yarn, Theme and Variation from The Book of Haps in Lana Grossa Meilenweit 100 Tweed, Ilga's Socks from Favorite Socks in Knitpicks Stroll, a Baable Hat in Heirloom Easy Care 5 ply and Sam's Anniversary Socks in Red Heart Sports Socks.

Understanding that a lot of people work on many projects at the same time and have a lot of WIPs and things on the go (which absolutely makes me feel better for my project prolificacy), I was literally working on every one of these projects every day, even if it was only a row here and a few stitches there. Working on so many different things at the same time meant that I was making no progress on any one thing, so I decided to change my strategy. I put the hap into hibernation, finished up three pairs of socks and a hat (details to come!) and now am focusing on just two socks at a time. 

First up, the socks I am giving my dad for Christmas. He's a mad Demons fan, so when I saw this yarn for sale in the Ozifarmer's market Etsy shop, I had to have it.

The colours are amazing. It's on Ozifarmer's Eman sock yarn base, which feels a bit like Wollmeise to knit - ie more like cotton that wool. It's really nice to knit with and I am really interested to see how it wears.

Of course, it seemed silly to pay shipping for just one skein of yarn, so I also bought a kettle-dyed semi-solid colourway on the Ozisock base. It reminds me of the smooshy Bendy sock yarn or a slightly thinner Jitterbug. 

Unsurprisingly, working on only two pairs of socks at a time means that I'm getting stuff done! Also, unsurprisingly, I am dreaming of starting new things. In particular, I was thinking of knitting a cardigan with the leftover wool from the circular shawl I just finished. Apparently I have just enough yarn to make a Belmont...

Photograph from the Belmont Ravelry page

The required needles for the cardy are in the mail. Help me...

2016 FO# 6: Dry July Socks

This is yet another old project I am just writing about now months after finishing.

This year, I signed up for Dry July. I have written before why I do these kind of months - it makes me feel good, it breaks bad habits and it raises money for charity (I raised almost $300, which I thought was pretty darn impressive).

While I spent most of the month knitting on the Big White Baby Blanket, I still had a (surprisingly large) amount of time on my hands that I wanted to fill with knitting rather than sauvignon, so I cast on for a pair of commemorative Dry July socks out of blue and beige leftover sock yarn balls. 

I did them toe-up two-at-a-time so I could use all of the yarn I had and have them perfectly matched. These are pretty much like every other spiralled scrap yarn pair of socks I've made, with one exception. I did something I don't think I have done before - an afterthought calf.

It was pretty easy. Much like an afterthought heel, when I got to where I needed the heel to go I put in some waste yarn. However, instead of continuing to knit a tube, I knitted the heel and grafted it closed.

I then picked up the stitches on either side of the waste yarn ...

.. before very carefully removing the waste yarn ...

.. leaving live stitches on the needles.

I then started to knit the socks as usually, picking up an extra stitch at each side and K2TOG it in the following row so I wouldn't end up with a hole. 

That strategy didn't work too well and so I did end up using some of the ends to close holes there I picked up the stitches. I don't know that happens to me when I use the afterthought technique! I just bought Sock Architecture by Laura Neel this week, so I'm hoping that will help me fix the problem as I have heard only good things about it.

Overall, I am very happy with these socks. They fit well, are pretty cute and used up lots of bits and bobs of the monochrome sock yarn I had lying around that I don't want to use in my sock yarn blanket (at this stage, I'm only using yarns with more than one colour. This may change in the future though). 

A++, would Dry July and knit these socks again.

WIP Wednesday: The Big Grey Edition

Last week I shared my directions of how not to start a lopayesa. This week, the knitting process has gone much more smoothly. I may not like the finishing on this pattern, but I cannot fault the shaping directions for the body at all. They are very clear and therefore really easy to follow. I am now about halfway through the third ball on the body. I love working on this - it's just like a giant sock, which is my favourite type on knitting.

I didn't take a good photo of just the sleeves but you can kind of see them here. I decided I really hated the look of the garter stitch cuff (on the left) so for the second sock I used a provisional cast on (on the right). I just started knitting the part after cuff. After I've finished the jumper, I'm going to pick up those stitches and knit down in 2x2 rib. That way I can measure the sleeve and end up with the perfect length for my sleeves. I am happy with how this project is tracking - if I keep up this pace, the jumper will be done in a month.

Because I like to always have something in my handbag to work on, I cast on a simple pair of men's  socks for Sam's brother for Christmas.

For Christmas!! I am going to be so organised this year...

WIP Wednesday: Everyone's a Winner Edition

Over Christmas, I read the delightful but rather batty decluttering guide The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Maria Kondo. This book is massively popular and has inspired the much-maligned but completely fantastic practice of KonMari. Basically, with KonMari you gather all of one type of item (clothes, kitchen stuff, books, etc) and go through it item by item, deciding what brings you joy and what has irreplaceable use. If the item does not do either of these things, get rid of it. I realised after reading that book that I have wool and needles and projects squirrelled all over my house that are in desperate need of a sort and declutter. I really had no idea how much yarn I even had! It just seemed to be too big a job to even get started on. However, last Tuesday I woke up with an unexpectedly clean slate and thought, well, let's go. 30 minutes later, my bed looked like this:

It's hard to tell from this photo but that pile of knitting, yarn and needles was about 1 metre high. It includes every piece of knitting and knitting paraphernalia that I own.  I found some crazy stuff - half balls of wool left over from projects I knitted *twelve* years ago. I unravelled a ton of never-to-be-finished projects and tossed everything that looked tired and done.

Three hours later, my stash is neatly sealed and sorted and fits into these three boxes:

Excellent! The KonMari process was dusty and time-consuming but also very rewarding.  I now know what wool I have, how much of it I have and what needles I own. I'm excited about using it all up and my house is just unbelievably neater. (I also discovered a huge pile of UFOs that just need like an hour of work to be completely finished, but that's a story for another day.

In Other News

One thing that is giving me immense joy is my sock yarn blanket.

It's so big now that it's hard for me to get all of it in one photo unless I stand on something (this is not as exciting as it sounds - I am only five foot tall). Unfortunately, I have had to put it aside briefly because of boring deadline knitting. Boo!!!

First up, a pair of the world's most boring brown socks. They were requested by Sam for his birthday, which is next week, so I am Getting Them Done. But seriously, how boring?

Because I could only handle so much brown, I also cast on a pair of socks for my dad's birthday, which is coming up soon.

They are kind of based on the Cable Rib Socks from my favourite sock book Favorite Socks but I increased the stitch count and didn't read the instructions properly so it's really more of an "inspired by". I think it'll look good, though, and it's not made out of brown, which is really what I'm look for at this moment. 

The best thing is, once I get these socks done, more yarn scraps for my blankets. Everyone's a winner in this week's WIP Wednesday :)

2016 FO #2: Skew socks

There is not much I can say about the Skew socks that hasn't been said before.

With this pattern, normal striped yarns do crazy wild things.

Knitting the heel involves a huge leap of faith - even now, after having knitted two of these heels, I'm not quite sure how the turn occurred:

And I'm very good at maths!

  

After the heel turn, a bunch of short rows are done so that the knitting is straightforwardly in the round again. It was very clever! 

I love my new, crazy socks (yarn: the appropriately titled Opal Crazy in colourway 1901).

Happy New Year and lots and lots of pairs of socks

Another year is drawing to a close. I do not know where this year has even gone - it has been a blur of work, work, sleeping and then more work. I have been going at life pretty relentlessly since January which (honestly) has sucked a little bit sometimes. It all seems worth it at the end of the year, though, when you see how much you have done.

One thing I was very pleased with this year was my Christmas knitting. My dad got some socks made out of Regia Design Line by Kaffe Fassett, that were completed way back in November (this is his photo since I gifted them without taking a photo because I am a terrible blogger).

Sam and his brother got matching-ish socks made out of Regia Pairfect. With this yarn, the ball is divided into two identical halves, separated by a section of yellow yarn. Weirdly, even though I made these two pairs of socks exactly the same way, on one pair I had to use the yellow dividing yarn to finish the toe and on the other I did not. Regia's inconsistency with yardage strikes again.

The final pair I finished on the 23rd of December. I made Sam's parents his-and-her spiralled socks using two colourways of Patonyle. I (modestly) think they look great.

So, I got lots of pairs of socks done in time for Christmas - four of them for adult males - without stressing out but with a lot of hard graft. That is seriously the most boring story ever! However, it does fairly accurately capture my 2015. Here's hoping that 2016 is a bit more fun but with just as many socks. 

Happy New Year!

WIP Wednesday: Fair Isle Edition

On Sunday evening I bundled up all of my thesis to date and sent it to my supervisor for review. The file was so big I couldn't send it via email! I have some small stuff to work on but I can't do much until I get her feedback so this week I've been in study stasis. Which has resulted in...

BOOM! Fair isle everywhere.

First up, the Fair Isle Socks from Toe Up Socks for Every Body*.

I did one sock with just variegated yarn as a contrast and one with both solid and variegated. Now I can't decide which one I like best.

I tried moving them around but that didn't help.

I stood them up...no help whatsoever.

In the end I posted a plea to Instagram and the designer herself responded, preferring the one with two colours. I agreed yesterday, but this morning I looked at them again and I am just not sure.

While I was making up my mind (am making up my mind...) I cast on the Eesti Hiking Socks from Favorite Knits. I'm using Bendigo Woollen Mills 8 ply Luxury in Lake and Ghost. I had forgotten how quickly thick socks knit up - this felt like it happened in an instant. Maybe these could be another pair of Christmas socks...

I almost like it better when it's flipped inside out.

It turns out that when I am not channelling all of my energy into my thesis then I have a lot of energy left over for other projects and my preferred way of using up this energy is knitting. Knitting is the best :)

Lucy has no extra energy:

The poor thing is completely pooped from lying in the sun all day. It's a hard knock life for some, I tell you.

*A really excellent book for those who like their socks spicy. I love it.

WIP Wednesday: Hello Spring Edition

Yesterday was the first day of spring! Appropriately, the day was full of sunshine, so as soon as I had completed my daily word count I grabbed my WIP bag and headed down to the beach.

I am lucky enough to live about a block away from the beach so there are lots of different places along the bay for me to visit. Yesterday I decided to go somewhere I used to hang out a lot when I was younger: near the local surf lifesaving club.

I had a boyfriend once who was a lifesaver and had a key to the building, so we used to go there so we could duck in to pee (definitely an issue that is under considered when people decide which beach to go to. I suspect that often the warm spots one feels when swimming in the ocean are definitely there because of a lack of public loos!

There is also this gorgeous (although somewhat uncomfortable) mosaic chair which is ridiculously romantic to sit on and drink wine while the sun goes down. I guarantee smooching will follow the sunset, so be careful with whom you share the chair!

For non-romantic sunset drinking, there is a picnic table which fits up to six women who like drinking chardonnay at the beach very comfortably. (It was at this stage that I realised why I hadn't come here since my early 20s - I stopped drinking at the beach!)

I put the picnic table to a non-alcoholic use and set up my two Practically Pairfect socks.

Because I am crazy, I ended up buying another set of 2.25 mm needles last week so I could work on both pairs of socks at the same time.

The striping is so fun and the socks look fantastic (if I do say so myself). 

Welcome, spring! I've missed you and I hope you're here to stay.

Hello Monday and a pair of true monster socks (2015 FO# 11)

Last week flew by in a massive deadline blur. I honestly didn't even realise I'd missed a week of posting until I sat down now to type this. That's hopeless! The days and weeks feel like they're zooming so fast at the moment I can't even keep up. I am seriously tempted to buy one of these gorgeous colouring books to help me be a bit more mindful and slow down. (haha when would I find the time to do that. Bluergh.)

I did take a few minutes time out today to take pictures of my latest pair of socks. These are full-on monster socks, made out of the 5-10g balls of sock yarn left after a pair of socks have been finished.

To make these, I collected all of the similar weight and feel sock yarns I had and divided them each into two balls. I then cast on and spiralled two at a time all the way up the sock, using an afterthought heel.

One thing I didn't do which I probably should have was weigh the itty bitty balls. Although I followed the same yarn sequence for both socks, since some of the balls were much bigger than others, you can see that the colour changes occur at different places in each sock (the right one becomes a lot more blue faster than the right one does, for example).

These taught me a lot about coordinating colours in scrap yarn. If I were to do it again, I'd divde the balls into 'warm' and 'blue' and spiral accordingly, so there would always be a bit of contrast, rather than what I did which was randomly pick the closest ball to me whenever I needed to add a new yarn.

That said, they are super warm and comfortable and when they're on, the colour discrepancies aren't really obvious.

I have now packed these socks up with the helical stripes set and will drop them off at KOGO, hopefully tomorrow.

In other news:

I know I am not alone in feeling like this winter has been going forever. However, I was ecstatic when I popped outside to observe that some of the coriander seeds I planted before this recent cold snap have come up! I was certain that they would have been destroyed by the frost.

So, although spring hasn't actually sprung yet, there are signs that it might be coming soon. 

Hopefully, very very soon - I'm done with the cold (and so is Lucy).