Handkerchief making

J uses a lots of hankies which I approve of heartily as a very green option (compared to throw away tissues).  But given how well he uses them he also needs a lot.  So I used some left-over cotton bed sheets to make a few for him to add to the pile.

I have finished 2 out of the 4 I have on the go, the last two only need embroidering which has been good fun as I have done any free hand embroidery for a long time.

So here are the first two in the hope that putting them up here will encourage me to finish the other two.  Although I have discovered that this sort of embroidery makes for even worse RSI pain in my shoulder than knitting which is unfortunate.  I don't remember getting all these aches and pains from sewing and knitting when I was in my early twenties - I blame computers and computer mice!

I also discovered (thankfully) that the embroidery silks are far more colourfast than I was expecting and can be washed on a 40 degree cycle with no ill effects at all!

Cubist Socks

My PA left the company recently to go on an amazing adventure, volunteering in the Highlands of Scotland and then trekking in Nepal.  I was so excited for her and wanted to knit her a pair of socks before she left (because knowing the weather in Scotland she will need all the warmth she can get.  Also she was someone who was so pleased to received hand knitted socks in the past and it is so gratifying to knit for people who really love getting handknit gifts.

So I had gone to Knit Nation with her in mind and bought the bright rainbow coloured yarn from Easyknits.  My PA often wore bright colours to work and I hoped that the bamboo in the yarn would mean that the socks would be hardwearing in her hiking boots.

One of the things I bought at the show was a programme because it contained two free patterns - one by Alice Yu which I shall be knitting up in due course and the Cubist socks by Cookie A (and I do love Cookie A patterns).  So I decided to use the Cubist pattern with the rainbow yarn as they seemed to compliment each other.

 In think in hindsight they were a little tight around the top and across the instep - which I was surprised about (particularly the instep bit) as the pattern didn't appear to be lacking in give.  It was not like it was lots of tight cabling or anything.  I hope that these elements didn't make them difficult to wear or put on in the end though.  My PA was really chuffed with them though and I do hope she is enjoyed wearing them even now.

Finished Cubist Socks

Close up

Knit Nation

I went to this year's Knit Nation with a large amount of money which I had been saving up to splash out on yarn.  I have been knitting successfully through my stash all year and made a good dent in some of the less fancy pants yarns so I have saved up a wodge of cash to replace some of those lovely sock yarns.

I bought 3 skeins of Wollemeise Twin - expensive but good value for money as each skein is 150g not 100g!

Fliederbuch

 

 

 

 

Thriller

Lowenzahn

I got two skeins of Easy Knits

BFL - Swamp Thing

Bamboo/Merino - Rainbow

I got one skein of bfl from a new dyer - Juno yarns

bfl yarn

Juno is a brand new indie dyer I discovered at the show.  I made a beeline for the indie dyers only there were a couple of stalls stocking things like Rowan etc. but I can buy that anywhere so I was only interested in things I couldn't see in person at the local John Lewis.  There was some great stuff on offer - although I didn't buy any at the time Fyberspates, Rennaissance Dyer and Old Maiden Aunt were also worth a shout out.  In fact if I ever take up fair isle or do more colourwork I will be heading straight to the Rennaissance Dyer.  It was particularly good catching up with Jon from Easyknits who I hadn't seen in ages.

I am still knitting through the less good stuff and have recently finished a pair of socks and am well on the way to finishing a big shawl out of my slightly less good stuff which is great.

Laminaria

This is the most complicated shawl I have knitted to date it is Estonian Lace from this free pattern from Knitty - Laminaria. And I was successful only on the 3rd attempt at which point I felt the yarn was the best fit (even if the colour is detracting from the overall effect the actual fibre and spin composition of the yarn was a good one).

I finished it a while ago but got a little behind with blogging so here it is in all its glory.

Laminaria Shawl

Knitted with Zauberball sockenwoolle in the Blackberry colourway.

I liked the zauberball but it is a single.  I would never even consider using this for something as hardwearing as a sock - it would felt/wear thin in a heartbeat.  It was perfect for the shawl though and I have seen many shawls on Ravelry that have worked very well in this yarn.