Rainbow Feet

Mini Update

2010-09-06T20:52:00.000+01:00

Unfortunately there will only be a mini shop update this week. I’ve made a huge boo-boo and ordered my undyed BFL/nylon a little later than usual and sadly it didn’t arrive in time for this weekend’s dyeing. I usually buy all my undyed yarn bases as and when I need them, but I’ve learnt my lesson now, and so that this doesn’t happen again I’m keeping a surplus stock!

However, I did have a small stock of 100% Organic Merino left, which I have dyed up for part of this update. This is gorgeous, soft and bouncy yarn. If you’re heavy on your socks, and prefer extra nylon for strength, don’t forget this yarn will also make lovely gloves, hats, scarves……why not try something different ? I ALSO have some sale yarn in BFL/nylon all listed below too.

Okay, first the 100% Organic Merino, these are all variegated, although Plum Pudd does knit up into a stripey 'effect' of 1-2 rows of knitting (shown in the photo).

Myriad - So many colours, I don't know where to begin!
100% Organic Merino - Variegated

Hot Pink Lime - Bright Pink and Acid Lime
100% Organic Merino - Variegated

Plum Pudd - Pinky Purples
Will knit up in a 'stripey effect' as
shown above.
100% Organic Merino

Next my sale BLF/nylon yarn. In the sale because it's got a naughty knot :( All these will knit up into mini 4 row stripes. I’m currently using this 4-row striped yarn for my Choco-Strawberry Ice socks – see side panel for a photo.

Rock Pool - Bright Turquoise and dark Charcoal Grey - 4 row stripes
75% Bluefaced Leicester/25% Nylon

Fruit Salad - Bright Pink and Acid Yellow - 4 row stripes
75% Bluefaced Leicester/25% Nylon

Conch - Dark Charcoal and light Coral Pink - 4 row stripes
75% Bluefaced Leicester/25% Nylon

Just in case you're wondering.....I find my mini stripes easier to wind into skeins than my usual balls! So, don't worry, more balls next week :)

Finally two more stripy sale BFL/Nylon colourways to add but I've not yet balled them up/photographed them. These are Cranberry Juice in wide 12 row stripes and Mad Hatter, knitting up into 3 stripes each 6 rows wide (see the Sold items in my shop for both colourways). These will be added to the shop in the next day or two.

Full descriptions of all yarn is listed in the shop. Apologies this is such a ‘bitty’ update, but all should be back on track next week ;)

~Karen~

Whoops I've done it again.....

2010-09-02T19:11:00.000+01:00

I'm so sorry folks, but I just can't seem to get my act together! My intention was to blog BEFORE I updated my shop, but it seems demand calls for me updating the shop first! ;) I'm finding it soooo difficult to do both after a weekend of intensive dyeing, so many apologies, but pictured below 'WAS' this week's update! There may still be some yarn left.......however, if not, please convo me on Etsy and if there is a colourway you would really like, I will do my best to dye it up for you and reserve it in the shop for you in the next week or so.

It's looking like updates will be on a Tuesday or Wednesday - I can't set an exact day as it's usually as soon as the yarn is dry and balled up!

I also have some more Sale yarn (narrow stripes) and variegated yarn coming into the shop over the weekend, so please keep checking my shop ;)

A big hug to everyone buying my yarn :)

~Karen~

Cor Blimey!

2010-08-26T20:01:00.000+01:00

WOW! I updated the shop yesterday and before I even got the chance to blog about it most of it had been snapped up! ;) Cor blimey, I'm completely bowled over :) Thank you all you lovely people :) So, I guess I'll just have to blog about what is left....pictured below. This includes yarn from the last few updates.

Jubilant

Neon

Summer Daze

Chocolate Mint

Periwinkle (sale)

Crystal Waters

As a little bit of light relief from all that time-consuming winding of striped yarn, I have been working on some bright and eye-popping variegated yarn, which I will be adding to the shop over the weekend. So far, these are in my vivid colourways of Viola, Aztec and Carnival. This range of yarn is called 'Variegated Brights'. THERE WILL BE MORE - watch out for them! :)

Sneak preview...

Have a lovely weekend :)

~Karen~

Just updated new yarn...

2010-08-17T19:25:00.003+01:00

I've been extremely organised this weekend and all my yarn has been dried photographed and added to the shop early! Well almost.....I have a few more balls to wind up and add to the shop by Friday. Anyway here's what I've just added. All in my Tangy yarn base, which is 75% Blue Faced Leicester and 25% Nylon, and all in 0.5" (1.25 cm stripes).

I do apologise for being so brief in this post, there is a lovely Indian takeout smell wafting in from the kitchen, so got to go! Watch out for those few extra balls of yarn I will be adding in the next few days, which I haven't managed to add tonight.

~Karen~

Naughty Little Knots!

2010-08-15T09:37:00.024+01:00

This is a little interim blog post to mention I have just added a new SALE section to my shop. You know those really irritating little knots you sometimes find in hand-dyed yarn? Grrrr! This unfortunately does occasionally happen from time to time. Sometimes they can go undetected, but if eagle-eyed old me spots one I just can't ignore the pesty little blighters. It's for that reason I'm offering these naughty balls at a discounted rate. Currently there is a Carnival colourway in the Sale section and a new colourway called Pixie. THERE IS ONLY ONE KNOT! Remember, the same extremely hard work goes into producing these balls of stripey loveliness, so please take pity! ;)

Carnival

Pixie

I have been SO busy this weekend dyeing. Thankfully the weather has been kind and all skeins are now almost dry and on target for my update next week. And no knots - hurray! I have a few Halloween stripes coming in next week, unfortunately they are a bit limited as I ran out of black dye; I did order some earlier this week, but unfortunately it didn't come in time :(

~Karen~

This week's update and stuff...

2010-08-10T17:54:00.009+01:00

I only seem to blog at the moment when I'm updating the shop! However, that will hopefully change soon once I start getting a bit more knitting done. I hate to say it, but colder weather will soon be upon us and I'm itching to see how my stripes knit up as a hat or shawl. I'm still plugging away at my Bear Hug socks and Carnival stripes (pictured in the side panel), which I should finish over the weekend.

Right , back to the update. This week all my hand dyes are in my medium 0.5" (1.25 cm) stripes and in Tangy Sock Yarn (75% BFL/25% Nylon). My Liquorice stripes were a big success last week (thank you!), so I hope to dye some more of those very soon. This week's update is biggish (well, biggish for me so don't get too excited!). I was feverishly dyeing away at the weekend to make it a bit more substantial than last week. I've gradually been adding a ball or two to the shop since Monday and hope to complete it by Friday. Unfortunately, my Cheshire Cat colourway has already gone - you will have to be a it quicker next time! ;)

I have to say I have such a nightmare with this update every week, trying to download all the yarn photographs. Every time I download a photo it pings to the top of the blog and I then have to drag it down, bit by bit, to where I want it to be. It then sends everything else I've typed haywire, so I then have to go through the blog deleting the extra spaces and lining everything up again. Arrrrggghhhh! It seems you can't copy and paste the photo exactly where you want it and believe me it takes forever to keep jiggling them around! Anyone else with a blog have this problem? If there's an easy way of doing it PLEASE let me know! Needless to say, I've cheated this week and put everything in one photo! ;) SO HERE IT IS, THE UPDATE!

From the back row, left to right - Purple Rain, Conch, Fruit Salad
2nd row, left to right - Chocolate Mint and Aegean Sea
Front Row, left to right - Crocus and Busy Lizzie

and from another angle.......

There are three more self-striping yarns to add to the shop, but these are in a special section of their own. Once I've balled them up this evening I will blog about them in the next day or two.

A HUGE BIG THANK YOU to everyone who is buying my yarn and keeping me merrily dyeing away every weekend :) It keeps me very happy and out of mischief ;)

~Karen~

Liquorice Allsorts?

2010-08-04T21:34:00.030+01:00

This week's update is here. The little brief I set myself this week was to design some lovely, sexy gothic striped yarn. Well, as I was dyeing it up, all that kept popping into my head was Liquorice Allsorts. It was the colours.....not sexy at all.....I tried my hardest to dispel the image of liquorice sweets, but it just kept popping back into my head.............haunting me.

So.....my Liquorice yarn was born.......

Green Liquorice
Tangy Sock Yarn in a lovely dark charcoal grey and variegated yellow and green.

The stripes are quite narrow, about 2 rows of knitting and will knit up as shown on the sample piece in the Liquorice Orange colourway, which is 64 sts, at 16 sts = 2" (2.5 cm)

Orange Liquorice
Yarn content and description is exactly as for Green Liquorice above. The test knit for both colourways is shown below.

Pink Liquorice
Tangy Sock yarn in vibrant pink and dark charcoal grey. I was unsure whether to put this yarn into the variegated category, or self striping? It does, however, knit into stripes, albeit tiny one row stripes. Here it is, with the test knit piece.

Apple Bobbing
Tangy Sock Yarn in a lovely bright apply green and pacific blue. Not quite liquorice, but this yarn knits up in little micro stripes as in Pink Liquorice above. Test piece pictured below.

I've just realised I don't have a sole photograph of Apple Bobbing, but it's the one on the far right pictured above.

Finally, my usual 0.5" (1.25 cm) bold stripes.

Periwinkle

(Tangy Sock Yarn in a lovely shade of rich purple and limey green)

All of the above yarn will be added to the shop by Friday :) I needed an experimental break last weekend, but this weekend I will be dyeing up more of my bold, bright stripes, so keep checking back here or at Twisted Limone Designs

As always, thank you for looking :)

~Karen~

Early Stripes

2010-07-27T18:54:00.008+01:00

Ah, now this is what happens when you have nearly a week off work, the shop update happens earlier.... I don't know what on earth I will do with myself!

The following self-striping yarn will be added to the shop by Friday. They will all produce approx 0.5" (1.25 cm) stripes, knitted over 64 sts.

Aztec in Tangy Sock
(a repeat colourway in bright pink, red and dark green)

Crocus in Tangy Sock
(a lovely new colourway in rich purple, sun gold and dark lime)

Conch in Tangy Sock
(another new colourway in charcoal grey and a lovely variegated light coral pink)

Cheshire Cat in Tangy Sock
(another repeat colourway in bright purple and pink - Alice in Wonderland inspired)
An example of this yarn knitted up can be seen below.

Carnival Stripes in Tangy Sock
(eye-popping colours of turquoise, lime and pink!)
An example of this yarn knitted up can be seen below.

All my yarn can be found at Twisted Limone Designs. Thank you for looking :)

~Karen~

This week's stripes.....

2010-07-22T19:00:00.018+01:00

This week's stripy update will be added to the shop tomorrow. This little selection of yarn has all been dyed so that the stripes will knit up at around 0.5" when knitted at a tension of 16 sts = 2", over 64 sts.

Shadowland in Zingy Sock

(unusual colour combination of plum and teal - the teal has lovely subtle hues of greeny blues running through it. This colourway is not too bright and would make fab 'man socks').

Pink-a-Dink in Tangy Sock
(a repeat colourway; lovely vibrant shades of pink and green)

Grasshopper in Superino
(another repeat colourway; lovely strong greens)

Fruit Salad in Tangy Sock
(A gorgeous, mouth-watering citrus lime and bright pink colourway)

Finally............

I love this one............

Crystal Waters in Superino
(To me this yarn conjures up an image of diving into a cool, crystal clear pool on a hot, hot summer's day! Two shades of aqua blue. The lighter of the two blues is slightly variegated in shades of light blue)

Have a great weekend everyone! I will be dyeing as usual, but lovin' it! ;)

~Karen~

The one that got away....

2010-07-20T17:39:00.013+01:00

....Carnival Stripes.....has now found its way onto my sock needles. I dyed this one up last weekend and loved it so much I couldn't bear to part with it, so unfortunately here's one that won't make it to the shop this weekend! ;)

I even labelled it......but......no.....

....you're not having it! This one's for me ;)

I've had some lovely comments about this colourway, so I will be dyeing more, I promise!

I'm about three-quarters of the way through the first sock. Just a good plain Stocking Stitch sock to show the stripes at their best. I'm loving the way they are knitting up so far. Now all I need to do is to decide whether to keep them or put them in my shop ;)

Unfortunately due to all the rain here in wet Manchester, last weekend's dyeing exploits are still hanging up and drying, but I promise this week's update will be coming soon. I have some more subtle shades this week, as well as brights (of course!) and a repeat colourway.

~ Karen ~

Shop Update

2010-07-14T17:26:00.021+01:00

Just a teeny weeny update of self-striping yarn for this week, which I will be adding to the shop on Friday.

Four new colourways for this week......

Pink-a-Dink in Tangy Sock
(a lovely rich Emerald green and bright pink)

Blue Grass in Zingy Sock
(Lime and bright blue)

Summer Daze in Tangy Sock
(definitely my favourite, lovely bright shades of lime, orange and pink - knit it if you dare! I've already had an extra order for this yarn, so it may be popular!)

Windermere in Tangy Sock
(inspired by my trip to the Lake District at the weekend and all the lovely blues and greens on Lake Windermere)

....and this weekend I will be doing repeat colourways for Aztec and Grasshopper, a custom order and maybe a few new colourways ;)

All these yarns will produce approximately 1" stripes, if knitted at a tension of 16 sts to 2" over 64 sts. This is a slightly wider stripe than I've previously dyed, but I thought they'd be fabulous for shawls and scarves, as well as socks. I hope to do a test knit on a shawl soon just to see how they knit up. However, if you fancy giving it a go before I do, feel free :)

~ Karen ~

Dyeing Today...

2010-07-09T15:41:00.014+01:00

I've spent a very fruitful day today dyeing up some more self-striping sock yarn. Four new stripey colourways will be hopefully be photographed, blogged about and in the shop by next weekend.

All of my yarn is now listed on Ravelry and connected to my profile and shop. For those who can't access Ravelry, I have three different sock yarns available:

Tangy Sock Yarn
75% Wool/25% Nylon
4 ply/Fingering
400 m (437 yds)

Zingy Sock Yarn
75% Merino/25% Nylon
4 ply/Fingering
400 m (437 yds)

Superino
100% Merino
4 ply/Fingering
400 m (437 yds)

All are available in self-striping, variegated and semi-solid colourways.

Well, I'm off to the Lake District this weekend for a well earned rest. I've had a mega busy week and just want to chill out, relax, eat lots of nice food and of course catch up on my knitting. Back Monday!

~ Karen ~

Shop Launch

2010-07-07T17:54:00.020+01:00

Well it took A LOT longer than I anticipated on Sunday, but I eventually got there in the end and managed to list 'most' of the shop contents.

I spent a very exhausting day and into the evening getting extremely 'goggle-eyed', by late evening I was decidedly cranky so I decided to have a nice glass of Chardonnay and call it a day! The only items I have left to list are my hand knitted socks, which I hope to do some time next week.

My self-striping sock yarn seems to be going down quite well, with a few sales and some enquiries. I am now down to my last two balls, so I will be dyeing some more lovely new colourways in the next few days, ready to list in the shop next week.

These are the two very lonely balls of yarn left, looking for a lovely new home ;) They're in colourways Colbalt Orange and Viola.

There's still some variegated yarn left though...

and don't forget my little hand knits ...

Socks and new self striping yarns coming very soon.....

~ Karen ~

Pre Launch Shop Blog

2010-07-03T10:05:00.042+01:00

Tomorrow is definitely launch day, come rain or shine! EVEN if I only manage to list a few items ;) Today's blog is another little taster of the knitterly delights I will be listing in the shop.

Mini Felted Bags
What a pleasure these little bags were to make. Easy and quick to knit up, it was the felting that took the most effort and elbow grease. I prefer to felt by hand in order to get the texture 'just right' and managed to worked up quite a sweat! Here is where my sewing skills came in; the bags are fully lined and I have hand-sewn on the flowers and beading to the front. I haven't done much sewing for a while and found it surprisingly therapeutic.

These pretty little bags are perfect as presents; I gave one to my mum for Mother's Day and popped inside a lovely scented soap, with a bath bomb and one of my hand-knitted wash cloths - it went down very well......

.......and I've also recently discovered they make the perfect knitting project bags; for small knits such as socks and gloves. They are the perfect size for holding a ball of yarn, sock needles and the little necessities, such as a tape measure, stitch markers etc. With no awkward fasteners, such as zips etc, you can just pop in your knitting and go!

Wash/Spa Cloths
Finally my little wash cloths. Made from pure cotton these cloths come in lovely clean and vibrant colours and make the perfect little gift or just to say 'thank you'. I'm selling them as wash/spa cloths, but they would also make great dish cloths too. They come in two designs, in a set of two, and are tied together with a pretty ribbon.

Now all I need to do is get all this up on my shop....I suspect I'll be very busy for the next 24 hours ;) Right! I'd better get cracking!

Karen :)

Almost there...

2010-07-02T17:38:00.021+01:00

Oh my goodness is it really December since I last blogged? Doesn't time fly? Well the excitement of the imminent opening of my Etsy shop has galvanised me into action and I'm itching to blog about it.

The last few months have been filled with lots of knitting, designing and dyeing yarn. I have been really busy knitting little knitted goodies for my Etsy shop which I (finally) hope to open on Sunday. Time has flown, but I have enjoyed every minute of it; I am at my happiest when I am doing something creative and the incentive to get my shop up and running has kept my creative juices flowing!

As you will gather from previous blogs, I am addicted to sock knitting, so my shop will be stocking some of my hand-knitted sock creations, along with my other little knitted designs, such as fingerless gloves, felted bags and wash/spa cloths and hand-painted yarn. A little peek of these is pictured below:

A pile of socks.....

Fingerless mitts......

Due to the interest and encouragement I have received on Ravelry, I will also be stocking some of my hand-painted yarn. Specialising in self-striping yarn, but there will also be some variegated and semi-solid yarn available, all in my favourite, gorgeous and bright colours.

Self-striping yarn....

Variegated and semi-solid yarn.......

There will be another little shop update tomorrow and then the grand opening on Sunday :)

Karen :)

Cornflower Sock Pattern Release

2009-12-31T16:40:00.008Z

It's up and on Ravelry as a free download as of yesterday. What better way to celebrate the end of 2009 than with my first sock pattern release! The Ravelry link is here and if you're not on Ravelry you can access the pattern here.

A big thank you to my test knitters and especially to my 'chief test knitter' Elaine!

Happy knitting and a Happy New Year to one and all.

Sock Update

2009-12-27T18:04:00.009Z

Apologies to everyone waiting for the release of my Cornflower Socks, they were due for release before Christmas, but they are imminent I promise :) My Little Minx socks are now being test knitted and hopefully due for release in Jan/Feb. Here is a very seasonal photo of them, which I managed to photograph before all the snow disappeared!

A very Happy New Year to you all, and hopefully 2010 will bring a bit more consistency in my blogging! ;) x

Cornflower Cowl Pattern Release!

2009-10-31T15:54:00.012Z

It's here! All downloaded and now in the Ravelry library :) The Ravelry link is here and if you're not on Ravelry you can also get a PDF version by clicking on the download button in the link here. This is a super quick knit and ideal for a last minute Christmas present!

My bright sunny Citrus version is now finished, as well as my Pincersocks, and hopefully I'll get around to blogging about them tomorrow :)

Silverdale Cornflower Socks

2009-10-20T15:53:00.012+01:00

Pattern: Cornflower Socks (my own)
Needles: 2.50 mm

Yarn: Wildfire Fibres Bambino in Silverdale colourway

All finished at last and ready for test knitting. After completing my blue Cornflower Socks, I decided to knit another pair as there were one or two things I wasn't happy with; the sizing for one and I also wanted the gusset decrease stitches to blend more into the twisted knit stitches along the side of the foot. I also re-wrote the pattern for Double Pointed Needles. So after a hectic few weeks of writing and then re-writing the pattern I can now relax a bit and leave the worry to my little band of test knitters ;)

Don't forget I have my Cornflower Cowl, almost ready for release - this is a really super quick to knit and ideal for a last minute Christmas present. I have just started it again in a fluorescent yellow/lime and will be knitting it in a bright shocking pink too for the Christmas box :) Well, you need a splash of colour in winter, don't you?!

I'll blog as soon as the patterns are released, I'll be so excited I won't be able to contain myself! ;) I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Elaine; she is test knitting both my Cornflower Cowl and socks and at the same time madly dyeing yarn and working really hard to set up her shop. If there is any of her beautiful yarn left, you will find it for sale on her blog La Belle Helene, until she gets her shop set up.

Cornflower Cowl

2009-10-11T17:22:00.011+01:00

Pattern: Cornflower Cowl (my own)

Needles: 4 mm, 16" circular needle

Yarn: Rowan RYC Baby Alpaca in Southdown colour-way

All finished. It is looking likely this will be my first pattern release (as my Cornflower Socks are currently being re-knitted by myself in a bigger size, then off to be test knitted). How exciting! Knitted in super soft Alpaca, this cowl is sumptuous and gorgeous and hangs beautifully around your neck. I can't wait to knit one for myself in a really bright colour!

It is just about to be test knitted and all being well should be released as a freebie pattern on Ravelry in time for Christmas.

Cornflower Socks

2009-10-04T18:00:00.009+01:00

Pattern: Cornflower Socks (my own)
Needles: 2.25 mm
Yarn: Wildfire Fibres Fantasia in Cornflower colourway

It's been 3 weeks since my last blog, I'm getting very lax! My Cornflower Socks are now complete. Trying to get a decent photograph of these socks to show them off at their best has been a real nightmare! However, I'm really very pleased with the way these socks have turned out and they were a pleasure to knit. The yarn was beautiful for work with and shows off the stitch definition beautifully. The name of the socks was initially inspired by the colour of the yarn, but as I was knitting them up I also thought the little cable design looked like rows of little Cornflowers - look closely they really do!

I will be publishing the pattern at some stage, but in the meantime I feel I need to play around with the sizing a little. These socks have turn out small/medium, which is perfect for me but I feel would be too small for the average foot size. I'm going to knit them again in a slightly larger size and I'll feel much happier. Then I'll be looking for test knitters if anyone is interested?! I'm also trying to find a little image of a blue Cornflower on a white background (Copyright and download free) to put on my published pattern - please let me know if you can find such an image on the Internet anywhere...

In the meantime, I'm knitting up a cowl in the same design. This is working out wonderfully and I hope to have the cowl finished and the pattern written up by the end of next week. I think I have a test knitter all lined up too ;) The cowl is knitted in DK/8 ply, is a fairly quick knit and therefore an excellent last minute present, hence why I need to get this all published before Christmas! More info on the cowl next week :)

Cranberry Kai-Mei

2009-09-12T12:20:00.017+01:00

Pattern: Kai-Mei by Cookie A, from Sock Innovation

Needles: 2.25 mm

Yarn: Zauberball (Schoppel-Wolle) in Cranberries

I finished Kai-Mai last Tuesday. Quite a quick knit once I'd got going - I had a bit of difficulty with the lace pattern to start with, but once I'd mastered it and got into the swing of doing the decreases into the rib pattern it flowed along quite quickly. A really nice pattern to knit and I love the way the lace panel curves across the foot. The Zauberball was a bit of a nightmare due to the way it's wound up. It looks very pretty but is not practical to knit from and now and again a small chunk would drop off the ball and get tangled up. It's also quite difficult to match up and I like my socks to match perfectly!

I've got a little behind with my blog, mainly because I've been so busy doing other things; such as visits to the Lake District, a wedding, and of course I've been busy knitting. I've been working on some of my own sock designs, which I'm really enjoying and definitely appeals to my arty nature. After lots of swatches and test pieces I've now got three designs to work on. When I eventually pluck up the courage, I would love to get them test knitted and put on the Ravelry database. I've also been making more stitch markers, this time tiny ones that fit nicely onto small sock-sized needles, anyway more of that and sock designing soon.......

Citrus Sunshines

2009-08-30T12:47:00.009+01:00

Pattern: Sunshine by Cookie A, from her wonderful book Sock Innovation
Needles: 2.50 mm
Yarn: Zitron Trekking XXL - 403 Citrus Punch

All finished and off the needles last Thursday. I wasn't sure about the stripes and cables together, but it does kind of work in a funky sort of way. However, this pattern really comes into its own with a plain or flecked yarn. I've seen some lovely versions on Ravelry, for example Fruitbat's patterned version really picks out the stitch definition.

Knitting lots of socks certainly has its advantages; I'm learning new techniques or polishing up on old ones all the time. With these Sunshine socks the technique for cabling without a needle clicked into place. It's a bit fiddly doing it with socks as the stitches are so small. The cable forward is no problem, but I had to change the way I did the cables to the back as the tiny stitches kept disappearing behind the work. I found it easier to take all the stitches off the needle together, then insert the left needle into the back stitches and use the right needle to hook the front stitches back onto the left needle, then knitted across them. Once I'd got into the swing of it, it was certainly a lot quicker and easier. Maybe I'll blog about this with photographs when I get chance.....

I'm about halfway through Cookie A's Kai-Mei at the moment. The lace panel initially proved a bit of a challenge for me and the way it twists across the foot, but I'm now whizzing through them and hope to have them finished, photographed and blogged next week.

Turquoise Glynis

2009-08-15T15:49:00.004+01:00

Pattern: Glynis by Cookie A, from her wonderful book Sock Innovation

Needles: 2.50 mm

Yarn: Opal Uni - Shade 29, Turquoise

Phew! What a relief to finish these socks. They weren't difficult to knit, more tedious, and I found the sssk's and k3tog's in the pattern extremely laborious indeed. I was positively rejoicing when there was a plain knit round in between the pattern rounds! Having said that they have knitting up beautifully and I'm really pleased with the result, although I won't be rushing to do them again. They have made quite a thick, heavy, lace sock, nice for snuggling into in winter. Turquoise is my mum's favourite colour, so I've packed them away to give to her for Christmas. It seems such a long way off, but when you've got a long list of knitting to do for presents, you need to start early!

Gadget Girl

2009-08-14T17:29:00.013+01:00

I love my knitting gadgets, anything to make my life easier! Pictured is my newest purchase. I have been itching to get one of these for ages, mainly because I seem to be using charts more and more these days and Post-It notes lose their sticky and are constantly falling off!

I'm using it for my current Glynis project (although that's not Glynis pictured, it's one of the designs I'm currently working on and test knitting). The little magnets keep your chart in place and there's a magnetic strip for following the rows. The pocket in the side is very handy for bits and pieces and it also comes with a pen. I purchased it from P2tog; you can get it a little cheaper elsewhere, but their Zauberball is a reasonable price at the moment (as it the postage) so that's what swung it! ;) The service and extremely swift delivery is a bonus too!

Kelp Spring Forward Socks

2009-08-11T15:57:00.012+01:00

Pattern: Spring Forward by Linda Welch
Needles: 2.25 mm
Yarn: Wild Fire Fibres Venezia (in Kelp)

I finished these socks a few days ago, but have only just got around to blogging about them. This was really enjoyable pattern to knit, quite easy and not too taxing on the brain. I made no modifications, knitted exactly as set. The yarn was gorgeous to work with; it is really soft and has a lovely sheen to it. I love the way it has knitted up and compliments the pattern beautifully. You can never quite tell how things are going to work out, so I'm really pleased with these. It's just a shame I'm going to have to part with them!

9" Circular Sock Needles

2009-08-08T14:46:00.021+01:00

It's about time I blogged about these fantastic little needles, a few people have approached me about them recently; asking for info about where I got them and how to use them etc. I started using them for my sock knitting in about May/June this year after getting my hands on a set of bamboo ones in varying sizes from America. Whilst they're a little fiddly to use at first, you soon get used to them and I have to say they have made my life so much easier, especially when knitting lace socks or doing colourwork.

The cable is only 9" long, so to enable you to knit completely in the round the actual needle size has shrunk to around 4 cm. See the picture below to give you an idea of the scale.

The second photo below shows how you knit completely in the round. The only exception to this is for the heel flap (for a top down sock) and the toes for toe up or top down socks. I usually swap to dpns or Magic Loop for this bit. It's quite easy to adapt a dpn or Magic Loop sock pattern for use with these needles, but you do have to do a little bit of fiddling about when it comes to the heel and toe. I have actually just written a basic top down sock pattern specifically for use with 9" circular needles, but it's still very much in note form and I think at the moment only I will be able to understand it! ;)

Sadly at the moment the only outlet in the UK appears to be Sarah at Brownberry Yarns. I think she has been inundated with requests for the smaller sizes and has now consequently sold out, however I'm fairly certain you can pre-order from her if you're desperate to try them. Maybe I should keep this quiet, so Shhhhh don't tell anyone ;)

If anyone knows anywhere else that sells them in the UK please let me know, or even an overseas stockist with reasonable shipping costs to the UK. I could do with a few spare pairs! :)

My New 'Swift'

2009-08-04T17:07:00.015+01:00

Well okay, it's a bit crude, but it works! Loath to shell out over £40 for a 'proper' one and fed up using the backs of chairs, my knees and my husband, I had a small brain wave. The dumbbells are heavy enough to stay put and because they're plastic coated the yarn unwinds smoothly around them, with a little helping hand from me now and again, and it then feeds into my ball winder on my desk above. So, I've spent a very therapeutic afternoon winding up the last of my hand-dyed skeins. Job done!

How colourful they all look. Now they're all ready to be knitted up into lovely socks......that's the fun bit! ;)

Fresh Berry Monkeys

2009-08-01T14:46:00.000+01:00

I'm truly exhausted after a week back at work and intend to have a nice restful weekend. Having two weeks off has its advantages and disadvantages. A big disadvantage is the lack of knitting and blogging time. I could really get used to being at home; I'm waiting patiently for my Lotto ticket to come up!

I've finally finished my Cookie A Monkey Socks. These were a joy to knit; it was a very easy pattern to memorise and Vikki's yarn from Wild Fire Fibres was delicious to work with and so soft. I decided to shorten the leg slightly, putting only 5 pattern repeats in instead of 6, as it was touch and go whether I would have enough yarn (I had 380 yards and the pattern stated 388 yards). It turned out to be a good decision as I only had a tiny bit of yarn left. The socks have now been wrapped up and put away for a Christmas present - thinking ahead!

Photos of my Monkeys below. Unfortunately the colours aren't a really true representation of the yarn - they have come out slightly dark and the purple has taken over. In 'real life' they look much softer, paler colours.

I've now picked up my Spring Forward socks again. I'm steaming ahead with them as due to the weather there has been little else to do this weekend. I WISH IT WOULD STOP RAINING!

Dyed a Rainbow

2009-07-24T17:28:00.000+01:00

Busy, busy, busy! I spent most of yesterday dyeing solid colours for my colourwork. I wanted lots of really bright colours, which I have definitely achieved - get your sunglasses on! When I looked at what I'd dyed I noticed I had almost dyed the colours of The Rainbow (only blue and purple missing). These definitely had to go up on a new blog logo!

I've also been doing a painting for my daughter's new trendy bedroom. It's on a big canvas and a sort of wild black and cream flower design to match her quilt cover (which was a bargain in the John Lewis sale). I need to get this done pretty quick, she's no idea her bedroom is being re-vamped and arrives home from Corfu on Tuesday. Hopefully a nice surprise for her.

It's not quite finished yet, but here it is so far.

My new yarn ball winder arrived this morning just in the nick of time. Life is going to be so much easier with one of these, it saves so much time. I decided to splash out after it took me nearly 2 hours to wind 100g of lace yarn. I went for the basic model, no electric nonsense for me ;) In between dyeing, painting and playing on my ball winder I've managed to do some knitting too - Swedish Fish 50% done, Monkeys 50% done, Glynis 50% done and Spring Forward still a long way to go.

I'm making the most of my last few days of freedom - back to work on Monday after almost 2 weeks off. I'm not looking forward to it at all.....

Knitting Charts

2009-07-23T15:49:00.000+01:00

After spending the best part of the day on the computer yesterday, I've finally fathomed out how to turn my knitting charts into PDF files. Turning them into a PDF was very easy once I'd downloaded the converter, however finding somewhere to host them proved more difficult. I've taken the easy option and uploaded them to Google.docs. I'm not entirely happy with this as it converts them to a Google document, whereas I wanted a link which would open my pdf up directly. However, this will have to do for now as I just can't spend any more time on the computer or I'll be going cross-eyed! At least I can now share a few of my designs; only a few for now but when I get some more time for converting them to PDFs I'll pop them on here.

Rudolph
Snowmen

If you do happen to use any of my charts please let me see your finished work, and a gentle reminder these are for private use only and not to be sold or reproduced in any way.

For those on Ravelry who asked about the charts I will be putting a link to here from the Rudolph Dog Sweater. I hope it all works, if it doesn't please let me know.

This is Biddy, she was kindly looking after my knitting yesterday while I was tearing my hair out on the computer. Well either "guarding" or using it as a nice comfy pillow.

Colourwork

2009-07-21T14:11:00.000+01:00

I've just started SpillyJane's Swedish Fish socks - what a fab pattern it is too, I just love it. This is the first colourwork project I've done for about 3 years and at last I feel I'm back in my comfort zone, doing what I like best. Cables and lace are interesting to knit and at times a challenge, but colour is where my heart is.

Starting this project has sparked off all sorts of ideas for sock designs; my head is buzzing at the moment. I need to get them all down on paper before I forget them. I've got a couple of lacy socks on the go as well at the moment, but when these are finished I hope to concentrate more on colours and my own designs.

Swedish Fish socks in progress so far:

A couple of people have approached me recently on Ravelry about my knitting charts, particularly Rudolph. Once I fathom out how the heck to get these 'live' I will post them into my blog and post a link from Ravelry. Off to ponder this.....

Diary of a Sock

2009-07-19T15:03:00.000+01:00

My Sock Diary so far for 2009 - finished socks, socks in progress and socks to knit by the end of December. The links to the sock patterns will probably only work if you're a member of the knitting forum Ravelry.

January

None!

February

Crofter Socks - What was I thinking?! Knitted on two needles - heavens above all that re-joining yarn and fiddling about - I thought it was the easy option! Turned out okay though and my mum loved them. The pattern used was from a Sirdar Crofter leaflet.

March

Rainbow Feet - Basic Tubular Socks. Nice easy pattern, first go at Magic Loop.

April

None! I can't ever imagine going a month without knitting a sock now.

May

Happy Capricons - Jaywalkers. Loved this pattern, really enjoyed knitting it and the yarn really suited the pattern - loved the way it knitted up in zig-zags.

June

Scarlet Seven of Hearts AND Pro Natura Cauchy. Seven of Hearts knitted up really quickly because it was DK weight - had to do a different heel. Enjoyed knitting Cauchy, although I wasn't that impressed with the yarn.

July

Random Flowers (my own design) AND Tropical Heatwave (my own design and own hand-dyed).

Rest of July/August

Still on the needles, not much to see at the moment:

Swedish Fish, Turquoise Glynis, Fresh Berry Monkeys, Kelp Spring Forward

August to December

A continually growing list of socks I will hopefully get around to knitting, if not this year then next year, along with a few of my own designs.

That's it for now; 7 socks completed, 4 still on the needles and lots more to come before the end of 2009. Hooray for socks!

Heatwave

2009-07-18T19:01:00.000+01:00

If only it really was a heatwave! Tropical Heatwave is the name of my newly finished socks. These socks are a bit of a milestone for me because they are the first socks I've designed myself from scratch AND I've used the first yarn I've ever dyed. Okay, the yarn colours are not to everyone's taste, but I love bright colours and these have really grown on me. The lace pattern is only very simple, but I feel I've really achieved something and this is the first step on the ladder to becoming a 'proper designer'!

I used KoolAid dye (well it's a drink powder from America) to dye the yarn. It's a good start for beginners because it contains Citric Acid, so you don't need to add a fixer. It's really easy to use and not very messy. However, the only drawback is your yarn does seem to come out candy colours (it's like being in a sweet shop!) AND it won't dye plant fibres, such as cotton, only animal fibres. If you want to try it I purchased it from DT Crafts. Recently I've been using acid dyes and Sugarflair food colouring, the world's your oyster - dyeing is so much fun!

This morning I received my lovely new 9" HiyaHiya circular needles from Sarah at Brownberry Yarns. Whatever did I do without these needles?! They are perfect for sock knitting and so light they just glide along. I've found the steel ones much nicer to use than bamboo. They are like gold dust here in the UK and I think Brownberry Yarns are the only UK supplier at the moment - get them while you can.

The teeny weeny needles are pictured here on one of my latest sock projects (Cookie A's Glynis, from her book Sock Innovation). Ooooh I just love them!

My Foot is Here!

2009-07-17T12:27:00.000+01:00

My first blog post! I love knitting socks, I love colours - the brighter the better, hence the name of my blog. I do knit other things as well, but my passion at the moment is socks. I'm particularly inspired by the amazing Norwegian/Fair Isle designs on Ravelry at the moment. I hope to be casting a pair on my needles very soon. This is a very quick post to get me into the swing of things and to see what my blog looks like when it goes 'live' - how scary!

My foot arrived this morning, well it's a display foot for my socks. It's all very exciting as I don't have to try photographing my feet at sorts of funny angles.

Here it is in all its glory. The sock pictured isn't quite finished yet....hopefully today.

Regular updates on my current knitting projects and dyeing exploits coming soon. I hope I don't bore you too much!