Showing posts with label grafting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grafting. Show all posts

Friday, 15 June 2012

Ta-da!

 My dreich socks are finished! 


Actually I finished them last week but I didn't get the ends sewn in 'til Tuesday night and a half-decent picture taken until yesterday. I know, I know, they're just another pair of vanilla socks *yawn* but a) turning a heel still seems like magic to me and b) I don't really like fancy socks, particularly lacy ones. They just don't look comfortable. And a vanilla sock is just about the definition of 'comfortable'. Though I might tweak the toe for the next pair - my toes aren't quite that pointy!  And talking of toes, the website I've previously used for grafting instructions seems to have vanished, so as much for myself as anything, here's a link to another good explanation of how to graft those pesky toes!

The second sock went really quickly, I think because I was desperate to finish them so I could cast on these:


That was also Tuesday night - I finished the dreich socks on the train on the way to our knitting meet-up, and cast-on the new while I was there.  Similar colours to the dreich socks but for some reason not dreich - also 6-ply (it's the Regia 6-ply World College yarn that Kemps are selling off nice and cheaply! Yes, I'm a national stereotype, I do love a bargain) so soft and squishy and warm. And knits up quickly, which is always good!

I'll end with a random wildflower that I've managed to identify. I don't know how uncommon this is but I've only noticed it once near Loch Lomond and now again in Busby - it's such an intense colour, really striking. A Google suggests that it's Pilosella aurantiaca or Orange Hawkweed, also known as Fox-and-Cubs, a great name!  Orange is my least favourite colour in the unnatural world - paint, textiles, plastic, that kind of thing. But orange as produced in nature can be the most glorious colour. Love it!

Monday, 21 March 2011

The Odd Sock and Pimpernel Pugh

I started these socks for the Boy months ago, got distracted and with one thing and another Sock One was abandoned just as I reached the toe. The Boy reminded me the other day about this so this morning I did the toe-shaping and kitchenered the toe-seam. Actually the pattern calls for a three-needle cast-off but I wanted to practise Kitchener stitch having only done it once before and I reckoned the Boy would prefer a smoother toe anyway. I used the instructions on this site for Kitchener stitch and they were lovely and clear - the only problem was scrolling up and down 'cos I couldn't remember step one by the time I got to step four! Must practise..

Anyway, it looks quite nice - must crack on and get Sock Two done now. I'm hoping that if I blog it it'll get done!

And now for Pimpernel Pugh! I love Alice's Crochet With Raymond blog for the gorgeous colours, inspiring crochet, for Alice's vast enthusiasm, and because it reminds of my two years in New Zealand. Miss Mouse loves it for Raymond who she would like to think is Pimpernel Pugh from the Slinki Malinki books - well he's a Siamese cat in NZ, who else could he be! So just for Alice, a couple of pictures taken from one of Miss Mouse's Slinky Malinki books so you can check out the resemblance!

That house could do with some granny blankets and potholders don't you think?

Our own cats are less well-behaved than Raymond I think and are prone to pouncing on my knitting, stalking off with the ball of wool and so on. And the less said about a pair of Brittany needles I owned the better...