Sunday, July 15, 2007

End of Summer

At least that is always how it feels coming home from our weeks holiday, never mind! But I've not been resting without knitting, fear not! I have been busy and have a number of FO's for you plus one I haven't photographed yet as well which is the 'Green Gables' top which was completed in time for WoolFest which really is a bit sinful - wearing Cotton to WoolFest!!! Well I would have been if we'd gone in for another day! The other FO finished before WoolFest are these wonderfully cozy socks:

They were finished only a few hours before WoolFest admittedly but still! And I was so reluctant to take them off as my feet were so toasty warm wearing them. I had planned to knit them up later in the year in time for Winter but I was in the midst of Cast On Fever and as they are knit in Sirdar Super Nova on 3.75mm needles they were a seriously quick knit. The pattern by the way is 'Log Cabin Socks' from 'Hand knit Holidays' by Melanie Falick. You will be seeing more of these socks!!


Next in the FO-fest is some overdue spinning starting with 109g / 194m of Merino/Silk plied with some fine kid mohair - what it will be I do not know but suspect this is calling to be a hat of some form or another. I'm hoping it will call to me and tell me what it wants to be. It's roughly aran weight and is a bit lightly spun in parts and certainly not evenly plied but it was the first bit of spinning I'd done in a while so I'll not worry about it and it is after all a very fluffy and soft yarn to stroke in times of stress!


And besides, why worry about lesser spun yarn when I'm happy knowing I've 4 bobbins full of some Merino/Silk blend from a WoolFest purchase I forgot to confess to tell you all about which was a giant 600g batt from Winghams which I am really enjoying spinning up. There is a plan with all this spinning and hopefully it will be enough to make the garment I have in mind. I'm not going to tell you about it yet as there will be maths involved with the yarn and pattern and I think I'll leave the reveal until I've made a start on the item in question and see if it's going to work or not. Suffice to say the inimitable Mrs Zimmermann is involved somewhere along the line in this grand project!! (Okay - not grand really but I'm a little nervous trying to spin enough consistently for a garment!)

And there's more! My current WIP - a lacey tie front shrug to provide a little warmth on all these balmy summers evenings we're having (sorry, wishful thinking!) - was a little to complex to knit all the way down to Devon. So, desperate for something to break the tedium of all those miles on the motorway out came some Colinette 4ply and Sensational Knitted Socks and here you have....

... some Lace Rib socks (on the M5). The yarn is more muted than it looks thanks to the sunshine and the flash (bad combination for yarn photography!) and makes me think of cottage gardens but isn't really great for showing up anything much of a pattern as you can see below. I'm just turning the heel on sock number 2 but have the slight hitch of not being able to find it at all, never mind so I think we'll have to wait for a finished pair for now!

I should also confess to having found some yarn shops whilst away as well and of course had to make a purchase to support the local economy, etc.. and so came away with just a little more sock yarn for the stash! (Like I really need more!)

So here you see 4 balls of Lana Grossa Melinweint Mega Boot Stretch (Mum yours is the one above the lary orange one that looks day glow!) and a hank of Jitterbug in Gaugain colourway which reminded me of the colour of the sea in glorious Devon. when my brain wakes up again I'll try to remember the names of the shops but for now will tell you one is in Totnes and was the first stockist of Colinette ever and the other is in Paignton.

I suppose I should leave you with some lovely scenery shots to calm the mind after all my wittering so here you go! Many thanks for all the comments, I will try to get round to catching up with you all as soon as possible but am drowning in laundry right now so bear with me!

*Blogger must be tired as well and doesn't seem to want to let you have any pretty scenery shots tonight so I'll let you see those again another time, after all I think I may have shown you enough FO's to last a while yet!

15 comments:

Artis-Anne said...

You didn't tell me you had spun and plyed that combo up ? It looks yummy and the batt is looking , good too,can't wait till I can start mine7 I'll let you do the math before start that project LOL
More lovely sock yarn too and one for me :) Diolch cariad
Hope you dind the other sock and the finished one looks great:)
Ah the joys of unpacking, ironing and getting holiday stuff away :(

Linda said...

I do like the log cabin socks, very cosy!

Sarah said...

Oh post holiday is always a bit sad isn't it, glad you got some lovely yarn to remind you of your trip though. I think it may become my life ambition to collect every shade of the Colinette jitterbug, Heavenly! As are those goegeous log cabin socks - I want to pull some on my feet right now! I'm going to have to check out that book.

Nicola said...

The log cabin socks look unbelievably cushiony. Lovely, just what I like in a lounging about sock!

Ang said...

Oh your handspun yarn is beautiful! And those socks look so comfy!
Hope you find that sock!

Thank you for the comment on my blog, I've been posting almost everyday because of the tour de france KAL.

Jeremy it is then!

SueJ said...

Great log cabin socks. I have got that book & will put those socks on my 'list'. Glad you had a good holiday.

Joanna said...

That sock is gorgeous Kath, I love the colour, it looks sooo cosy! Looks like you've had a lovely holiday and some great goodies to show too!

Seahorse said...

The Log Cabin socks are gorgeous! Glad you had a good holiday :)

belaybunny said...

I love the spinning, it's gorgeous. And nice socks too.

Hellbelle said...

The log cabin socks are amazing! I have got to have a pair of them for winter :)

cyndy said...

Those Log Cabin socks are really beautiful! They look so soft!

And your handspun is lovely too! The colors are so nice together!

artyfartykat said...

Pleased you had a lovely time!
Socks look SO cosy, I think I may need to buy that book!
Your spinning looks fab, wish mine was as good! Looks so soft too!
Love the WIP's, especially the M5 socks!!
Fancy just happening upon yarn shops on your hols! How unusual! ;)
Nice sock yarns!
Enjoy your time at your mums!

Anonymous said...

Your socks look absolutely awesome, especially the Log Cabin ones - so cozy and beautiful!

acrylik said...

Stunning socks! Sounds like you had a great holiday, looking forward to seeing the pics in the future.

RoxyK said...

Ooh those socks do look so comfy.....and the Jitterbug colourway is gorgeous!

I thought I recognised the motorway pic LOL :)

The shop in Totnes is lovely, I picked up some bargain Linen Drape when I was in there and I loved all the little shops in Totnes too.