Rock Those Socks Make-Along - The Pattern!

Eeeeeeeee!!!!! What a time I've had working out how to share a PDF on this blog!!!!

I think it's fair to say I'm not the most technically astute. I have been known to throw the teeniest of tantrums when internet thingy stuff doesn't work :-)))

Anyways.....back to the subject in hand! 

Today we are putting all the tutorials and instructions together and publishing patterns!

Sarah's pattern is over on her blog HERE! Ok, ok, ok....I know....her PDF is way better than mine! I have to confess that I may have a little PDF envy!!!

I just love her Chevron Sock design. I can see lots of these being made!

She made them with Scheepjes Invicta Colour, a gorgeous slow colour changing sock yarn. 

I do believe that Wool Warehouse are now stocking this yarn ;-)

I've put together a written pattern for the stripy socks. I'm working like crazy on the lace version. 

It'll be here soon. I promise! They take a little time to put together and to be honest I'm totally shattered and wiped out at the moment. But I'm working on it ;-)

I've loved seeing all your sock creations, both knitted and crocheted!

I'm truly amazed at how different they all are. 

Keep sharing the photos! 

A per usual....Sarah's Ravelry group is HERE.

Post your photos on social media with #rockthosesocksmal

Ok, here we go.....

Can can find the pattern PDF by clicking HERE!

I used Scheepjes Stone Washed yarn for my socks. It's one of my all time favourite yarns. I just love it!

You can find all the posts on this blog relating to the make-along HERE.

I'll also update my tutorial page to include the patterns and blog posts over the next few days. 

Join us next week when we will have details of a lovely give-away for all you sock makers! Til then x

Rock Those Socks Make-Along Part 3!

Well hello and happy Wednesday to you all! Are you ready to finish your socks??? As usual, please do share your creations on social media by tagging the photos #rockthosesocksmal. You can also join in the discussions in Sarah's Ravelry group HERE! For the knitters out there, you can read Sarah's instalment over on her blog HERE! I'm making my socks using Scheepjes Stone Washed yarn. It's lovely and soft and machine washable.  Ok, lets get cracking! You will be very pleased to hear that, after last weeks complicated heel making, this week is a nice and easy saunter along to the finish line :-)

Your socks should be at this stage now.

Ready to make a start on the leg and cuff.

On the plain socks, join in a new colour and work in EDC. You have 34 stitches and you need to decrease by 2 stitches on each round. I decreased on the heel side of the sock (one decrease after the starter marker and the second before the next marker). I decreased my EDC by inserting in to the stitch, yarn round hook and pulling through, and again in the next stitch. You should have 3 loops on your hook. Yarn round hook, pull through 2 loops and then yarn round hook again and pull through the final 2 loops. I have absolutely no idea if this is correct way to decrease this stitch (hahaha!) but it worked for me :-)

Repeat this row again and you should now have 30 stitches. At this point I fastened off the Amazonite and joined in the Crystal Quartz.

I worked rows of EDC the same as making the foot part in the following colours:

2 rounds of Crystal Quartz

2 rounds of Yellow Jasper

4 rounds of Amazonite

2 rounds of Crystal Quartz

This takes you up to the cuff making part!!!!

For the lacy version, I had 38 stitches. Do not decrease any stitches! As you can see from the photograph, the lace design pulls in the sock and you really do need to get them over your feet ;-)

Work full rounds of pattern (EDC1, ch1). I worked 10 rounds to reach the point where I was happy with the length. You can adjust as desired. 

To make the cuff for the plain sock, with Yellow Jasper, work a round of EDC and decrease twice in this round. I did this around the halfway point. Work a further two rounds in EDC and fasten off. 

Now weave in those pesky ends!!!!

Again we are going to work a decrease round. Because we have 19 chain spaces and 19 EDCs, I simply worked 28 stitches around the sock. Work all the EDCs but evenly work into 9 of the chain spaces too. Next 2 rounds are worked in EDC. Fasten off and weave in your ends. 

TADAAAA!!!!! 

You now have a pair of snuggly crochet socks to feet your feet toasty warm as winter approaches!

I really do hope that you've enjoyed this sock making adventure.

Next week I will be sharing the pattern, hopefully in PDF format if I can work out how ;-)

I will also have news of a giveaway so join me then!!

Rock Those Socks Make-Along - The Lacy Version!

Evening folks!

How are you all getting on with your sock making???

As you aware, the Rock Your Socks Make-Along is a bloggers collaboration between myself and the lovely Sarah, from Crafts from the Cwtch.

Sarah is showing you how to knit socks and I'm focusing on the crochet version.

I'm using Scheepjes Stone Washed yarn for my socks and Sarah is using Scheepjes Invicta Colour. 

The yarns can now be purchased in the UK from Wool Warehouse :-)

You can share your progress on social media using #rockthosesocksmal or by joining us in Sarah's Ravelry group HERE!

Last time I said I would share the lacy version instructions. Sorry it's a day late!

I'm having some real struggles with my laptop....it kind of works when it wants to!!!

Anyway, better late than never ;-)

For the lacy version I've used Scheepjes Stone Washed in Rose Quartz. 

You will need 2 x 50g balls. 

The toe part is made exactly the same as the other version. At the end of round 6 you will have 30 stitches. On round 7 you will work another round of edc but increase another 4 stitches as before, giving you 34 stitches. You need extra stitches as the lacy pattern pulls the sock in a little. 

On the next round you will start to make the lacy pattern.

Work half the round (17st in edc)

The remainder of the round is worked as follows:

edc, ch1, skip a stitch, edc, ch1, skip a stitch and so on to the end of the round.  

You should end up with something like the photo above. 

Continue in this pattern.

As you can see, the lacy pattern begins to emerge.

When placed on the foot, it stretches and opens up the stitches nicely :-)

Continue in pattern until you are ready to make the heel as detailed in the last post.

The heel is made up exactly the same way as the non lacy pattern. It's worked in double crochet. 

The only difference is that you will have 2 more stitches to work so will end up with 9 rather than 7 stitches on your last step. Aim to end up with 38 stitches. If you don't have this amount....don't stress about it! Just increase or decrease in the next 2 rounds until you do :-)

Work 2 rounds in pattern as before (half edc, half lacy pattern) and you're now at the same point as the other sock. Ready to make the leg and cuff!

Join me next time when we will finishing our socks!!!!

Before I go, I thought I'd share my knitted sock so far!

(I'm using Scheepjes Invicta Matterhorn to make my socks.)

Once I found some circular needles that I love (Chiagoo Red Lace!!!!), there's no stopping me!!!

I'm working on the other sock now so hopefully will be ready to insert my afterthought heel :-)

See you Wednesday x

Colour Play - A Knitted Scarf Project!

Evening folks! Hope you're all well :-) Thought I'd share my recent knitting project with you all today.  I'm not normally known for my knitting skills..... I used to knit quite a lot when I was much much younger but kind of got into the habit of hooking of late.  I'm rediscovering my love of knitting!  Whilst on holiday earlier in the year I happened to amble into a yarn shop....as you do ;-) and there on the counter was the most gorgeous knitted scarf. I was smitten!!!!
So before I knew it, I had abandoned all my hooky WIPs (hehehe), gathered the supplies needed and off I set on a knitted scarf adventure :-)
I decided to use Invicta Colour by Scheepjes. Now *I think* I used a ball of colour 972 and one of 963 I say think, as I can't find the labels to be totally sure.  I distinctly remember putting them somewhere safe.....never to be seen again!!!!
The pattern I used an be found HERE.  The gorgeous ZickZack scarf by Christy Kamm. And best of all? It's a free pattern :-))) Even though I used to knit a fair bit years ago, I still consider myself to be a learner/refresher knitter and I found the pattern very easy to master.
So here it is......

I just love the way the colours work together to give a subtle effect. 

I just kept knitting until I had used up both balls of yarn as I like my scarves long!

Now that Autumn is upon us, I can see me getting lots of wear out of this beauty.

It's got such a wide range of gentle colour shifts.

I've already worn it with my trusty old denim jacket and it looked great!

I even got some compliments ;-)

I'm very picky about what yarn I wear next to my skin and this one is just fine!

I gave it a good long soak in Eucalan (lavender is my favourite flavour!) and it's lovely and soft.

Hope you like it as much as I do!

I'm now searching out more knitting patterns to fine tune my skills although I've had to make a pact with myself to finish some of these WIPs before I start something new ;-)

Speaking of something new......join me on Wednesday when I will be announcing a new make along project!

Til then x

Shawl Tadah!!!!

Well as per usual my blogging habits are shocking! But let's not dwell on that ;-) I've been pretty busy with yarn projects. Lots of new things and finishing up the "almost finished" stuff! Well trying to!!! I've still got 2 blankets at that stage. I'll get there....eventually! So today I thought I'd share my finished Scheepjes Kika Yarn Kit. I do believe you can still buy a kit from Deramores! So without further ado..... 

One finished shawl! At this point I need to tell that photographing the finished article was a complete nightmare! I was either windy and rainy, windy or just plain rainy. You gotta love the North East weather! I managed to grab a very dull but wind and free day and did my best. Some of the photos aren't as crisp as I'd like (ummm....maybe a little blurry might describe them better!) but you get the general idea.

Oh I love this finished shawl. I've completely forgotten the pain of all those teeny 3 million ends that I wove in.

I love how it drapes.

I'm still not convinced about the pom pom though!

But those little star motifs all joined together make my heart sing :-)

So there you have it! One finished shawl. Invicta Extra and Invicta Colour remain my high up there in my favourite yarns :-) The good news is that you can now buy both of these yarns from Deramores here and here. Next time (hopefully a bit sooner than this post!) I've got some brand new yarn to share with you! Til then!

Oooops!

Ok I'm really bad at this regular blogging thing! It's really not intentional. Life just kind of races by at a stupid speed and I end up playing catch up.... ALL OF THE TIME!!!! I hurt my back way back in October. It was my own fault. I lifted something really badly. I have got years and years of moving and handling training behind me and I still lifted something at home in the most stupid way I could!! Ouch! It's taken til now to get back on track because when I hurt myself I like to do it properly ;-) Anyways....enough of that! Let's talk yarn and new projects! I've not been sat idle...oh no! I've been hooking and knitting (!!!!). So lots to share over the next few posts. Let me start with the Scheepjeswol Kika Yarn Kit :-)

15 gorgeous colour combinations to choose from. Talk about spoiled for choice! And best of all? Every kit sold has a donation to a children's cancer charity :-) So actually, by buying a kit you're donating to charity! Win win if you ask me! You can buy the yarn kit from Deramores!

I opted for Deep Ocean as I'm addicted to green!

So what's in the kit?

You get 2 balls of Invicta Colour and 3 balls of Invicta Extra in your chosen colours. You also get a pattern with the option to either knit or crochet, a giant pom pom template and a Sheepjeswol label.

These are the 2 stunning shawl designs you get the pattern for :-) Or alternatively you could just ahead and do your own thing!

I decided to crochet mine....because, whilst I can knit, I'm pretty slow at it. Plus I really wanted to conquer the join as you go thing! Ok this isn't for the faint hearted. There are 238 flower/star motifs to make! 2 rounds in the Invicta Extra then a round in the Invicta Colour. That's 952 ends to deal with!!!! if you say it really quickly it doesn't sound that bad ;-)

I decided from the start to weave in ends as I progressed. Much much easier!

And so it starts.....

The pattern is in both Dutch and English and there's also a chart

I'm really enjoying making this. I make the centres and then when I have a pile of them I join them to the shawl.

Oh just look at those pesky ends!!!!

I love the colour changes!

And this is where I'm at now! Obviously it hasn't been blocked. That will make a huge difference. I know it's wonky in the photo. It was the only photo I had without a cat in it!!!

I've mastered the join as you go thing. I can see lots more projects with this technique in the future :-)

I'm hoping to have this finished by the weekend. Optimistic I know!!!! I think I've only got 57 flowers left to go.....doesn't sound too bad if you say it quickly ;-)

Til next time!

Holland!

I've just returned from a lovely break staying with a friend in Holland. Wow! We packed an awful lot into the week! As usual the time just seemed to fly by and it didn't seem like 2 minutes before I was heading home and back to reality. 
I love that even at the airport you get welcomed by smiling sunflowers!

They had planters full of them outside the airport. How fabulous?

We had lots planned for my visit. I know the idea of a break is to relax and take things easy, but we always seem to try and pack as much in as possible. But it's fun stuff so that doesn't count! Sometimes it's just nice to spend time with a like minded craft addict!!!!

I took the opportunity to grab some ta-dah shots of finished projects. It's so much easier when you have company. I mean, it's perfectly normal for 2 people to get of a car with tailors dummy, carry it through fields and then start taking photos. If you do this on your own you get all manner of crazy looks! (I have 2 finished shawls to show you next week! I told you I've been busy!)

Next on the agenda was a trip to Scheepjeswol headquarters. I KNOW!!!! EEEEKS!!!! How exciting???? Oh my! It did not disappoint!

Firstly I must tell you how friendly everyone was. Without exception everyone said hello and it really does have a lovely atmosphere. Like a happy family. Even though everyone was frantically busy they all stopped and said hello. 

Ok. I was like a kid in a sweet shop. I mean how do you make a yarn addict happy? Exactly!!!

I think I was hyperventilating and maybe drooling a bit when I wandered down the aisles!

Ceiling to floor, jammed packed with delicious yarns!

Swoon!!!

Buttons....spoiled for choice!

Ribbons...anyone?

I was planning future projects! The new Invicta Colour stole my heart. 

I have to admit to having a bit of a headache by the time I left. I was completely overwhelmed by the colours, choices, welcome etc. It was a very happy day! Do you think they would notice if I just set up camp down the bottom of the Cotton 8 aisle?????

Because we like to jam a stack into the week, we have started a tradition of a Summer Project! If you can remember that far back, last year we tried our hand at Natural Dyeing.

Whilst we loved the finished results (a project still in the making!) we wanted to try something a little more predictable this year.

Cue Acid Dyes. Or to be more precise, self levelling acid dyes. We did a little research and thought that the brand Landscape dyes might just fit the bill. 

We each have a Crafty Fund. A savings account that we pay a little into each month to fund our projects. It's a fab idea and also means that after a few months it soon starts to mount up!

So along with a fair few dye colours, we also bought some gorgeous yarn.

We decided on a 4 ply superwash Blue Faced Leicester. 1kg each! Enough to make a blanket and maybe a smaller project. 

Neither of us had ever used acid dyes before. But it wasn't a problem. The instructions were easy to follow and actually it was a pretty pain free process!  

Add the dye to hot water, dissolve, add the yarn and simmer just below 100 degrees C for half an hour.

The yarn absorbs the dye and then you take it out, let it cool before rinsing (as not to cause felting)

And that's it! We did find that we didn't need quite as much dye as was recommended so adjusted the following batches. 

20 skeins later and we had this.....

A rather nice rainbow selection of colours!!!

We were delighted with the results and amazed at just how easy it all was.

I think it's safe to say I'll be doing this again. Now I just need to find the time to make something with all this gorgeous yarn!

I really need to win the lottery and become a lady of leisure!!!

Join me next time when I have the Quilt Inspired Blanket tutorial to share!

Til then x