She likes chocolate she does
Lily brought a friend home to bake tonight. She does that. No warning – just wanna bake! She’s actually very good and can be trusted with most things in the kitchen. So relatively little input needed from me.
As you can see…..
…they didn’t exactly go easy on the chocolate.
Results were yummy though!
It didn't want to be a sock.
It really didn’t. That’s a thumb gusset you see there. In the absence of a freakishly small-heeled person the Vine lace sock has been ripped back to the ankle. There are 54 stitches in the round at this point, which is about hand-size. It’s a rough job but hey, picking up ripped YOs ain’t ever pretty! Virtually thrown back on the needles in disgust. Why can’t I finish anything in this yarn???? Honestly – it’s like my own knitting Smackdown going on here!
Not happy…
…with the Vine Lace sock! I asked Lily to try it on just now and there’s no way it’s going to go over her heel. She’s a very narrow UK4 so hardly clown feet! Recommended gauge was 8sts to the inch. I’m getting 7 sts AND I picked up extra stitches to make the instep deeper! I suppose alarm bells should have rung when I saw other people with the same problem on Ravelry but I carried on regardless – ever do that? I’m not sure I can face ripping this straight away, so I think I’ll just hide it somewhere
Just 2 days….
That’s how long I lasted before buying another lens. And it’s yummy one – EF-s 60mm Macro lens. I love it!!! This camera really is like a new baby in the house. I’m totally muddling through everything like a first time mum and it’s a steep learning curve for me!
Photo is Araucania sock Take 2. Had a disaster with Embossed leaves and ripped it off the needles in temper. This is Vine Lace from Socks,socks,socks. You can’t see any of the pattern yet of course, but I just had to photograph something. My fingers where itching!
It made my day!
What a lovely surprise to have been nominated for “you made my day” by Sam. The idea being to nominate 10 bloggers who inspire you and brighten up your day. Time to pay it forward, methinks.
I nominate:
Sticks-strings - for making me wish I could just hop on a plane to the US to yarn shop with her asap!
Yarnstorm – for photography that makes me green.
Vintage Pleasure - for that full-on cosy vibe and gorgeous crafting.
A friend to knit with - another cosy one here, with divine knitting projects – and cookies!
Cindc – for a sense of humour that matches mine and ridiculously yummy food photography.
Through the loops - for pure inspiration!
Treefall - for her beautiful sewing projects and the gorgeous Bella!!!
Kelp! – for fab knitting AND sewing projects.
Fricknits - on a break at the minute but beautiful photos of a really sweet family
Striding edge - a total departure from knitting and crafts. Beautiful photography of the english Lake District – where I go when the knitting gets too tough!
Still no more knitting I’m afraid. In fact, there’s been frogging instead. The sock got the better of me! Anyway….I’ve had something else to occupy me. Meet my new baby. It’s dressed up for a Burns Night party we’ll be going to tonight. I’ll be stealing the ribbon to adorn myself with later.
Spice up my life!!
Not a lot of knitting action today. I’ve got a friends toddler with me at the minute and the 2 definitely don’t mix. Toddlers and yarn – no no no! And this evening Lily and I are off to see the Spice Girls. Apparently we need to get there hours before the concert starts as people queue for miles for a glimpse of David Beckham!
What was I saying about Araucania?
I think I probably didn’t sound too enamoured with Araucania earlier in the week but I’m giving it a 2nd chance. And I have to say in the semi-solid shade I’m using for Embossed leaf, I’m loving it! It even feels softer too – all in all these socks are a pleasure to knit . Of course, there’s a cue for sock disaster if ever I heard one!
The things we do for socks!
So…we have some weather here today! A ton of rain came down last night and this little part of England is struggling with it. So….did I decide not to collect the parcel that was waiting at the depot for me? No, of course not! The parcel had copies of More Sensational Knitted Socks and Favourite Socks in it, so I drove through the floods to get it. Just call me stupid – I would!
Of course, now I have dozens more sock patterns at my disposal, so I had to force myself to finish the second Garter Rib. This was never going to be a favourite, and the slight pooling didn’t help but Lily loves them. In fact, despite telling me she was in a “moany” mood on her return from school she still posed for me to photograph her in them. I don’t think the Araucania is the softest of sock yarns, (she says, having just bought a pile of the stuff!) but I have been working with Jitterbug a lot recently which is just soooo soft that not much compares. Right – I will stop being “moany” about these socks now and move on!
Forest canopy
Unblocked lace is just such a dogs dinner, don’t you think? Whatever I do with it, I cannot get a decent photo. It’s on the floor, it’s on the table, back on the floor, back on the table. Aah whatever!!
This is the 2nd Forest Canopy I’ve done, but the first was pre-blog. Cast on this morning with the Brigantia DK that I picked up at the weekend. So far so good, although I did drop down from my original 5mm to 4.5mm. The larger needles created just a little too ‘holey’ a fabric for my taste. I’m really hoping that I’ll get at least the pattern repeats done this weekend, but with 2 Jujitsu sessions, 1 childrens party, 1 football match and a pony that needs exercising that’s probably a little optimistic!
On the sock front, I’ve just knit the heel flap on the 2nd Garter rib….still not loving it but hey ho!
Hendry
This guy turns up every time I get the camera out. He’s the eldest of our two cats and by far the nosiest. Cute with it though!
No knitting today as I’m going out to lunch with a friend. I’ve been giving a lot of thought to retraining over the last few months, and have finally taken the plunge and booked myself onto a Birth Doula course. I’m sure this will be the main topic of conversation as I’m quite excited about it!
