Gotland Socks - In Progress

Last week I talked about the start of my adventure into knitting with 100% British wool and the #breedsswatchalong project. On a recent visit to my LYS - the wonderful and charming Sheep Shop, Cambridge - a selection of 4ply Blacker Yarns caught my eye.

Gotland 4ply from Blacker Yarns

The Gotland 4ply from Blacker Yarns came in a wonderful range of muted greys, from pale to dark and I knew immediately that 2 balls were destined to come home with me to make a pair of 100% British wool socks.

Here I departed slightly from the KnitBritish recommendation to knit an 8" swatch. Sorry Louise, but an 8" square on a yarn worked at 32st per inch is not going to happen in my lifetime :)

I decided to do the next best thing and knit a sock toe. Let's face it, I'm sure a lot of sock knitters work out their gauge by doing this. I for one, very rarely try to convert a gauge knit flat into one knit in the round and the various methods for working around this have never really struck a cord with me. If I'm going to see what gauge I get with a sock yarn I find it a lot easier and more relevant to just start knitting a sock. It could explain why I have so many abandoned sock toes on needles strewn around my house but anyway, I digress.

I knit a sock toe (on 2.25mm needles) and was very taken with the resulting fabric. Firm and dense yet with a great halo and a definite warmth - this yarn would make totally fabulous warm socks. I can't speak to their durability, although I'm sure the firm gauge will help with that, but I'm going to carry on and see what I come up with.

In this fabulous article on using breed specific yarns for socks, Sue Blacker suggests that there may be some felting on the inside of 100% Gotland socks due to the nature of the wool, but I'm game to give it a go. I will report back...

Expresso

The Expresso socks were inspired by two great loves of my life - coffee and self-striping yarn.

Expresso -Louise Tilbrook Designs

The yarn came first. Dyed by Michelle of Berry Colorful Yarnings, this colourway called Cafe au Lait, really spoke to me and as soon as it arrived I couldn't wait to cast it on.

I do love a good self-striping yarn as you know but this time I felt the urge to vary things a little and move away from my usual plain vanilla, toe-up, magic loop socks. I divided the sock into vertical colums and added a travelling cable. Not so much as to break up those beautiful wide bands of colour, but enough to add interest and a little bit of texture.

And I have to say that I am really pleased with the finished product. I love that they are completely unisex and that even my husband asked if I could do a pair in his size.

They are toe-up - in my quest to convert sock knitters everywhere to the way of the toe-up sock and sized for 7", 8" and 9" foot circumference.

Until 11th September 2015 I am offering a 25% discount if you use the code ILOVECOFFEE at checkout. If you wanted to subscribe to the newsletter - I am offering an exclusive discount for subscribers so now might be a good time to sign up.

And in case you are wondering about the name. My lovely Grandma who taught me to knit would often come out with the funniest things when we were out and about. She would get one word mixed up with another - called malapropisms I believe - often with hilarious consequences. She would often tell people, when she reached the ripe old age of 75 that she still had all her 'facilties' (she meant faculties).
Whenever she was in a coffee shop she never drank anything stronger than a cappuccino but was fascinated by the small, strong, dark Espresso. She always insisted though that it was called an Expresso and it became a bit of a family joke.

Sadly my Grandma is no longer with us but these socks remind me of her, her wit and warmth and her generosity in teaching me somthing which has become so important to me.

Cheers Nana
x

The July Shrug

If you haven't yet found the lovely people over at Baa Ram Ewe you really ought to give their website a look. Not least because, in a radical move I have designed a shrug pattern for them to showcase their amazing 4ply yarn - Titus.

The July shrug uses 1-2 skeins of yarn (the small size with short sleeves can be knit in just 1 skein) and can be bought either as the pattern only, or as a kit with the yarn you would like.

The July shrug - pictured on the Baa Ram Ewe website

Titus is a wonderful blend of Wenslydale, Alpaca and Blue Faced Leicester and is available in a fab range of solid colours. In addition the talented indie dyer Joy from the Knitting Goddess has created a one-off range of overdyed yarns - Titus Goddess especially to showcase the collection.

Anyway, do pop over and take a look. I'd love to know what you think.

New pattern release: Comb Gill socks

I am pleased to say that the second pattern in my sock series - Walks in Lakeland is published today.

Comb Gill - Louise Tilbrook Designs

The Comb Gill socks were inspired by a recent family walk up the mountain of Glaramara, this design represents the second in a series of four.

After you leave the fell wall and sheep behind you, you start the failry steep ascent and Comb Gill (pronounced Coombe Gill) provides an ideal spot for a quick drink and a breather. 

A scenic stopping point where a mountain beck cascades over dark grey slate and granite.

Comb Gill, Borrowdale

The small twisted cables in this sock echo the paths taken as the water finds it own way down the mountainside, carving intricate niches and channels as it does so.

As with many of my patterns, this is offered in both cuff down and toe-up formats - although I'm hoping to win you all over to the way of the toe-up eventually :)

Until midnight on Sunday April 19th, 2015 this pattern is offered with a 25% discount applied at the checkout - no code needed.

For added fun and for those speedy knitters amongst you, knitting a pair of your very own Comb Gill socks and posting a picture to your Ravelry project page (and in the FO thread on my Ravlery group - link here) will get you a discount code for 50% off any of my other patterns.

So, grab your needles and join me..next stop is the wild and rocky summit of Glaramara

 

Seatoller Socks

Our first "Walks in the Lakes" series starts off with the Seatoller Socks:

Seatoller Socks

Seatoller is a tiny hamlet nestled at the end of the Borrowdale valley in the Lake District and has surprisingly Scandaniavian connections. The striking braided cable featured on these socks is reminiscent of the type of braids sometimes seen with old Norse textiles.

The start of our walk is a gentle one with the cable running along one side of the front and back of the sock and plenty of relaxing stocking stitch to show off a beautiful yarn.

As with many of my patterns it is offered in both toe-up and cuff down formats- all the better to tempt you with.

Our walk is heading onwards and upwards from here - to the dramatic summit of Glaramara via a beautiful mountain stream and waterfall - Comb Gill. But don't worry, the final stop will be a traditional cosy English pub to rest your weary feet.

More details on the Comb Gill socks will follow next week.

Year of the Sock

A belated happy New year to you all

New Years Day in Buttermere

My new year started with a wet, windy and wonderful walk around Buttermere in the Lake District, battling the elements and having fun with the family.

A lovely, chilled out time was had by all with plenty of knitting and outdoor activities

A sunny day in Borrowdale

Lots of sock knitting in particular was done, despite me leaving all my beloved long circular needles at home. But even with DPNs I managed to come away with the makings of a lot more sock designs.

I am aiming to knit 15 pairs of socks in 2015 with 12 of them being my own designs. I have a cunning plan to base some of them on walks we did in the Lake District recently. With 3 or 4 socks per collection (or walk) they will guide you through some of the wonderful scenery on offer, and of course like all good country walks, will end in a sock named for a local pub :)

The first 2 pairs are on the needles and will be ready for testing soon. So dig out your walking boots and waterproofs (it isn't called the Lake District for nothing) and get ready to join me on Walks in the Lakes - Part 1.

A new pattern: Rosthwaite

And a good morning to you on this cold and frosty day.

I'm really pleased to be able to share my latest pattern with you today - the Rosthwaite socks.

Rosthwaite Socks: Cuff down with an afterthought heel

This pattern was designed as part of my Sock Design Challenge which I ran in September and invited you lovely readers and members of my Ravelry and Facebook pages to vote on key design elements.

The overwhelming vote was for top down socks with some fun stitch detail and nothing too complicated or stressful, and I really hope that you like the finished product as mych as I do.

As a bit of a change for me I have also worked these socks with an afterthought heel. The more I work this heel type the more pleased I am with it and if you have never tried it, maybe this is the project to start you off.

There are a lot of amazing resources on the web and I highly recommend the following as a good place to start.

The Knit Girllls have a fabulous tutorial: here

And excellent blog posts on the subject can be found here and here.

I really do hope you decide to give them a try. As a thank you for all your support and encouragement I'm offering a 25% discount until Nov 30th, 2014 with the code Rosthwaite.

Happy Knitting

Sock Design Challenge: A final vote

Apologies for the delay but I am pleased to be able to show you the sample for this challenge sock and also to ask you to vote one final time on a name for the pattern.

The names currently up for debate are:

1. Copper Mine
2. Bracken Wood
3. Rosthwaite
4. An other?

As you can tell, my name choices are skewed by my recent trip to the Lake District. The yarn colour really reminds me of barley sugar sweets but that name is already used :)

Seriously, please do vote and let me know what you think or feel free to suggest one of your own - in the true spirit of this challenge.

Sock design challenge: An Update

It may all have gone a little quiet but please rest assured that I am beavering away behind the scenes to bring you a snazzy and fun new cable pattern in time for some super-organised gift knitting in November and December.

I have tried to be faithful to the choices of the majority and so we have a cabled sock with a really effective but very simple repeat. We have it as a cuff down version (although you die-hard toe-uppers) could easily modify it and we have a fun alternative heel which might be something you haven't tried before.

The pattern will also include directions for a regular heel flap and gusset in case your nerves fail you at the last minute or in case you are up against a gift deadline and just want to power on through with your tried and tested method.

The pattern testing will be underway very shortly and my cunning plan is to release the pattern in early November.

Before that though, I will need to find a name for this design and so it seems only fitting that I turn to you for the final vote on this. I am putting together the shortlist and then I'll be asking you to vote once more for your favourite.


Back soon

xx

Sock Design Challenge: Work begins

Thank you all so much for your votes and participation over the last month. It's been really great to get so much feedback and I'm very much hoping that I can take all that valuable feedback and use it to create a sock pattern that you will really like and that you will want to knit.

I've cleared the needles, browsed my stitch dictionaries and chosen the yarn. So, this afternoon I sit down with a pencil and chart paper to get cracking.

Mmmmmmm....cables....my favourite :)

Back soon
xx

Sock design challenge: Week 3

Ooops...

A technical hitch meant that this didn't go out on Monday as expected.

We are on to Week 3 and having determined that you fancy working on a simple cable repeat we are now thinking about heel options.

Would you prefer:

1. Standard heel flap and gusset

2. Short row heel

3. Something different that you might not have tried before

Leave a comment here on over on the ravelry group to have your say.

x

Sock design challenge: Week 2

Just an idea - not giving anything away here :)

The winner of last weeks vote was Cables by quite a margin so I'm guessing that you are up for a bit of workout with these socks.

The next question then is to try and determine how adventurous you are feeling:

Do you prefer your cables:
1. Simple, with a nice, easy to memorise pattern repeat

2. Complex - hit me with the charts - I want a challenge

3. A mixture - a more complex panel with simpler background.

You have until September 15th to decide.

Please either vote here by leaving a comment or over on the Ravelry thread here.

Thank you
x

Sock Design Challenge: Week 1

Welcome to Week 1 of my Sock Design Challenge.

Once a week for four weeks I'll be posting a question about an element of sock design for you to vote on.

At the end of the month I will use your answers to come up with a unique sock design - hopefully one which will be ideal for gift giving - enabling us to have a knit-a-long and produce a fabulous sock gift for someone in the run up to Christmas.

Once we get going we can use the hashtag: #sockdc2014 to keep track of our sockie goings-on on various social media platforms and I dare say there may be the odd prize or two for those who fancy joining in.

You can either vote in my Ravelry group: HERE

Or you can leave a comment below giving your answer as either 1 or 2.

So, for Week 1 a nice easy question...

Would you prefer the main design element of the sock to feature


1. Lace

2. Cables


I'll post the next question on September 7th, so you have a week to ponder.

xx