A belated start to Socktober

It seems as though every blog post I start recently has something to do with time flying, or lack of time. And true to form here I am sliding in, slightly breathless into the second day of every knitters favourite month - Socktober.

There isn’t an official KAL that I know of but since when did dedicated sock knitters need any excuse to dig through their stash and cast on for a new sock project.

These autumn-inspired scrappy socks have been on my needles for a week or two so I’m making a determined effort to get them finished and then see how many pairs I can polish off during the month. DIY self stripe socks have become something of an obsession of mine over recent months. There is something very satisfying about being able to use up the smallest of scraps from your leftovers. If you haven’t seen it already, I use the Clasped Weft Join for this which is great fun and makes joining in new yarns an absolute breeze.

Thrillingly we have also experienced some cold mornings in my part of the UK. It’s always a slightly smug feeling, as a knitter, when you can pull on some warm woollen items to make your walk to work, toasty warm. You might of course be boiling hot by lunchtime but that’s another problem altogether. With the cold mornings in mind I knit up a larger, wrappable version of my Coffee Break Cowl using 2 skeins (rather than 1) worsted weight yarn. I was really surprised at how quickly it knit up and it has just the right amount of length. Enough to wrap around the neck once, without giving you that strangling feeling.

RAVELRY PATTERN

This is why we have WIPs - the case for project polygamy

Oftentimes we feel compelled to reduce our WIP count or to defend our many (many) unfinished objects. We make lists, we feel guilty and we lament our lack of willpower in casting on All The Things.

But today, for a chance I would like to present the defence for project polygamy.

After a long day at work I come home feeling tired, stressed and emotional. Dealing with peri-menopause, a house, kids and a job can leave even the perkiest of people feeling a bit steamrollered and I don’t mind saying that the current political shenanigans are doing absolutely nothing for my mental health right now.

In months gone by I would have, in all honesty declared it to be Wine O’Clock and had a glass or two. But now I’m no longer drinking that isn’t an option, and so I resorted to cleaning off some accumulated clutter from the kitchen table. Imagine my joy when I unearthed a small project bag and found a sock toe - all cast on and ready to knit. I think I had prepared this project back before my summer holiday to be my airplane knitting (and then left it behind in a packing oversight). Either way I was so grateful to find this simple, no-thought-required project that I nearly cried.

My eldest son brought me a cup of tea, my youngest carted off the worst of the kitchen table clutter and I was able to sit and just knit. No thinking needed. It’s a simple thing but sometimes a small sock toe and a cup of tea (plus boy hugs) are exactly what you need.

The Coffee Break Cowl

Coffee Break Cowl

It's September, I've had my first pumpkin flavoured beverage from a certain coffee chain and I'm in a distinctly autumnal frame of mind.

At this time of the year my thoughts start turning to cosy knits and I find it impossible to resist the lure of a good rustic coloured, worsted weight yarn. At any other time of year I'm all about the blues and greys, but as soon as the leaves start to turn I need something warmer in colour on the needles.

The Coffee Break Cowl is so named because indeed I did knit it over several long coffee dates with myself - part of my new post-holiday self care routine. It's an easy to remember textured pattern knit flat and then seamed at the end. One skein (100g worsted/DK) is more than enough to make a simple cowl but if you have 2 skeins you could make a longer one which can be looped once more around the neck for extra cosiness.

There's an early bird discount running from now until midnight (GMT) on 16.09.19 - just head to the Ravelry page and use the code COFFEEEB (note the third E in there) and the 25% will automatically be deducted at checkout.

PIN FOR LATER

Washi Tape - 9 reasons you need some in your knitting bag

My recent Instagram post which featured washi tape generated quite a few comments, not least of which was the question "But what do you do with it?"

So, in the spirit of knitterly endeavour may I venture a few suggestions which might be of help - and do please feel free to suggest more in the comments.

Uses for washi tape include but are not limited to:

1. Creating little page tabs in journals/books/patterns

2. Sticking along the edge of the page to denote a new month - easy to find when flicking through

3. Dividing up a page into sections

4. Blocking out days/weeks on paper calendar - added advantage that you can write on it

5. Highlighting where you are in a pattern - it removes easily without damaging the paper

6. Emergency sellotape when you rip your pattern

7. Sticking a card or piece of temporary information into a journal/book

8. Emergency stitch marker - fold a short length over into a ring shape

9. Purely decorative purposes - call me frivolous

Got any more uses? Do let me know - I have quite a lot of the stuff at home now and I'm always keen to find new ways to use it

Re-entry

It’s clearly the sign of a good holiday when you find yourself back at your desk, hands on keyboard desperately struggling to remember how to write or compose a blog post.

The week I was away flew past - lots of swimming, lots of reading and a surprisingly small amount of knitting. I didn’t pick up a pen or even think about writing. The real world seemed very far away.

Now, I’m back and struggling a little. The Instagram world is full of drama (no surprise there), the current political situation in the UK is going from bad to worse (and with today’s news, to the diabolical) and I’m struggling to stay afloat. I just want to pack everything back up and escape back to our little bit of Greek paradise, but obviously that’s not an option. There is school uniform to buy, lists to be made and a whole mountain of domestic chores await.

So I’m going to do what any sane knitter would do in the circumstances and dive into my stash in search of a new cast on. If ever there was a time to start knitting a survival blanket - I think it might be now.

A new thing

The Blanket of Exacting Requirements, as I have named it is done, off the needles and blocking as I type. I’m really pleased with it and my son (who has aforementioned requirements) is mightily pleased too. This is my first time using West Yorkshire Spinners Colourlab DK for a blanket - having taken the decision earlier in the year to refrain from using acrylic yarns from now on - and I have to say that I love everything about it.

The colour range is good, it’s an impressively all-British produced yarn and it retails for under £7 per 100g. I know this reads a bit like an advert and I apologise but really, I promise I haven’t been paid to promote this yarn. I just really like it.

Whenever you mention knitting with pure wool though the issue of price always rears it’s head, with the assumptions that pure wool is expensive and impractical for blankets. So I thought I would do a little road-test and report back on this blanket at intervals so you can see how it is holding up. I have two boys and an equal number of cats and so knits in our household are very much used and abused.

As for price. I used approx 7 balls of this yarn in various colours which equates to less than £50 for the whole project (7 x £6.95). It’s absolutely not the cheapest yarn available but for something that will be used and loved for years that’s a price point that I’m very comfortable with. Price isn’t something we often speak about in relation to our finished objects. We talk about yardage and colours used but actual hard cash is frequently overlooked in our discussions.

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