Sock Humour

Humourous moments are what keeps our lives on a steady keel. I had one such moment this week when I went for my annual physical. Now, the doctor's office is not usually a place where I have a lot to smile about, but this time it was different.

When you have a full health check-up, you have to strip down to nothing and put on one of those awful gowns that gape open at the back showing your derriere to the world. The only things you can keep on are your socks.

I was wearing two pairs that day; one white cotton and the outer layer a simple handknit pair made from self-stripe yarn - Reggio by Gjestal. They had been a relatively quick knit, made as they had been not for me, but for my daughter and designed to be practical not ornate.

As I climbed up on to the examination table in my homemade, slightly too large, multi-coloured socks (DD2 is a shoe size 8 and I'm a 6), the doctor was totally enamoured of my socks. In fact, she loved them so much that she pointed them out to the attending nurse!

It was enough to make a grown woman blush (or at least smirk silently to herself!)

This And That

Well, we had a lovely Thanksgiving and I trust that all my American friends did too. The Central Park Hoodie was put on the backburner for the long weekend in favour of smaller projects that don't require quite so much concentration. It's still sitting there calling to me inbetween all the Christmas shopping, card writing, cooking and event attending that goes on at this time of year.

I did make one little foray to the yarn store on Black Friday. I hadn't planned it, but my dear daughter persuaded me to take her. I had a long chat with the owner about choosing buttons. I had been surfing the Central Park Hoodie group on Ravelry checking out other people's versions and noting the myriad of different button choices. It got me thinking. It would seem that the best thing to do is to take the finished garment to the store, lay it out on the table and choose the buttons there. That way I am less likey to make a mistake with my choice. I'd hate to get home and discover that the buttons were too heavy for the fabric or just didn't look as good on the piece.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself. I haven't knitted the hood yet! You see, I've also been trying to decide whether to continue the cable up the back of the hood or to keep it plain? It looks lovely both ways, but I've concluded that, as I won't be wearing the hood up very often, it would be a waste of time to decorate it. I will just stick with the single cable across the front, which will look fine layed flat across my shoulders, which is how I'll wear it most of the time.

Meanwhile, I've finished the Tretta hat. What a pretty pattern Grumperina has created. I think my choice of yarn could have been better though. My Lion Brand Wool seemed just a little too thick for this design. I thought I'd got a DK, but it turns out that the yarn symbol 4 (Medium) is actually classed as a worsted weight/Aran. I think that a DK/sport would have been better. I know, it says in the pattern DK, but I fell for the colour. I still haven't got used to these yarn weight symbols. I much prefer it when the band tells you straight whether it's a DK, worsted, fine etc. I hail from the old school of 2-ply, 3-ply, 4-ply and Double Knit, you see! It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks!!

Still the hat turned out well, so now I will just have to take some pictures of the finished product.

While I was at the yarn store though, I did fall in love with a sock yarn called "Happy Feet" by Plymouth Yarn. After the "Oh My!" debacle, this is the first yarn by "Plymouth Yarn" that I've bought. I'm hoping that it performs well. The colorway is a glorious red with a hint of burgundy here and there. On Sunday I cast on for Pomatomus by Cookie A. I'm hoping that this pattern will have the right balance of design to go with this yarn. I'm using 2.5mm needles, so it's very small work; progress will be slow.

Finally, I have finished my Christmas knits. DH's Navy hat was completed and hidden away until Christmas Eve, although I will need someone to model it for a picture before I wrap it up.

I wonder who's available? Perhaps Brad Pitt could oblige?

Washing Woollens

Today I decided that it was about time that I washed some of my woolly sweaters. I have several from Norway that I live in every winter and as the weather has become quite chilly again, I thought it was time to freshen them up a little.

It's quite a job, but one that's well worth the time and trouble if you plan to keep your sweater for any length of time. Woollens tend to be timeless and are an excellent investment even for someone who finds wool itchy. Today I am actually wearing a cream woollen jumper (sweater) with a small stand up collar. To keep the wool away from my skin, I've added a little cream, blue and white cotton scarf. It looks very chic - almost Parisienne in fact!

I have washed four sweaters in luke warm soapy water, rinsed them in cold water in the bathroom sink and placed them between towels on the white tile floor. Walking gently across them in my slippers seems to have squeezed out a fair amount of water and then leaving them for 15 minutes has given the towels time to absorb a lot more. I now have all of them laying flat on airers in the bathtub. Obviously it'll take a few days for them to dry now, but I think they'll be glad of the TLC.

Here's a link to more info about caring for hand knits.

Meanwhile, the sleeves for the Central Park Hoodie are finished and I've just started blocking them. Here's one pinned out on the ironing board about to be covered with a damp tea towel and then gently steamed.

Now I am going to join the shoulder seams (probably using a three needle bind off to get a flatter join) and then it's on to the hoodie.

BTW, please feel free to leave any advice you have on washing woollens or blocking handknits in the comments section. I'd love to hear about your experiences (good or bad) as it's always good to share tips!

Time Challenged.

Now, I think I've managed about twenty rows on DH's hat this weekend. I've spent most of my time at The Little Guy's soccer tournament, but I did get lucky enough with the weather to sit in my chair and knit a few rounds inbetween games.

It was something of a relief therefore to get home last night and get back to the relaxation of my Central Park Hoodie. I knitted the second sleeve up as far as I had got on the first one and I'm now completing them together. I just have to try not to get too sidetracked while I'm doing them so that I work on the same sleeve twice and then find I'm ahead on that one and not the other!

Bit of a challenge there.

Busy, Busy!

So, life is flying by. There's so much going on that my mind is a constant blurr and if it wasn't for the use of my calendar, people in white coats would be carting me away by now!

I've reached that time of year when our household becomes overwhelmed by school, Christmas preparations, sporting events and business trips. We always seem to peak at least a month before everyone around us, which I put down having so many family and friends living a world away. We have to be organised in order to catch the Christmas mail before the rush, which makes November a busy month. British Christmas food is often prepared well in advance too (all that alcohol it contains is a wonderful preservative), so again this month is a crazy one in the kitchen too. (This is the theory anyway. I'm late, so it's not actually happening in practice yet.) I must schedule in a weekend to make those Christmas puddings!!

On the knitting front though, I've managed to make quite a bit of headway. The right front of the Central Park Hoodie was completed at the weekend, when it was pouring with rain outside. I managed to get some peace in the house and listened to a CD of Jeffrey Archer's book "A Prisoner of Birth" while I worked. (By the way, I can highly recommend this book.)

Now I'm on to the sleeves. I adore the cable work snaking up them and am getting impatient to see the whole thing put together.

I am doing them one at a time, but in future I might consider knitting them simultaneously. The circular needles are long enough to take two sleeves at once and I hope I'd stand a better chance of remembering which row I've increased on so that they turn out the same. If I forget to increase in every 8th row on one and not the other, I could end up with one slightly different to the other. This would surely be much less likely if they were knit side by side?

In fact, now that I've decided that, I may just go away now, wind another ball of yarn and cast on the second sleeve before the first one becomes too big. Then I can finish them both at the same time!

Christmas Knits

Well, life is slowly returning to normal after all the excitement with Halloween, the election and hubby coming home after a long trip. Now I might find some time for knitting again!

I have managed to complete the cutest little strawberry hat for my niece. It really is adorable. The King Cole Superwash Merino turned out to be perfect for this project. One 50g ball of each colour was perfect for the one year old size (45cm head circumference) and its anti-tickle blend should mean that its not itchy for her. Making it brought back memories of my son at the same age. I blessed him with a blueberry one and he looked adorable. Don't tell him I said so though!

I've also managed to cast on for the deep navy hat for DH. It's a very simple knit taken from a Gjestal pattern so it'll be my 'out-and-about' project. It fits perfectly inside my handbag, so I'll be able to whip it out in doctors waiting rooms and at sports events should the mood take me. I'll only need to concentrate when I come to shaping the crown and that won't be for some time yet, so I should be fine. I'm using KnitPicks Telemark to make it with, which feels as if it will knit into quite a robust fabric.

As for the Central Park Hoodie? Well, I'm about to cast on for the right front, so hopefully I'll be able make some good headway on it this weekend. Mind you with the amount of sporting and church events on the calendar, DH's hat could actually see more action!

Yes, we can!

Yes, I made it. I finished the black panther hat with moments to spare. Halloween was a success.

Yes, my American friends went out to vote. Yes, they showed the world that each individual voice can collectively change a nation.

And yes, I'm proud to say that I've witnessed history first hand.

(Back with more knitting tomorrow!)