Goldilocks and the three knitting needles

It's half term this week, so knitting has to be easy and portable. So far this week I have finished the first of the pair of socks I shared for Yarning Along last week (I still can't share much, I want to do a big reveal when I have both done), then stole the needles from them to finish my Yarn Shop Day socks, which are done, hooray! The needles then got transferred to my pink striped socks that I'm knitting for the Brit Knit KAL* that is being run by Amy of Stranded Dyeworks.

Finished socks

Why do I keep transferring my needles between projects? It turns out I'm like Goldilocks when it comes to knitting needles: the Hiya Hiya sharps are too sharp (and are being donated to a friend; in combination with my knitting style the needles are lethal!), the cheap needles my Yarn Shop Day socks were on have awful joins, and I've bent one of the tips. The red and blue socks were on Knit Pro Novas and those needles are just right: the tips are not so pointy they hurt my pushing finger, but not so blunt it takes effort to 'find' the stitches. Which is why they are being passed between sock projects (yes, I should just buy some more, I will next time I order yarn). I'll finish the first pink sock, then return the needles to the red, blue and yellow socks, knit the second of those, then use the needles again for the second pink sock.

A bit bent!

Too sharp!

Reading has been slow since last week. I gave up on the book I was reading (Be Frank With Me); I'm sure it was interesting, but the writing style wasn't working for me and I didn't get beyond page 50. Last night I restarted The Lake House by Kate Morton, which I started reading last year, but got distracted from. I'm only a chapter in, but am hoping to make good progress over the next week - Kate Morton's writing style is definitely one I enjoy and I tend to read her books very quickly.

The sign of a good book - an intergrated book mark!

This morning the kids and I went to the cinema to see a kids' screening of Sing which I very much enjoyed. The story is based around an X-Factor style singing competition devised to save someone's theatre, and features lots of characters who find themselves through singing. I found the film cute without being nauseating, and there were plenty of jokes for everyone, so I'd definitely recommend it if you have young children who want entertaining.

Joining in with Rachel for Yarning Along.

*Ravelry link; you need to be logged into Ravelry for this link to work.

Slow socks

Just after Christmas I offered to knit a pair of socks for a friend. She wants a pair of hand-knitted socks, and while she can knit, she's struggled to knit socks that fit in the past, and I always have socks on the go and there are only so many pairs of socks I can wear myself, so I offered to knit some for her. Simple.

I chose the yarn, Sirdar Heart and Sole that has been in my stash for a while, and cast on a pair of toe-up socks. I used my usual pattern and set to work. But they weren't growing (I hadn't finished the toe increases a whole week after casting on). While I knew they were on the needles, I wasn't wanting to knit on them, and I wasn't sure why. So last week I decided that I was going to knit a stripe a day on them to make sure they get done in time for my friend's birthday in March.

I got two and a half stripes into the first sock and there was a funny join in the yarn - a single ply had been knotted, and an end twisted in a little untidily. I persevered and knitted over the end, which seemed good and strong, but when I got to the end of that stripe, while I was looking closely at the join section, I noticed that my sock was getting larger the further I got from the toe. I thought about it for a bit and remembered that I'd had similar tension problems last year using the same needles. So I did the only sensible thing: snipped the yarn and cast on a new sock on new (and totally different) needles. I'll unravel the old toe some other time. The needles have gone in the bin (one tip was bent anyway), and the other pair of needles that are the same will also be leaving the house. No one wants to battle with their needles while they're knitting socks!

Since I swapped needles the sock has grown much faster. I now have a different problem - the new needles have reopened the small cut in my finger tip. Argh! I can't wait to get these socks finished... Do you ever get the impression that some items just don't want to be knitted?