WIP Wednesday: 9th October 2019: Turns out I knitted a *really large* gauge swatch!

Before Edinburgh Yarn Festival, I shared the yoke for my Starfall sweater. Yes, I had planned to have a jumper knitted in time to wear to the festival, but a poor combination of yarn and pattern in the form of Bright Above Me, and therefore a late start on my EYF jumper meant that in the end I wasn't in any hurry as I knew I'd never have it finished in time.

I'd done some heavy modification of the pattern: I started with the yoke, casting on provisionally as I wanted to knit the coursework as-written, but knit the sleeves and body top-down to make it easier to adjust the lengths as I went. I'd done a bit of guesswork on which needles to use for the sweater: I had a gauge swatch from knitting Bright Above Me, but knew I needed the gauge to be a bit tighter, so I dropped a needle size and cast on the size I thought would fit.

I really enjoyed knitting the yoke. The colour work was engaging, with some rows using three colours, and I loved watching the pattern emerge. Once I'd completed the colourwork section, I picked up the stitches from the provisional cast-on, and knitted the yoke as far as the sleeve separation. I decided to make a modification to the sleeve placement, putting the sleeves further back to accommodate my bust (the pattern is written to have the sleeves placed such that the front and the back of the sweater are the same width, which doesn't work for everyone). As I wanted to check that the sleeves were in the right place before knitting the rest of the sweater, I put the whole thing onto waste yarn and blocked what I had knitted so far.

The blocking did the desired trick, evening out the colourwork and showing me how large the finished jumper would be. I put the jumper on, and could immediately tell that while my sleeve placement modification was perfect, the jumper was going to be too big, especially the sleeves. Boo.

I left the jumper alone for a few days (just in case it suddenly shrank, or I suddenly grew, and it would, by some miracle, fit), then sat down and measured the actual gauge of the knitting I'd done, and compared the final measurements at that gauge to my measurements. I needed to knit a size smaller.

When I first cast on the Starfall sweater, I had planned to omit the colourwork at the cuffs and hem, but, having looked at the completed yoke, I now know that I do want to do all that colour work too.

All in all, this means that I had to start again, and actually knit the pattern as written (from the bottom-up, with colourwork everywhere!), and that happening this weekend. I've really enjoyed picking this up again. I've switched the lighter shade of grey to a slightly different one as I didn't have enough for all the colourwork, and so far have most of a sleeve. I'll block that first sleeve while I'm knitting the second, so that I can check the length. Fingers crossed this attempt at the jumper is more successful than the first!

What's currently on your needles?

Project page for the Starfall sweater.

WIP Wednesday: 18th September 2019: Nothing to see here...

You know the theory that once the kids are back at school, you'll have all the time in the world to get *all the things* done? Well, that hasn't really happened after the summer holidays this year: I was away for a weekend, one of the kids had a sickness bug, and suddenly all the 'September' deadlines were upon me. All of which means, I haven't had much to share with you recently.

I've been having a bit of stash guilt recently: there is yarn in the cupboards that I love, and fully intended using way before now, and yet it's still sat there, waiting for its moment. That guilt did prompt me to cast on a new pair of socks, in some seasonal yarn that I picked up a couple of years ago from Strawberry Fields Yarns (she has some in stock at the time of writing), so, fingers crossed, by Halloween, I will have some suitably Halloween-y stripey socks to wear! I'm knitting the socks as a single tube and adding the heels, toes and cuffs at the end. To make sure I use as much of the yarn as possible, I have done a few rows at the start in some bright pink waste yarn. I'm undecided on the colour for the toes, heels and cuffs, but, the longer I stare at it, the bright pink is starting to look like a contender.*

The other thing I have on the needles this week is a sample for a collaboration between Knit Now and Deramores, which I'm knitting in Deramores Studio Chunky, a surprisingly nice acrylic yarn: it is wonderfully round and has amazing stitch definition.* The pattern will be published in an issue of Knit Now later this year, so keep your eyes peeled.

My Lush cardigan has seen some work: the body is complete, and I have knitted the first three inches of one sleeve. I know a lot of people complain about being on 'sleeve island', but at the minute that seems like quite a good place to be! I'm really hoping to get the cardigan finished by the end of September, so it can have at least a couple of wears before Winter comes, but at this point that is feeling more like an optimistic wish!

One thing that I am excited about at the minute is the return of sock-weather! I wear sandals all summer, so my sock drawer has been completely neglected, but I've worn hand-knitted socks on three days this week and it's only Wednesday, so hooray for that!

What are you working on this Wednesday? Share in the comments below, I can't wait to hear from you!

*These socks will count towards my Marathon Sock KAL, a knit along that is currently happening in my Ravelry group. If you want to find out more, read this blog post.

**Yarn supplied by Deramores as yarn support.

WIP Wednesday: 14th August 2019: Cracker joke

Hello! Today is WIP (work in progress) Wednesday, my weekly look at what is currently on my needles. If you'd like to join in, let me know what you're working on in the comments section, or post a link to your own WIP Wednesday blog post.

What goes black, white, black, white, black, white? It’s either a penguin rolling down a hill, or it’s all my current knitting projects!

First up for black and white projects is my sock snake, which is nearing completion. At first I had predicted that I would need the snake to be about 34 inches long, but that was way off, and, having done some maths, I’m now aiming for a much more reasonable 26 inches. The marker is at 20 inches, so there really isn’t much more to go. Once I have a tube of the correct length, I’ll add a pink toe, then go back and add in the other toe, two cuffs and two heels and will have a pair of socks. I’m not sure whether or not I’ve really enjoyed this project, but it has been great summer holiday knitting as it requires precisely no thought once you’ve done the maths to work out how long to make the tube. I’m knitting these socks for my Marathon Sock KAL, which is ongoing in my Ravelry group and on Ravelry. Full details can be found here. The zebra-striped yarn is from Paintbox Yarns,* and was donated for review purposes. Paintbox Yarns have donated several balls of sock yarn as prizes for the KAL, so to be in with a chance of winning a ball, get knitting some socks!

My second black and white project isn’t one I can share, beyond this little peep of some black and white striped stocking stitch. Keep your eyes peeled later in the year to see what these stripes become.

What are you working on this WIP Wednesday?

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WIP Wednesday: 31st July 2019: Was it the same dyelot?

Hello! Today is WIP (work in progress) Wednesday, my weekly look at what is currently on my needles. If you'd like to join in, let me know what you're working on in the comments section, or post a link to your own WIP Wednesday blog post.

This week is a two-project week: one garment and (inevitably) one pair of socks.

The garment is, as you would expect from last week's WIP Wednesday post, my Lush cardigan, and I have made excellent progress: I have completed the collar and yoke, and have separated for the sleeves. I have even sort-of tried it on and I think it fits! Hooray! I am really enjoying this pattern; the construction is very clever without being complicated, and the knitting is very satisfying. I'm not expecting to get the cardigan completed by Woolness this weekend (kids do tend to stop me from spending all my time knitting), but I am certain that I'll have it done by the end of August, just in time for autumn.

The socks are a new cast on (no, I have not finished my sock snake yet). I am knitting these for my aunt, and they were getting a little behind the ideal schedule, so I cast them on late last week and knitted on them all weekend. The first sock was completed by the end of Saturday, and I cast the second one on immediately. I did stall a little when it came to casting on the second sock: I stared at the second ball of yarn (the yarn is Bergere de France Goomy 50,* which comes in 50 g balls) for a good period of time before I realised that it had been wound in the opposite direction to the first. On realising this, I did try to find a centre-pull thread, but couldn't, so gave up and hand-wound the ball before casting on.

I'm working the heel of the second sock, and am a little disappointed that sock two is definitely coming out darker than sock one. I am certain the balls were from the same dyelot (but have lost one ball band, so there's a chance they may not be), so I'm not sure what's going on. Fingers crossed my aunt doesn't mind.

What are you working on this WIP Wednesday?

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WIP Wednesday: 23rd July 2019: Lush-ious lace

Hello! Today is WIP (work in progress) Wednesday, my weekly look at what is currently on my needles. If you'd like to join in, let me know what you're working on in the comments section, or post a link to your own WIP Wednesday blog post.

This week the summer holidays are in full swing, and I have cast on an indulgent project that I have been meaning to knit for ages: a Lush cardigan. I have been eyeing this pattern by Tin Can Knits ever since it came out (in 2013!), but it's taken until now for it to get to the top of my queue.

The cardigan has a really interesting construction: the lace yoke panel is knitted first (lengthways), then the collar, sleeves and body are picked up and worked from the lace band. I'm knitting mine in West Yorkshire Spinners Aire Valley DK, which has been discontinued, so I got it for a bit of a bargain price a few weeks ago.

I cast on the yoke band on Saturday, and it worked up really quickly. So quickly that I finished it on Monday evening! The instructions have you block the band before you pick up the stitches, so I am currently waiting (impatiently) for the band to dry so I can pick up the collar stitches. The lace looks absolutely fabulous, and I cannot wait to get on with the rest of the cardigan.

I had anticipated this cardigan being my 'summer project', which I would knit over the course of the six-week summer holidays, but at the current rate, I'm suddenly optimistic that I might be able to have the cardigan finished in time for me to wear it to Woolness at the start of August. Do you think I can do it?!

What's currently on your needles?

WIP Wednesday: July 17th 2019: Sock snake

Hello, welcome to WIP Wednesday, my weekly look at what’s currently on my needles.

Sometimes I find that all my works in progress stall simultaneously: a swatch will need blocking, intarsia requires more attention than I have available, my vanilla sock needs a heel; and I end up with nothing easy to work on. This past weekend was busy, and all of my WIPs had reached points that require attention. Rather than go on a long car journey with no knitting, I cast on a simple tube, or a sock snake. I cast on 68 sts and knitted round and round as the miles passed by. No patterning, and no ribbing, heels or toes to get in the way (I can knit without looking, but doing anything more complex in the car makes me feel sick). Once I’ve knitted roughly 34 inches of sock snake, I’ll change to a contrast colour and work a toe, then go back and pick up stitches for the heels, toes and cuffs of both socks. I’m currently thinking a bright pink would look good, or maybe a turquoise - I’ll have a rummage in the stash when I get closer to the end.

I’m really enjoying this sock snake, at least in part because of the yarn, which is dyed to knit as zebra stripes! The yarn is Paintbox Yarns Socks* in the colourway Zebra - Classic, and was gifted to me by LoveCrafts. This sock will be counted towards the totals for the Marathon Sock KAL once it’s done. The KAL started on July 1st and runs until we’ve knitted a full 26 miles of sock yarn! Full details can be found in my Ravelry group.** LoveCrafts have kindly sponsored some of the prizes, so I have lots of balls of Paintbox Yarns Socks to give away at the end of the KAL.

What are you working on this week? Let me know in the comments below, or link to your blog

*Affiliate link.

**Ravelry link; you must be logged in to Ravelry to view this link.

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The yarn used in this sock snake was gifted to me by LoveCrafts.* All opinions are my own.

WIP Wednesday: July 10th 2019: Watermelon wonders

I thought I’d change things up a little on the blog, so hello, and welcome to the first Work In Progress (WIP) Wednesday post. Fingers crossed, this will be the first of a weekly series looking at whatever is on my needles on a Wednesday. Feel free to join in - if you write a post on your own blog, link to it in the comments and I’ll be sure to read it; alternatively, you can just tell me what you’re working on in the comments.

I seem to have a real thing for sock-knitting this year: I posted a few weeks ago about having finished ten pairs this year, and the sock-mojo is still strong. My current sock project is unusual for me in two ways: (1) the socks are made in a cotton yarn; and (2) they’re shortie socks.

I hadn’t planned on knitting shortie, cotton socks this summer (or ever!), but when I was with my friend Lynda a few weeks ago she came across some lovely-looking watermelon-striped sock yarn online and asked if I wanted some ordering as well. When the yarn arrived we were both a little surprised as we were expecting the yarn to be Regia’s standard 75% wool, 25% nylon blend, but this is a mix of cotton, polyamide and polynitrile. Rather than return the yarn, I decided to challenge myself to knitting some summer shortie socks to wear with my canvas shoes.

I did have a brief browse of shortie sock patterns on Ravelry, but got a little overwhelmed and decided to cast on 64 sts as usual and knit a cuff and just a few rounds for the legs before working the heel. I am really enjoying knitting these shortie socks. Obviously they’re quicker than standard socks as you get to the heel pretty much immediately. The yarn is knitting up really smoothly, so I keep stopping to admire the beautifully even stitches (a process that is slowing me down a little!), but I have almost completed one sock and I don’t think the other will be far behind.

I’m pretty certain I will have enough yarn for a second pair of shortie socks from this ball. Have you ever knitted shortie socks before? Are there any patterns you would recommend?

That’s me, now it’s your turn: what are you working on this Wednesday?