Marathon Sock KAL 2019: Update: 27th August 2019

We are almost two months into the Marathon Sock KAL 2019, and, drumroll please, we have completed 21,757 m of the marathon! That's 51.6% of the target!

There's still plenty of time to join in, so keep knitting!

And I finally finished a pair. This is my first 254 m of knitting towards the KAL (and I have several more pairs that are almost there).

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Want to know more about the Marathon Sock KAL? Keep reading...

Aim

Knit a Marathon's worth of socks: 26.219 miles of sock yarn converted into socks.

Rules

• Socks must be cast-on on or after July 1st 2019
• Socks can be knitted or crocheted in any yarn weight
• All socks must have a proper heel (no yoga or tube socks)
• The KAL will close once the full 26 miles of yarn have been knitted
• You must post a photo of your pair of socks to the KAL FO thread, including the exact number of metres of yarn you used (to the nearest metre)
• I'll keep a running total for the group
• To be eligible for a prize, you must be a member of the Ravelry group and/or following vikkibirddesigns on Instagram
• If you're on Instagram, use the hashtag #marathonsockkal2019
• Double-dipping is permitted
• Socks must be knitted as pairs (no single sock entries)
• If you are entering via Instagram and do not have a Ravelry account/do not use Ravelry, you can enter by posting a photo of your socks on Instagram (on your grid, not in your stories), and filling in this form (you can also use this form if, for whatever reason, you are struggling to create an FO thread entry); I will create an FO thread entry based on the information you provide

Prizes (kindly sponsored by LoveCrafts***)

• One prize drawn from #marathonsockkal2019 on Instagram
• One prize drawn from the chatter thread
• One prize drawn from the FO thread

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*Ravelry link. This link will not work if you are not a member of Ravelry. If you have found out about this KAL via Instagram and do not have a Ravelry account, but still wish to enter, please post a photo of your finished socks to your Instagram grid (remember to use the hashtag #marathonsockkal2019 and tag me, @vikkibirddesigns), then fill in this form and I will create an entry in the FO thread for you

**26.219 miles = 42 195 m; each of my pairs of socks uses approximately 300 m of yarn (assuming sock weight yarn at 400 m per 100 g)

***Affiliate link

Four squirrels and a sock: over-ambitious holiday-knitting plans

Every time I go away on holiday, I put a huge amount of thought into the knitting that I pack. In my head, I'll have plenty of time to knit, but in reality, holidays always end up being busier or more tiring than I anticipate, and I end up doing almost no knitting.

When I pack, I look at all my works in progress (WIPs), and put them into the following categories:

• Vanilla socks (socks that require no pattern beyond their heels and toes)
• Work projects with deadlines that mean I have to take them on holiday (I try and avoid these!)
• Easy projects (projects that can be worked on easily while talking to people: bodies of jumpers, blanket squares, etc.)
• Complicated projects (lace, intarsia and cables, or things that have complex shaping; obviously not projects that are easy to work on while talking to people, or having had a glass or two of wine)

I lie them all out in front of me, then pack one from each category. I often assess the progress on the vanilla sock, then add an extra ball of sock yarn for when the socks are finished.

This summer, we've been away for two weeks, with a week at home between the two. For those holidays, I packed the following projects:

• The Zebra-striped sock snake
• A new, un-started pair of vanilla socks
• My Lush cardigan
• A blanket with intarsia squirrels on for my friend's baby, whose arrival is imminent

To my credit, I did work on all the projects, but the sock snake is still a snake (I probably didn't need to pack the contrast yarn - I did an inch or two of knitting on it at most); I have completed the first of the vanilla socks (hooray! They were the work project that needed working on most-urgently, so double-yay for that); I've made it to the waist-shaping on the Lush cardigan; and I am up to four squirrels on the blanket (of 16; the blanket also needs a border, so that's probably 20% of the blanket. I think each squirrel takes about 1 hour to knit, so I thought I would have completed at least eight squirrels by now...). Not a total failure!

Maybe it's time to rein in my holiday-knitting packing? Possibly just a pair of vanilla socks and another more complicated project for when the mood suits? I have tried packing less knitting before, but always seem to throw in a couple of extra projects at the last minute! How do you pack for holidays? Are you minimalist or optimistic?

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Want to know more about the projects mentioned? You can find the Revelry project pages for each project here:

• The Zebra-striped sock snake
• A new, un-started pair of vanilla socks
• My Lush cardigan
• A blanket with intarsia squirrels on for my friend's baby

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?

*Affiliate link.

Marathon Sock KAL 2019: Update: August 2nd 2019

We are one month into the Marathon Sock KAL 2019, and, drumroll please, we have completed 13,504 m of the marathon!

There's still plenty of time to join in. By the next update I might even have managed to finish a pair of socks!

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Want to know more about the Marathon Sock KAL? Keep reading...

Aim

Knit a Marathon's worth of socks: 26.219 miles of sock yarn converted into socks.

Rules

• Socks must be cast-on on or after July 1st 2019
• Socks can be knitted or crocheted in any yarn weight
• All socks must have a proper heel (no yoga or tube socks)
• The KAL will close once the full 26 miles of yarn have been knitted
• You must post a photo of your pair of socks to the KAL FO thread, including the exact number of metres of yarn you used (to the nearest metre)
• I'll keep a running total for the group
• To be eligible for a prize, you must be a member of the Ravelry group and/or following vikkibirddesigns on Instagram
• If you're on Instagram, use the hashtag #marathonsockkal2019
• Double-dipping is permitted
• Socks must be knitted as pairs (no single sock entries)
• If you are entering via Instagram and do not have a Ravelry account/do not use Ravelry, you can enter by posting a photo of your socks on Instagram (on your grid, not in your stories), and filling in this form (you can also use this form if, for whatever reason, you are struggling to create an FO thread entry); I will create an FO thread entry based on the information you provide

Prizes (kindly sponsored by LoveCrafts***)

• One prize drawn from #marathonsockkal2019 on Instagram
• One prize drawn from the chatter thread
• One prize drawn from the FO thread

********

*Ravelry link. This link will not work if you are not a member of Ravelry. If you have found out about this KAL via Instagram and do not have a Ravelry account, but still wish to enter, please post a photo of your finished socks to your Instagram grid (remember to use the hashtag #marathonsockkal2019 and tag me, @vikkibirddesigns), then fill in this form and I will create an entry in the FO thread for you

**26.219 miles = 42 195 m; each of my pairs of socks uses approximately 300 m of yarn (assuming sock weight yarn at 400 m per 100 g)

***Affiliate link

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?

*Affiliate link.

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?

Tessellate baby blanket: now available on LoveCrafts!

The Tessellate baby blanket is available now in LoveCrafts store!* Haven't heard of LoveCrafts? It's the new combined home of LoveKnitting and LoveCrochet. You can find all my downloadable patterns in my LoveCrafts store.*

The Tessellate baby blanket* (originally published in Knit Now issue 86) is a bold, high contrast design, inspired by patchwork and quilting. The blanket features a strong geometric design created using simple two-colour squares that are knitted on the diagonal – this blanket makes excellent TV knitting, and is a great portable project. You could work the blanket in pastels, as shown, for a really pretty baby blanket, or you could use something brighter and bolder for a more contemporary look.

Unusually for me, this pattern is completely suitable for beginners. All you need to be able to do is knit garter stitch, work simple increases and decreases, and pick up stitches! The project is also perfect for those of you that want an easy project to take along on days out over the summer – as it's worked as individual squares, it'll fit perfectly in your bag among all the other stuff you need for a day out.

The pattern is written for the baby-sized blanket, as shown, but I've also included details on how to make a larger or smaller blanket, and provided diagrams for alternative seaming arrangements, so this blanket is fully customisable.

The original blanket is knitted in Three Bears Yarn Affection 100% Cotton Aran, which is spun in Lancashire by English Fine Cottons, but you can use any aran weight yarn that is suitable for babies (ideally chose something smooth and machine washable to make it easy for new parents to care for). LoveCrafts doesn't sell Three Bears Yarn, so I've suggested using Paintbox Yarns Cotton Aran, which comes in a brilliant array of colours!

Happy knitting!

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Pattern details

Sizes

One size: 93 cm (36.5 in) square

Tension

17 sts and 34 rows = 10 cm (4 in) in garter stitch worked flat on 5 mm (US 8) needles after wet blocking, or size needed to obtain correct tension.

Yarn

Aran-weight yarn in the following colours and amounts (for the blanket as shown; options are included to make a larger or smaller blanket):

A (white): 285 m (310 yds)

B (light blue): 285 m (310 yds)

C (light purple): 160 m (175 yds)

Needles

5 mm (US 8) straight needles at least 25 cm (10 in) in length

5 mm (US 8) circular needle at least 60 cm (24 in) in length

Notions

Tapestry needle

Sample details

The sample is knitted in Three Bears Yarn Affection Aran (aran, 85 m per 50 g ball, 100% cotton) in Pure White (A), Baby Blue (B) and Purple Delight (C).

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*Affiliate link.