Seems I'm still struggling with the winter blues, how else could it be that I finished a KAL running over 8 weeks a day after the last clue came out? Obviously not into thinking up new things these days, but there's just enough energy left to knit from a pattern - and it helped a lot that I really enjoyed the this one. :)

Here's a first pictures of my Cat Love Scarf. Not a very good one (thanks to the weather being plain awful as so often), so it doesn't do the colours justice. I used Black and Cian in of-so-soft Malabrigo Sock and I think this will make a great gift for a cat-loving friend.

If you knit a lot, you eventually end up with big boxes with sock yarn left over from other projects. This year I've decided to knit up some of it and a first step is to  participate in the Scrappy Socks KAL on Instagram. I chose only yarns in 'me colours' (blues, greens, purples) and I think even those few balls are plenty for a couple of pairs. We'll see how it goes.

If you want to play along (and maybe even win a prize), check out every.thing.shapes.us on Instragram for the rules of the Easy Peasy Scrappy Socks KAL.

Since I noticed the other days that cats are something that make me smile, I chose a second project with a cat motif as my 'waiting project' (between the release days for the clues from the Cat Love Scarf). The pattern is called Cats in the Night and it is included in the Book Wild Mittens and Unruly Socks 2 by Lumi Karmitsa.

I absolutely love how these turned out and I'll definitely make another pair for a friend who loves cats as much as I do. But first I'll tackle another pattern from the book, there are several I like in there.

Oh, just one hint  if you consider to purchase the book: All patterns come in one size only, they are meant for a European size 38. That's my size, but I still had issues since I could't get gauge, especially row gauge. The width worked fine (because a bit of adjustment is possible by changing the needle size),  but the foot length was way too short for me. So I added 10 rounds before I started the toe and I did my best to keep these rounds somehow in pattern.

If you follow my babbling here, you'll probably know that I'm not really a winter person. There's nothing wrong with the cold, but usually winter here means lots of rain and grey and awfully dull days and truth be told, that's really affecting my mood. So not much knitting has happened lately, but I stick to a KAL project I started two weeks ago: Cat Love Scarf by Lisa Hannan Fox.

It is a scarf in double knitting technique and the mystery knit-along runs for eight weeks. We are now in week three and I'm quite happy with my progress. At least something that makes me smile when the look out of the window once again doesn't...

Those who've know me a while have probably heard me say at some point: I would never wear a hat! I love to knit hats and even develop designs and write pattern, but wear one? No, not really. It happens very seldom and only when it's really cold, I wear a headband, but usually I just make sure to wear a coat with a hood, just in case.

Well, I might have changed my mind... When I talked about our coming holidays, I was told by lots of people that it's advisable to bring warm accessories, even during the summer -  so with our holidays  in Inceland just around the corner, I had the idea to knit myself a hat.

And what can I say? I love it! It's small, so the fringe is visible (like that much better than all hair under the hat) and I found the perfect solution for my ponytail too. :) I couldn't be happier and might wear a hat from now on - at least every now and then. And maybe there'll even be a pattern some time in the future.

Who would have thought that I didn't loose momentum with a 10 weeks KAL? And I even added the zipper to my second cushion case right away, woohoo! It actually ended in even more work, because I liked the different sewing technique I  used for the second zipper a lot better, so I took out the zipper from the first again and sewed it in differently. But they are done! And I really love how they turned out. :)

The pattern is called Sassenach Scheepjes KAL 2022 by Carmen Jorissen and is available for free from the Scheepjes website, here.

Not sure I even told you, but back in February I had the crazy idea to participate in this year's Scheepjes KAL. The knitalong is for two 50 x 50 cm cushion covers in stranded knitting, and the designer was inspired by the book series Outlander and her memories of holidays in Scotland.

The moment I saw the design, I knew the cushion covers would be a perfect match for our couch, especially knitted from one of the kits offered by Scheepjes called the 'cirsium' colour set. So I got me a kit, started at the end of February and finished knitting the first one, called Jamie, more than two weeks ago... and then the procrastination began: sewing in a zipper. Definitely not one of my favourite tasks! It's done now, but I admit I am not sure I like the way suggested in the pattern, so I think I'll try another method for the second cushion cover and if I like it better, I even might alter the first one. Anyway, for now we call Jamie finished. :)

I showed you my La Mondiola wrap the other day and since I had to use a second skein of my colour B,  I had quite a bit  yarn left over. So much, that I knew right away that I want to knit something with it to match my wrap and here's my first attempt: a hat, that picks up the chevron pattern from the wrap.

After the brim I shaped the body of the hat with short-rows to create the chevrons and then used contrast colours for the stripes. I think it turned out quite nice and I'm really fond of how the decrease lines for the crown grow from the de- and increase lines.

It's done! What a fun project - perfect TV knitting and I'm really happy how it turned out!  :)

I made a few modifications: I used a smaller needle (4 mm), I worked only single yarn over stitches and also kept the stitch between the yarn overs in Stockinette Stitch (i.e. knitted it on all RS rows, purled it on all WS rows) to match the decrease line.

In section 6 and 10 I added my colour B as per the pattern before the update. I weighed my colour B after section 4 and already knew that I wouldn't have enough left for the second half and since I need to use my extra skein, the few rows in section 6 didn't get me into any trouble. And I really think it is a sweet touch and somehow links the different colours used.

I needed 168 g of colour A (Whales Road), 113 g of B (Reflecting Pool) and 82 g of C (Borajas).

I've got lots of new patterns coming this year, so in theory I'm busy enough with all the samples. But... with all these 'must finish' projects on the needles I felt like I needed to cast on a 'just because' project, so it was perfect that Malabrigo is running a knitalong for a shawl. La Mondiola Wrap is a stole in three colours, knitted in of-so-soft Malabrigo Arroyo.  I decided to go with the colours Whales Road, Reflecting Pool and Borajas and so far I'm absoutely pleased with how it looks. :)

... of the socks I had initially planned as a Christmas gift for DH. So there is only one way out: knit a second pair so that both of us have a pair of Illusion socks. :)

Things have gone rather slow because I'm fighting a stupid cold and feel so bad that I don't even want to knit for long.

I reverse the colours for the main pattern so that the two pairs are  fraternal twins. And I did weigh my yarn and know I should have enough, but still... it's time for a round of yarn chicken. Must knit faster so that I'm done before I run out of yarn, lol.

And I can't help but wish you happy holidays with a picture of today's  ornament from my advent calendar - who would have thought I'd ever knit a roasted duck, red cabbage and dumplings? I'm cracking up!

But apart from that, I made it and knitted all the ornaments from my advent calendar. That's a first and I'm quite proud I managed.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

... that's the question to be answered. My GAL project, the Illusion Socks (pattern by Alena Malevitch) were meant to be a gift, but now I'm seriously in love with them.... so we'll see.

Aren't they just spectacular?

For me the fun part of the GAL is to look at the patterns by my fellow participating designers and usually I make a few of them as Christmas gifts. This year I had a really late start and only cast on for my first project at the weekend. But I am already seriously in love...

The pattern is Illusion Socks by Alena Malevitch and I couldn't help but use the same colour combination as shown on the pattern page. They are right up my alley! The socks are a gift for DH, but I might have to reconsider and knit something else for him... ;-)

The last few years I always got an advent calendar with yarn minis - and after a couple of days of enthusiastic knitting with it I always lost momentum. So this year I'll try something different: the Wollmeise orament advent calendar. There are supplies and patterns to create 24 Christmas ornaments. And well, it sounds easy enough to craft one small ornament each day leading to Christmas... we'll see how it goes.

Day 1 is done, a small red heart - so far, so good. I'll keep you posted how many ornaments there'll be for x-mas...

"What day is it?" asked Pooh. "It's today," squeaked Piglet. "My favourite day," said Pooh.

(From Winnie the Pooh by Alan Alexander Milne)

Definitely my favourite day, too - it's Sunday, so some time to relax and read. :)

Since the stupid splint on my finger will be with me for a couple of weeks, why not entertain myself with some silly finger covers?

"I have never tried that before, so I think I should definitely be able to do that.” - Pippi Longstocking

At least when it comes to knitting with a finger splin, the heroine of my childhood is right... Never did it before, but getting better every day.

Wishing you all a Happy Halloween with this wee witch I knitted as a gift for a friend.

The pattern is called Witchy Friends by Esther Braithwaite and I used sock yarn to knit it up.  I might have to make another one for myself...

I think I haven't told you in the past months, but ta-dah! I'm still on track with the ornaments from the club I was gifted. I admit, I found it a bit hard to continue once again. To a certain extendt is it probably that I have trouble to get the idea of 'woodland friends' being mushrooms or rainbows, but I think what bothers me most is that the size of the ornaments changed considerably.

In August the hedgehog was a wee thing, but then from September (mushroom) onwards the ornaments got a lot bigger, I'd say they doubled in size.

The size is still fine for ornaments for my tree and they are really cute, so it's all good though. And I am not giving up this close to making it through the whole year. I was even lucky and the November rainbow pattern was released very early, so number 11 has also been done.  :)

I have no idea how, because I only made the beds and woosh! just like that I had torn the extensor tendon on my finger. Not a happy camper today with at least six weeks of having to wear a splint ahead... although I can't help but find it funny, because of course I chose the 'best' finger for this injury...

I'm kind of forced to show everyone the finger... lol.

Anyway,  after the first shock I realized quickly that I can still knit when wearing that stupid splint, so I'm fairly certain I'll be patient enough to wear it no matter how long it takes. My first knitting project with the splint was a finger cover... There might be more to come in the next weeks.

... or the pattern during the Supersock World Championship that nearly drove me crazy, lol.

I alread showed you a picture of all my SWC socks last week, but I haven't told you about the one pattern that really was an effort to knit. Not because the pattern is so difficult, but because I found it hard to find the perfect yarn.

Knitloops, a free pattern by Amelia Archer available from the Knitty website, uses vertical stranding to creat the vertical stripes. To avoid having to weave in lots of ends, the loops for the vertical strands are taken from the working yarn, which of course means that the length of the loops sets the length of the stripes. And that is where my trouble started.

I don't have many self-striping yarns in my stash, and with the ones I tried - I actually cast on three times - the pattern didn't turn out nice at all. Because the loops ended in  stripe in the same colour, because they were on a stripe with hardly any contrast, whatever... I frogged three times. Until I had my d'oh!-moment and realized that the socks are my second pair and won't gain any points in the competiton anyhow. So why stick to the requirements? After that I cast on again, with the yarn that was my first choice, and just went ahead and adjusted the pattern, i.e. the length of the loops. And here we are: I might have new favourite pair to wear these days. :)

Just like that - imagine my finger clicking here - it's September and the Supersock World Championship that lasted for two and a half months is over. What a fun event! I worked hard on my goal to knit up at least 12.000 meters of yarn from my stash this year and I managed to finish all the patterns - 4240 meters have turned into 14 pairs of socks. :)

I should probably say 'thank you' to the awful weather we had this summer - without all the cold and rain I would have probably knitted a bit less... The hardest task today was to take a picture of all the socks and it took me several tries to get what I wanted. In the meantime - when the wind spoilt my pictures and my socks were all over the place - I even had the idea to take a video, so if you want to see the all my socks a bit closer and are not afraid to listen to my babbling in English, here you go: Mone's Supersock World Championship 2021

One of the reasons I like to participate in 'knitting games' like the Supersock World Championship is that I am introduced to patterns that I wouldn't have chosen to knit otherwise. Like the 'high octane' (the more challenging pattern) in round 5 of the game: Wildgarden by Stav Salpeter.

It is a really beautiful pattern but I admit that for myself I am not a fan of patterns with 'bulky' design elements on the leg and these have lots of them not only on the front but also on the back. They are an interesting knit and I finished them rather quickly  - although there might have been a sigh of relief when I worked the final 'popcorn stitch. ;-)

Well, it took me until the last day of the month, but ta-dah! I finished my July ornament before the month was over. Not really sure why the collection is called woodland friends because this month's pattern is a cute kitten, but nevermind, I finished and stuck to my goal for another month. Who would have thought when I started back in January, considering that I'm not too keen on fiddly stuff.

Holidays or not - I can't keep my hands from knitting for more than a day. So it came handy that the next patterns of the Supersock World Championship were released and I had something to do in the evenings. I went with the easier pattern this time, because I wanted a pattern that is easy to memorize, but I still needed way longer than I would have at home. But then, there are just so many other things to do on holidays and the drive back home gave me enough time to finish my pair of PB & W socks.

I hope, I don't already bore you with all the pictures of socks, but well, that's what I knit these days. Or rather, I work on a lot of different things, but the socks are the only items I can share at the moment, because all the other projects are going to be new designs eventually.

I've already told you that I participate in the Supersock World Championship, but I am not sure I told you that each 'lap' offers two different patterns: one is a bit more challenging one, the other is a bit more relaxed knitting. I went in both laps with the challenging, called the 'high octane' version,  patters, but liked both 'low octane' patterns as much, that I've knitted them also. :)

The picture above shows the Easy Colorwork Socks that were the 'low octane' pattern in round 1. I used partial skeins from my 'leftover yarn box' and while my husband was a bit shocked first when he saw what I had chosen for them, he now agrees that the combination works very well.

There is no bright side, I hear you say and I absolutely agree. I mean, who enjoys to be in pain? Well, in my case it at least meant that I couldn't sleep, and what better thing is there to keep you busy and distracted than your knitting?  Sock number 2 of the Supersock World Championship just flew of the needles.

The pattern is called Yellow Brick Road by Star Athena and it was interesting and varied enought to keep me going and distract my mind from the stupid tooth. I chose a happy and bright orange yarn by the Knitting Goddess and I think they turned out really well.

I'm afraid that was it with my speed knitting, because when pattern number 3 drops we'll be on holidays. And I so very much hope the weather will be summerly and we'll spend our days with outdoor activities. As much as I love knitting, in that case I'd be more than happy to not belong  to the 'fast track'.

I own a ton of handmades and have zillions of skeins of yarn in my stash, but never, never ever have I had a problem with moths. Well, until now this is.

I bought this pretty skein of yarn during our holidays in the US back in 2014, caked it right away and I think I started to knit with it something like three times. But while I love the colour, the patterns never seemed right. But I wanted to knit it up, so it never got into a plastic bag, but instead wandered from the knitting basket in the living room into the kitchen, it went with me on holiday twice, sat for month on my desk in my office, wandered back into the craft room, sat another couple of month in the living room... until I picked it up again a couple of days ago. And somewhere along its travels, it must have met some moths... gah! The damage wasn't too bad, but I had like six or seven bits to cut out (and of course more ends to weave in), and believe me, I  learnt my lesson: never ever let your yarn sit forever without a proper cover. Sigh.

So there I was, saying that I'd probably won't have the time to play along in the new sock knitting event on Ravelry, the Supersock World Championship. And what happened when the patterns for the first round were released? I figure you guessed right: Only a day later I finished my pair of sock.

I fell in love with the pattern, Amphitrite Socks by Nicole Simmons, the minute I saw it and started right away. Well, and then the stupid rainy weather kept me from doing the garden work I was supposed to do... so, ta-dah! I knitted my pair in my fave yarn Malabrigo Sock and I couldn't be happier with them. And to make things perfect, I even went straight to the podium and came in as third finisher. :)

Happy weekend, y'all!

As I already told you the other day, I am not really a fan of toe-up socks. One of the reasons is that I prefer my socks with heel flap and gusset and that I find it always hard to decide when to start the gusset increases. Although the main reason is probably that I dislike the sloopy look of the bind off at the cuff.

But recently I played around with sewn bind offs and I am quite fond of the invisible ribbed bind off. So why not give it a try with a pair of socks? Especially because in my Ravelry group our monthly challenge is 'I don't usually...' and  I can fill the blank with 'knit toe-up socks'.  So that's what I did.

Ulli had a pair of these, the pattern is called KawKawEsque by Yarnissima, and he literally has worn the socks to pieces, so I decided to gift him a new pair. And I really think these turned out well - including the not at all sloppy cuff. :)

Who would have thought: it's the sixth month of the year and I'm still on track with my ornament club. Okay, it took me a while longer to get started this month, but ta-dah: here's my June Raccoon.

I made some minor modifications. I added white next to the 'face mask' and knitted a bandana rather than yet another cowl and I am quite happy how it turned out. I think this one is my favourite Woodland Friends ornament so far.

I don't think I have, but sometimes I wonder... how else could you explain that the moment a new 'sock knitting game' started on Ravelry I had to sign up? I'm pretty sure I won't knit all the patterns, but somehow I couldn't resist to at least participate. And I did manage to knit the warm-up pattern.

The pattern is called Sea Scallops by SLM Design and I found it quite enjoyable to work. Not really what I would have chosen, because I don't knit toe-up socks very often and I don't like having to adjust the needle size to teeny-weeny  because of the stitch count, so it was a bit of a challenge for me.

I used a  partial skein of Malabrigo Sock in Indiecita that has been in my stash forever, so I'm quite happy that I participated and shrank my stash the tiniest bit. But as I said, it was only the warm-up pattern - we'll see how I do when the 'race' starts.

... finally on my Persian Dreams pillows. Phew! To finish these really took forever and a day. But now I couldn't be happier!

You might remember that these started off as hexagons for the Persian Dreams blanket by Jenise Hope. Well, I lost momentum after only four hexagons and this was the best idea I could come up with. I added some more rounds in colourwork, then corners in background colour, sewed two pieces together and added zippers to the bottom to make it easy to wash the pillow cases.

Well, the zippers probably explain why it took me so long to finish them. Sewing in zippers is one of the jobs I don't like at all... But now it's done and the pillows will make me smile whenever I walk into our living room. :)

Oh, and they are of course reversable and have two different sides. Here they are the other way round.

I've already finished them a few days ago, but I finally found time to take some pictures: please say 'hello' to my farm gang. :)

The patterns are once again by Esther Braithwaite and I've worked them as the jungle animals in fingering weight yarn. They are only about 9 cm hight and sSince these too are meant to be toys for a baby boy, they all have a tiny rattle in there head.

I admit, in April I almost lost momentum with my wonderful plan to knit all the patterns from the ornament club gifted to me by a Ravelry friend. But there was a reason for it - because I wasn't happy at all with the April bunny pattern. Cute, that's for sure, but really, to me (and it was the same for everyone I asked) there was hardly a difference to the llama pattern from March. Hm... So in the end I decided to knit a bunny, but I changed the pattern around quite a bit (made the body wider but not as long, added length to the ears, made a scarf instead of yet another cowl) and I think it turned out quite okay.

Anyway, I was a bit worried about the May pattern, because I knew I'd quit the ornment project if the new pattern isn't to my liking - so I was very happy to see that this time I received a fox pattern that I really said 'fox' to me. No need to say that I knit my foxy friend up right away. ;-)

With all the excitement about my latest pattern idea - Do you speak Knit? - and all the knitting involved, I lost a bit momentum with the mystery shawl I started at the beginning of the month. But to avoid that yet another WIP makes itself at home in my knitting basket, I picked it up last weekend and finished in one go. Of course, I ended up playing 'yarn chicken', even though I weighed my yarn and knew I should be fine. So knit like the wind it was, to make sure I'm done before I run out of yarn, lol. Less than 3 grams to spare, phew. 

The pattern, called Cois Farraige by Carol Feller, is quite interesting with half of the shawl knit sideways and then the other half bottom to top. The colours are reversed for the second half and the two halves are joined while knitting. It was easy enough for me for relaxed TV knitting, yet intersting enough to keep me going. And I absolutely love how good the Malabrigo Yarn Sock in Eggplant and Azules look together. Quite happy with this project - and now back to my next Do you speak Knit project. :)

I can't even remember when I learnt to knit, but I do remember exactly the first a bit more pricey yarn I ever bought: Malabrigo Sock. And I fell in love right away - so it's no wonder that I always look forward to the yarn event held in the group for Malabrigo fans on Ravelry. It's called Malabrigo March and it is basically a huge knit along with any Malabrigo yarn. And since I have quite a bit of it in my stash...

... I started my first project on the first day of the month. :) This is going to be a shawl, but I have no idea what it'll look like since this is a Mystery Knit-Along by Carol Feller. I certainly love the yarn - Malabrigo Sock in Eggplant and Azules - hopefully I'll love the pattern just as much. For now I'm just happy to take part in the nice event.

... doing really good with my Woodland Friends ornament club. The pattern for March was released a couple of days and ta-dah, here's my March Mama Llama.

Okay, you probably need to know that it is supposed to be a llama, but that's the best I could do. Not really a friend of this fiddly stuff, I'm afraid. And therefore very proud I'm still on target. :)

Using odds and ends left-over from other projects for a pair of happy dotted socks. Because of the frequent colour changes  (you know, the 'just one more colour change' effect that keeps you knitting) I find them really addictive to knit  and I'm pretty sure this won't be my only pair. But I am so not looking forward to weaving in all the ends...

Ich war so begeistert von meinen Pippilotta Strümpfen und das Wetter war auch noch sooo kalt, da habe ich doch glatt gleich noch mal ein paar Kniestrümpfe genadelt. Ausserdem guckte der Göttergatte so neidisch, wenn ich meine neue Strümpfe getragen habe, also musste es so sein. Im Grunde sind sie ja auch fix gestrickt, denn man strickt ja hauptsächlich glatt rechts.

Ich musste natürlich so richtig Gas geben und die Nadeln zum Glühen bringen, damit ich fertig wurde, ehe der ganze Schnee verschwunden ist. Aber guckt: es hat geklappt. Natürlich wandern die Strümpfe jetzt erstmal in die Sockenschublade, denn der Wetterbericht verspricht uns für kommendes Wochenende frühlingshafte 16°C. Das nenne ich mal einen rasanten Umschwung.

I was so happy with my Pippilotta stockings and the weather was still so cold, that I started a second pair of knee-highs right away. It's quite funny, because these kind of socks were on my list of 'not my cup of tea' projects. But then, my dear husband was so jealous when I wore mine and they are actually a quick knit, since they are done mainly in Stockinette stitch.

I admit, I had to knit up a storm to get them done before all the snow was gone and ta-dah! Here they are. Ready to go into the sock drawer right away because  the weather forecast promises 16°C this weekend - this is quite a sweeping change.

Remember the socks I started a while ago. I had started them toe up to make sure I use all the colours in the self-striping yarn... and while knitting happily away I realized that these turn into rather long socks. So why not turn them into knee-highs right away? No sooner said than done...

I used some leftover yarn from other project for the heel and the upper part of the leg. I did my best to blend in the yarn at the leg and I am absolutely happy with the result.

... procrastinate and worked on the second pattern of my Woodland Friends ornaments right away this month: Here's my February House Mouse.

Even though these small ornaments are done in no time, I am not really a fan of this fiddly stuff - so to avoid that I just print the patterns and leave them for another day, it is my goal to work on the ornament of the months as soon as it is published. We'll see how this goes...

I think I've told you lots of time that my favourite item to knit are socks. I love that there are so many pattern options, that you can go wild on colours and in my world they are also the perfect gift. However, there are some constructions I am not really keen on - like socks knit from the toe up. 

It's not that I don't manage, but somehow I find it more difficult than knitting cuff down. Maybe the reason is that for my socks I prefer socks with heel flap and gusset and I always find it difficult to figure out when to start the gusset increases?

Well, there are some yarns that just call for a toe-up construction, simply because I don't want to waste any scrap of yarn. This is the case especially with gradient or colour-changing ones, when I want to make sure that all shades or colours get used. It isn't a poblem to make the leg longer in onder to use up all the yarn, is it? And since I don't want to waste anything of this precious stripy rainbow skein by KnitCircus... here we go: toe-up.

So, last week I complained about my lack of motivation for knitting - and just a week later I don't want to stop knitting at all... Last week I had the idea to work on some wee dolls to give away as gifts to my friends as pick-me-up during these difficult times and my, do I enjoy knitting these!

Above is a Flower Girl - I named her Hope and embroidered a clover instead of a flower onto her skirt - and she is a gift for a friend who has tackled the diffcult task to move in the midst of lockdown. Below is a Nurse Mate.and she will go to my niece who works at a hospital. I hope they'll put a smile to their face and they like them just as much as I liked making them. :) The patterns used are by Esther Braithwaite, available on Ravelry.

I did get a wee bit of knitting done the last few days. I admit, at the moment I really lack motivation, not only for knitting but actually most things.  I try to concentrate and kick my behind to continue with my 'must finish' pattern projects (more or less successful), but I haven't spend a lot of time knitting 'just for fun'. But I did finish this wee ornament. :)

Emily, a Raverly friend of mine from the US gifted me the Ornament pattern of the month club by Amy Munson and this tiny bear is the January pattern.  Love it - and I plan to knit all the others as soon as they are released as well. In case we don't have an ornament exchange in our Ravelry group this year, there'll be at least  some new handmade ornaments on my tree in 2021.

Ta-Dah - after what feels like sewing in a million of loose ends, my x-mas shawl is done! And I am really happy with how it turned out!

The shawl was a kit from Garnmanufaktur that came with yarn and pattern. I might add tassels to the ends, but haven't yet decided.  What do you think?

And as a side note: I might even make another shawl, because I think I've got more than half of the gradient yarn  (which comes in 10 individual balls) left. That's quite a bit...

Just realized that I never shared a picture of the complete jungle gang, that my great nephew got for x-mas.

Totally in love with these little critters and I think there'll be a lot more in my near future. :)

... with the hook... crochet will never be my favourite but I had another idea for the baby and decided that crocheted fabric is the better choice.  Why, you ask? Well, the penguin isn't meant to be just a toy -

- but I added a music box to the body that plays Brahm's Lullaby and I figured that for frequent pulling the string the fabric should be somewhat sturdy. Considering that I am not a fan of crochet, I think it turned out pretty good. Can't wait to see the wee ones reaction. :)

My, as always, x-mas approaches in no time and I finally started to work on the gifts I've planned for my brand new great nephew. I discovered the cute doll patterns by Ester Braithwaite the other day and the jungle anmals make a perfect match to the play bar I got for the wee one.

I decided to work them in fingering weight yarns so that they turn out small enough for the baby to hold and I added rattles to their heads to make them even more interesting for him. Now onto the zebra...

Not really motivated to start anything new, so I try to at least finish some of the stuff in my knitting basket. If only it weren't zippers I have to sew in... so not my favvourite task. So I am more than happy to report that at least one of my Persion Dreams cushion cases is now finished. Phew...

I really love how the cushion case turned out though and I think it's a perfect match for our living room - maybe looking at the picture will motivate me to tackle the second zipper before the year is over, lol.

So I absolutely love to knit, but when it comes to the finishing touches I am a demotivated loser. No matter if it is weaving in ends or blocking, usually stuff sits quite a while finished in my knitting basket before I get it done. And this time it was even worse, because I had to add a zipper... one of the things I hate so most, because I find it so hard to sew it in so that the fabric doesn't curl. Which is the reason that the colourwork pillow case I finsihed in August and that I really enjoyed knitting, had to wait until today before I got my act together...

... but ta-dah! It is finally done! The zipper is fine (the cushion might be a tad small), and I absolutely love how this turned out. I admit, it doesn't really work well with our terracotta-coloured couch , but I will find a place for it somewhere in the house. And who knows?  I might knit it again in colours that work better in our living room... we'll see.

And once again is September 28th and once again it's DH's birthday! Congratulations, my love!

As some of you may know, Ulli always gets at least one knitted gift for his birthday, usually a pair of socks. And this year, I think I found the appropriate motif for his colourwork socks to remember 2020...

.. and I sure do hope that very soon all the craziness caused by the virus (or rather the measurements taken becaus of it) will be a memory only. Fingers crossed!

I've only finished the socks on our way to our holiday home, so they are not blocked and there still might be ends to weave in, but at least he didn't get his gift half-finished in a project bag, lol.

Look what I found deep down in my knitting basket: 4 hexagon modules for the Persian Dreams blanket (pattern by Jenise Hope ) in Cascade Yarn Heritage I started back in, hmm, January 2016.

For once I was honest with myself and realized that I'll probably never finish it. But what to do with the already finished hexagons? To pretty to frog, leave alone throw away. So why not turn them into two pillow cases? No sooner said than done.

Since I want my pillow cases to be bigger and square, I added about 16 more rounds in a colourwork pattern and then added corners in main colour only.

Aaaaannnd - another pair of Chained Mittens jumped of the needles. This pair in Malabrigo Yarn Arroyo in colourway Pocion and I already know who is going to get these. Together with a matching hat and fortunately only for x-mas... since the hat is no more than a brim at this time and it already went on the 'must finish one day' pile thanks to some new pattern ideas on my needles...

... work, but not to knit. :) Really, the temperatures these days are quite something and we decided to not do  any renovation work today. So I retired to the coolest room in our house and what else could I keep myself busy with than with knitting? I picked up this long neglected WiP and now that I get to see more of the pattern I can’t stop anymore…

I think I’ll really like this new pillow case and who knows, it might be finished before temperatures return to a bit more normal.

Phew... this for sure was a close call!

The aim with my new shawl design was to knit up as much of possible from the gorgeous skein of gradient yarn by Wollelfe and look...

... less than a gram to spare! I think I did well - but needless to say that I was in a state of mild panic doing the bind off, not sure whether I'd have enough or not.

Btw, the yarn doesn't look this way because I had to rip back, but that's how the yarn came here. Apparently the dye is applied to a sock blanks which after dyeing is frogged and wound to a cake. I admit, not my favourite kind of yarn to knit with, because I'm such a stickler when it comes to even stitches, But I do  like the colour change and I can't wait to see the shawl blocked.

Somehow the stranded socks I made for Ulli for x-mas made me wish for a pair of socks with a geometric pattern for myself. And when it comes to sock knitting... No sooner said than done! :)

I chose a stitch pattern called Uneven  from Andrea Rangel's wonderful AlterKnit Stitch Dictionary and combined a solid mass produced anthracite grey with a hand-painted green yarn by Handu. Happy about my new socks! :)

... in hand-knitted socks!

It took a while, but I finally finished my Gift Along project! In the beginning I wasn't sure whether I'd be happy with a pair with one sock knitted cuff down and the other toe up, but I decided to follow the pattern and I love how they turned out!

The pattern is Partying it UP and Getting DOWN by Megan Williams and I used my souvenir yarn from Woollinn Yarn Fest 2019, hand dyed by Dragon Hill Studio.

The trickiest part of getting my x-mas gifts ready in time? Find some leisure knitting time when Ulli is not around. My dear hubby absolutely loves to wear hand-knitted socks, so it has become kind of a tradition to gift him a pair every year.

This year he gave a pair of store bought socks with a tumbling blocks pattern to me for St. Nicholas' Day and joked that this would be a nice design wor hand-knit socks... well, his wish was my command... ;-)

Here's the handmade gift he'll find under the tree tonight  and I'm really happy how they turned out. Pretty sure he'll love them. :)

Have you ever heard of the Indie Design Gift-A-Long? For me one of the events I look forward to every year during the holiday season. It is a five week long Knit / Crochet Along of holiday gifts made from patterns designed by a rather extensive list of independent designers. It always start with a 'sales part', in which all designers offer some of their patterns at a discounted price (and yes, the sales part is still running!), followed by weeks of fun with friends from the crafty community in said 'alongs'. What better way is there to get your gifts finished than while chatting and having a good time with friends? In addition there are lots of little games and random prize drawings, so there is even a chance of getting a little extra treat for participating in the fun.  You can find all the details on Ravelry, here: Indie Design Gift-A-Long.

Well, and while I am one of the participating designers, it's usually the time of the year where I enjoy 'just for me knitting', using patterns by fellow designers. This year I started off with  (ha ha, this won't come as a surprise) socks.

The pattern is called 'Partying it UP and Getting DOWN Socks' by Megan Williams and Ithink it works fab with self-striping yarn. Which, as you may know, I love, but usually find too boring to knit unless there is a chance to maniuplate the stripes; so this is perfect for me! We'll see if I really knit the second sock toe up or if I stick to a pair in cuff down, but I found a great pattern for my souvenir Yarn from Woollinn Dublin.

I'm not really a fan of the band Coldplay, but these days I can't stop humming the song 'Yellow', simply because of the first words: Look at the stars, look how they shine for you...

I realized the other day that I haven't yet finished all the ornaments I need for this year's ornament exchange, so the moment we came back from holidays I picked up my star knitting again. And now I'm somehow obsessed and can't stop making them...

Such a perfect project for small amounts of leftover sock yarn! The pattern is called Stjärna by Karolina Eckerdal and it is availabe for free on Ravelry. I made my stars a bit smaller than in the pattern, and my, I think I am addicted - I'd love to knit a star in each and every yarn in my 'scrap yarn box'.  Don't you think lots and lots of them in a tall glass would be a stunning decoration? Hm... we'll see, maybe next year.

Finished the hat for this cutie only this morning in the nick of time and now our gift for my mum is already enjoying the wonderful weather we are having this easter: Heli, the Easter Lamb.

Why is she called Heli, you ask? Well, when DH first showed me what he made, her ears made me laugh so hard and I said she looks more like a helicopter than a sheep... so Heli she was named right away. ;-) Now that she is completed, I think our joint project turned out great and my mum sure loves her.

Happy Eater, everyone!

Once again my mantra 'keep calm and finish for next Christmas' did its job - I finally finished the third pair of mittens that were supposed to be an x-mas gift last year. Ooops. But better late than never and at least it's still cold enough to wear them.

The picture above shows the first two pairs I made - done, sent and received in time for x-mas - because I gave my last pair away without taking any pics. It looked basically the same, just with spikes in different colours rather than using one for all three.

The pattern is called Convertible Monster Mittens by Doreen Blask. What I found a bit disturbing is that the pattern doesn’t state a gauge or gives exact measurements, so it involves a bit of guessing work when knitting for a kid you don't see very often. It’s  defininetly helpful to know the handsize of the recipient and also to make a gauge swatch to calculate the needed number of stitches and rounds. But apart from that it was a fun thing to knit and well received!

... my very own version of Pippilotta Delicatessa Windowshade Mackrelmint Ephraim's Daughter Longstocking. :)

I admit, she almost had me in tears because I am definitely not the one for fiddly stuff and that wire frame for the legs was just that: fiddly. But I love her and had a blast taking pictures.  I added bloomers so that Pippi can behave the way Pippi tends to behave...

... if you model wants to be goofy. ;-) Well, I figure I am lucky that DH models my hats and doesn't make me wear them, shudder. So not a person for hats. at least not when it comes to wearing them; I do like to knit them.

The hat is a gift for x-mas and I've knitted it during the Indie Gift Along now taking place. The pattern is Rib Run by Jennifer Dassau.

Truth be told, as cute as I find knitted toys and dolls, this fiddly stuff isn't for me. Of course, there is also nobody around to knit these things for, so I usally stay away from it. But when I saw this wonderful pattern by Irina Ferrer I had to buy it right away - how am I to resist a Pippi doll? Pippi Langstrumpf, definitely one of my most loved books when I was a kid. 

And I'm determined to finish this project, even though there is what feels like  a ton of yarn end for such a small project, lol.

Now onto assembling all these pieces...

Did a bit of spring cleaning in my knitting basket today and know now, why I always think I don't have enough needles... oops, quite a bunch of WIPs in there. And some are so close to being finished...

Why these Rockpool Mitts (pattern in Knit Now Magazine issue 62) ended up there, even though half an hour of knitting time would have been enough to finish them, I really don't know!? ! I really love how the pattern looks in this colour, so what made me stop working on them?. Seems I get distracted easily... Now to knit the last couple of rounds and free some needles and also finally finish the pattern files... Time the pattern got re-released, don't you think?

I've got to admit, that this time coming back from holidays the 'weather blues' hit me really hard... From sunny and warm to day after day with depressing grey and cool temperatures is so not what I like. Not a big surprise, I haven't been up to much since we returned, so I decided it was high time I worked on a happy coloured me-project.

Since I worked on my sample for the Bargello Sock pattern, published in Love of Knitting Spring 2017, I've always wanted to reknit the pattern in a colourful yarn and I fell in love with this combination right from the start. It was a very addictive project, since I was all the time like 'just one more stripe' or 'just one more colour change', so no wonder these got done rather quickly. And I love how they turned out!

So there I was, planning to knit a gift and as always I had all the time in the world... because October is soooo far away when it is only January and you buy the yarn for the gift... So eventually I had to do some speed knitting, but ta-dah I finished in time. My Blue of the Heavens Shawl is done, blocked and will go straight into my suitcase. Better pics will have to wait until we are in our holiday destination and I can't wait  for my friend to arrive next week to  see whether she likes her gift. 'Gift giving anxiety', as always...

After weeks and weeks of 'must finish' knitting, I finally had some time to cast on a project just for fun. And even though I am not too fond of knitting a pattern more than once, I've decided to reknit Taevas, the shawl I designed for SweetGeorgia Yarns last year. When I came up with the design I always imagined it in blue and because one of the stitch patterns used reminded me of the blossoms of alliums called Blue of the Heavens.

So I am working on a Blue of the Heavens shawl now, which will be hopefully ready beginning of October. At least for now it's the plan to give it to my friend Maud then... we'll see. Not that much progress yet...

... at least not with the yarn that I went through so much trouble to find a pattern for. I finished the socks I started for Ulli the other day and he's happy with them. :)

What he wasn't happy with is that I made him model them right away - even though we had a sunny and halfway warm day, the grass was wet...

I used the short break we took from painting the house this morning, to sort through my the knitting basket in our living room and deep down I found this

Dornröschen-Wolle sock yarn, in 'Bitterkalt' (bitingly cold), a greyblue colour with greenish streaks. Quite nice, you say? Well, for whatever reason this yarn has been sitting in my stash forever and I started to knit with it at least three times. And just as often I frogged everything because I wasn't happy with the result. Meanwhile the yarn turned into my personal 'you failed again' memorial. Now, today I was just a second away from throwing it away (if only to get it out of sight), when DH said 'this would make a nice pair of socks for me'... and somehow he got me going. I cast on right away and this is my progress so far

Well, it is summer and you know what that means? Not much time for any crafty things, because a lot of time is spend outdoors, doing garden work, stuff around the house, go to events and all the things you do during the warmer season. But! I did finish a  knitting project last night - after, hm, something like six months?  You must know that there is always a knitting project in the car, which stays there at all times, meaning it is there 'just in case'. The ten minutes drive that turns into a  'stuck 2 hours in a traffic jam' trip? Right? Get this project out and work on it. Some get finished within a few weeks, others take forever. All I need to consider that it should be a pattern I remember when I pick up the project without reading through lots of instructions. And here is, ta-da, my latest car socks, if I reacall it right after a pattern called 'Bremen Socks'.

I had a pair just like these, in exactly the same yarn, and I literally loved them to pieces, so when I came across the leftover yarn in my stash I knew what I wanted to knit and made the project my car socks. And I still love the pattern and the colours of the yarn and I know I'll wear this pair a lot.

And because one just can't be without a 'just in case' knitting project, here' s the one I started and keep in the car for future 'emergencies'...  :)

What have I been up to since I last posted about a project on my needles, you ask? Well, not much. The other day when I was looking for a particular skein of sock yarn in my stash, I had to realize what size my stash has and what a mess it is at present... So in a moment of zest for action I decided to sort through it and organize it a bit better. Hm. What an idea. I've worked on this for more than a week and I've got the feeling the mess gets worse. I think I'll have to look for a new home for some of my lovies, sigh.

Anyway, since I still haven't found the yarn I know must be in one of the boxes somewhere,  I worked on a just for fun project.  The other day I saw a post by Bijou Basin Ranch on Instagram and I really fell in love with the teddy bear. And snce my kit has arrived in the meantime, that's what kept me busy in the evenings. Here is my bear, half finished...

The yarn is Himalayan Trail, a blend of 75% Tibetan yak and 25% merino, and I really enjoyed knitting with it.  The pattern is Teddy Bear Stripes by Frankie Brown, available for download from Ravelry. The pattern is easy enough, but all pieces are knit flat... so not my favourite activity to seam all the parts. So I gave it a try and worked my bear parts in the round and I think, the result doesn't differ at all from the pattern. :)

It has been once again a busy week, not the least since a leaking facett caused quite a mess in our bathroom and most of my leisure time was spent cleaning up and doing some repair work. Anyhow, today is Sunday, so finally some time for my knitting. I picked up a long neglected WiP, a pair of socks in a gradient yarn by White Birch Fiber Arts I bought in the States last year. So, so beautiful - I just love the slowly changing colours. Yes, it's hard to tell on this pic (of sock number two), but you'll see it once the pair is done. I only wish I had bought more than just this one set for a pair of socks. Sigh.

The socks are for another special internet friend I had the chance to meet last year. The pattern, which is almost ready for tech editing, will be my next contribution to my (No longer virtual) Friends collection and will also be available for individual download. Soon, I hope.

Now back to my knitting needles. :)

... there isn't much time for any crafty hobbies. It's garden season and our garden is huge - if you ask me it's way too huge for my taste and this year we've planned some major changes. Lots of conifers were cut down, we had to built a fence instead, resow lawn grass, bla bla... Lots of work, none of it enjoyable if you have to do it for hours and hours and it left me without any energy for new projects. The little time in the evening I had to spend on samples with a deadline. Sigh...

But it's Sunday today, I decided Ulli and I need a break, so no work today, but instead - just for fun knitting. :) I picked up this still secret project which has been a WiP for months and months. Maybe it was my pajama pants that made me choose this one to work on? Or maybe it was the fact that I know the pattern will be released on Thursday...

The other day, when the grey and dull winter weather was really getting on my nerves, I decided I needed a bit of colour in my life to cheer me up. And as always, I found what I was looking for in SpinningFates Etsy shop. The hardest decision was which yarns to order... Only a few days later these beauties arrived:

Wow! I love all of them and they sure brighten even the dullest of days. I had limited myself to three skeins, but my dear friend Laurel seems to be a mind reader and she send along a gift: the skein on the right, one of the yarns I had pondered whether to get it or not. What a fab surprise and I was tempted to knit that one up right away, but another skein told me it had to get knitted first. This one:

As I've told you the other day, I used most of my just for fun knitting time to knit up some ornaments for this year's ornament exchange. Most motifs are from the book '55 Christmas Balls to knit' by Arne and Carlos, but for a cat loving friend of mine I wanted to knit a Christmas ball with a cat motif. Well, my first attempt a while back was a fail...

... I spent a good deal of my Sunday working on it, to realize in the end that the cat looks more like an alien... Sigh. The tail was in the wrong position and also the eyes were way too big. So I gave it another try recently and this is what my cat x-mas balls now look like:

I've still kept myself busy with swatches for new designs most of the time, but I admit, I got addicted with the Christmas balls I started the other day. So whenever there was a minute for just for fun knitting, I've worked on these.  I've already have enough for our exchange, but I think I'll have to go for the 'one for you, one for me' extra challenge. Some just have to stay here...

... for example the 'all Irish' one in orange, white and green.  I really enjoy making these and I'm now playing around with my own patterns, like the one with the cat motif in the middle. We'll see what's next. :)

I've got to admit that all the grey and rain is really getting on my nerves and apparently my motivation doesn't like the weather either and has moved to some sunnier place. Not much to tell about my crafts, since all I seem to have worked on for nearly a week were swatches for new design ideas and a couple of x-mas ornaments for our ornament exchange. My creativity clearly has been in hibernation.

While searching for scrap yarn to use for the ornaments though, I came across some happy-coloured sock yarn. I was stumped when I realized it's the yarn I used for a pair of socks years ago. The socks no longer exist since they were a favourite pair and I literally wore them to pieces. And there was enough yarn left for another pair. So...

...I'm now trying to lure spring into arrving in Germany with these cheerful colours. ;-)

 I'm using the Addi Sock Wonder needles for this; we'll see if with an easier pattern I like it better to work with them. At the moment I still feel pretty clumsy with this tiny circular needle. Oh, and even though I usually don't like to knit the same pattern more than once, I decided to go with the pattern of the 'original socks'. It's called 'Bremen Muster' by Kristin Benecken (free on Ravelry); it's fun and easy to knit and goes so well with a striping yarn. 

... to start Christmas crafting, is it? I have to laugh while I write this, because I'm known to finish handmade x-mas gifts on Christmas Eve, if at all in time. However, I'm participating again in an x-mas ornaments exchange and last year I had to hurry a bit in the end, to get all ornaments done and shipped before Christmas. So... I try to be better organised this year and have started with my gift ornaments. Last year I went for lots of differet crocheted ones, this year I've decided to go for knitted Christmas balls with different motifs. The idea is to choose colours and motifs based on the likings of each participant. As a nice side effect I hope to make use of some of the leftover sock yarns I hoard, since there is only so little yarn needed for each ball.

Some time ago I received the book Julekuler by Arne and Carlos (english titel '55 Christmas Balls to knit') as a gift, so I had ideas at hand to get me started. The first two baubles are done - now to keep it rolling!

My start into 2017 was a really lame one, at least when it comes to my knitting. The stupid cold I caught last year already, came back in full swing just when I thought I was on the mend, and any itch to knit disppeared the same day the snotty nose was back... So apart from a few swatches, this is all I've managed since Christmas...

The start of a pair of fingerless mitts in my team's colours I had planned to wear to our first game in 2017 end of January. Ha, ha, at this rate I won't even wear them to our last game in 2017 in December. I'm not even quite sure I like the cast on round in green, but I guess I have to wait until I reach the main part until I can make a decision whether to frog or not. For now I'm just happy when I add a round or two to the corrugated ribbing once in  a while.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Yes, I know, we are well into January, but it's the first time I'm around, so... not only were we away for new year, but I've also had a terrible cold and the little energy I had was spent on 'routine' things rather than being online. Or even knit. Can you believe it's the first day today I picked up my knitting since Christmas? Anyway, wishing you all a happy and healthy 2017, with lots of times for all the crafty things.

My first finished object this year is these pair of mittens (okay, I finished knitting them before Christmas, but it took me until today to weave in the ends) and with the darn cold we are facing in Germany they got finished at the right time.

And being the winter lover that I am (ha, ha), the mittens express perfectly what I think about the German weather...  The pattern isn't my own, but it's a paid pattern called 'How Cold Is It' by Drunk Girl Designs , and I just made a few modifications to make the mittens perfect for me: a longer cuff, I changed the colours on the back of the hand, knitted the writing in different directions, stuff like that. However, I love my new mittens and I really hope I won't have to wear them for months. Already can't wait for spring to come along...

DH is a huge fan of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, so when a couple of years ago the One Ring Scarf pattern was published, I knew right away that a scarf like that would make a perfect gift for him.  It's double knitting, a technique I like and when I started in August I was sure to have in done for Christmas. Hm, maybe a bit to ambitious? Because that was in 2011, lol. Even though it's not difficult to knit, you need some concentration for the pattern, so it's not a project  for 'waiting room' knitting.  In addition I only worked on it when I wasn't working on a sample and also only when Ulli wasn't around... When I noticed back in 2011 that I wouldn't make it for Christmas, I just decided to finish it for the next year...  good plan, but ahem, I picked the project up again way too late with no chance of finishing it for Christmas and all that got added were a couple of rows. And the same happened in 2013, in 2014 and la la la in 2015 too...

This summer though, I couldn't stand the nagging feeling I always got when I came across the particular project bag any longer and made a 'deal' with myself (or maybe I should say I 'threatened' myself?): Finish for Christmas or frog the whole thing! Which would have been a pity, since by that time about half of the scarf was done. And obviously I really couldn't stand the idea of frogging it, because ta-dah, look:

Done, washed, blocked and already wrapped - just on time to put it under the tree tonight. Whoot! So happy I finally got this done! The name I gave the thing 'the scarf to rule my life for years' (referring to the inscription on the ring 'One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them') tells you all you  need to know about how much of an effort it was.  Now, Ulli better likes it when he opens his gifts tonight... ;-)

Lately I had to work on so many samples for publication, that there was hardly any 'just for fun' knitting time. So the same moment one of my big samples got finished, I really felt the urge to cast on something just for me. I already have lots of socks and fingerless mitts, but funnily enough no mittens that I really like to wear. If it is cold enough to wear mittens, then they should have a very long cuff, shouldn't they? Well, at least for always freezing me... so here's a start:

It took a while to knit the cuff in corrugated ribbing, but it's exactly how I want it to be: extra loooooong!

Now to see how long it'll take me to finish this pair...

The other day I told you about my latest design for SweetGeorgia Yarns, Penna, the triangular shawl in a material mix, but I haven't showed you my 'prototype' yet. When I started to work on this idea, I concentrated on different textures more than on different yarn weights, so I chose a smooth fingering weight merino yarn to go with a curly silk, mohair and nylon blend. The latter is a sport weight, but because of its structure it feels thicker than that.

I like the mix of smooth stripes and fuzzy ones as well as the fact that the Curly Silk is a variegated yarn with one of the greens in the colourway an exact match of the solid colourway.

The other day when I was looking for patterns for crochet ornaments I came across the most adorable Tetraeder Bird pattern by Tanja Osswald.  I made one as a gift for a swap - and I found it so cute that I knew I had to use some of my scraps for more of them. So one morning, my breakfast table looked like this: bread roll, coffee in my fave mug, a boiled egg, a crochet hook and lots of scrap yarn....

Well, it didn't take long until my egg had disappeared and the next eggs cracked open...;-) The Tetraeder Birds have their own style of getting out of their eggs, it seems.

Finally… one of my long-time WiPs is finished! So proud! Mainly because I mustered up the energy to finish it at all.

I started this project, ahem, back in 2009 already. We had a Great American Aran Afghan Knit Along in a German forum, with just one square per month, and I was on track until I had something like 13 or 14 squares and then, no idea why, I put it aside… and the project spent years and years in some dark corner…

Last year I picked it up again and knit the remaining squares (I knit and used all 24 for my blanket, including the ones used as pillows in the book), then it took another couple of months before I felt like assembling it and I started the border in April. Soooooo long and so, so, so boring to knit… The finished size is about 120 x 190 cm. But it’s finally done! Yay for the feeling of accomplishment! :)

As I already said the other day, I was amazed that during the busy summer I've had I managed to knit all of the Tour de Sock patterns. But apparently knitting by a given pattern instead of coming up with ideas myself was what I needed these past weeks.

Well, thanks to Sarah's idea with the supply list in which all materials were listed by 'houses' of Games of Thrones and my Ravelry friend Linda who raised the question whether anyone woud use the house colours, I now have a wonderful colleciton of socks... in the perfect colours, lol. Apparently I get easily obsessed with such stuff... but have a  look yourself.

I am pretty amazed by myself, but indeed, I managed to knit all of the Tour de Sock patterns this year. The last pattern is Entanglements by Shayla Myst and her inspiriation were the creeping vines that seem to have no path in mind as they grow. The placement of the cables were set by a dice, to see which vine forms a cross and a coin to figure out which way the vine was to go. How fun!

My socks turned out pretty long, so I will store them in my wardrobe next to my longies - I know there'll be days in winter when I am happy I can wear them when we go to the stadium to root for our team.

Six Tastes, designed by Krysten Morganti, is a sock in mosaic knitting and by far my favourite TdS pattern this year. I love the idea behind it: 

(From the pattern page)
This mosaic sock pattern is named for a problem described in a 2000-year-old Indian text. The author describes the six tastes of the Ayurveda (sweet, pungent, astringent, sour, saline, and bitter) and tallies up the numbers of ways one may incorporate different combinations of these tastes at once. In this way, he outlines one of the earliest known problems in combinatorics, a branch of mathematics dealing with the sizes and quantities of finite sets.

And the problem was addressed by giving knitters the choicse from three different patterns for the instep and four different patterns for the back. I love it and I think it works so well with the colours I chose.

Well, it seems that all I've worked on other than my samples for new patterns have been socks lately. Today I finished a pair of socks for a friend on the Canary Islands. I promised to knit him some when we met in April and even though I don't know when we'll go back, I've already knit them. A promise is a promise, right? Now only to make sure that they don't end up in someone else's sock drawer before we meet again.

The pattern is called 'Dawlish' by Rachel Cloopey and used wonderful yarn from New Zealand by Vintage Purls.

The next pattern in the Tour de Sock series was designed by the organiser herself, Sarah Bordelon, and it is called 'A Song of Beads and Lace'. Since for this sock the supply list entry was named 'Stark', I had to go with the colour grey. :) A quick knit and I just love the name of the pattern.

The third Tour de Sock pattern is called Diamondback Socks by Kirsten Hall. It's a fun pattern knit in short-row modules and it looks amazing in all kind of variegated and self-striping yarns. My yarn choice was very limited, since I wanted to knit from stash and I had to realize there aren't many variegated yarns green and yellow in my stash. So in the end I went with a yarn I received a short while ago in a 'travelling yarn box', even though it is a bit too light for my taste. Anyway, I really liked the pattern and how the socks turned out.

In one of the groups on Ravelry I'm in, we've run a round of 'travelling socks'. The idea is, that each participant starts a pair of socks, finishes the cuff and then sends the WiP on to a friend in the group. The socks travel from knitter to knitter, whoever wants to participate adds a bit, and once the socks are finished they are returned to the sock owner.

The 'sock owner' provides all details like sizes and construction preferences and also chooses the colours for their socks. It is al ways a fun activity and its fab to see how many beautiful pairs of sock are knit. Since it's only an inch or so everyone adds, it's a project even folks with little knitting time can participate in.

My socks started their journey end of January and I wished for them colours that make you think of faded jeans or the sea on a dull day. Today they cambe back home - and I LOVE them! So me! Many, many thanks to my friends all over the world who knit on them - these will be treasured!

... is the name of the second design in the Tour de Sock. A goregeous cabled pattern and a quicker knit than I had thought. The socks turned out great, but unfortunately a tad too big for me. Well, I'm sure I'll find a loving home for them.

The first of this year's Tour de Sock pattern is a lovely and pretty straight forward lace pattern called Twist and Turns and was designed by Adrienne Fong. A quick and easy knit and I am happy with the result.

Tomorrow is the start date for Tour de Sock, an annual speed-knitting competition named after the famous bike race taking place during the summer in France. During our two months sock knitting tour, six sock patterns are realeased and competitors race to finish each pair of socks in the given time frame, usually 10-11 days. There is a small registration fee and most of it goes to Doctors Without Borders - so this is not only a fab event for all sock knitting enthusiasts, but also helps a great cause. Oh, and there are prizes to win, too, not only for the ones fastest with their needles, but also some random prizes.

The patterns stay a secret until the day they are realease, but before the event starts, there is a supply list given to the pariticipants. Usually in the list the supplies are just called 'sock a' and 'sock b' and so on, but this year Sarah,  the organiser of this terrific event, used the names of the houses in Games of Thrown as bullet... and for the pattern realsed tomorrow the supply under 'Baratheon' is needed... I already made my choice. :)

The even takes place on Ravelry, and it is still time to join the fun.

I wouldn't have thought I managed, but the other two pairs I started for our Stripemania challenge got finished before the end of May, too.

The ones in Stray Cat Sock in Revolution might be a new favourite of mine. So soft and I love the colour combination!

And my third pair, the lovely rainbow in SpinningFates yarn was finished, too. These socks make me smile whenever I look at them, so cheerful!