~Lots of work do to~

Well, not quite starting to feel swamped, thank goodness! But, I've got loads of work to do.. still working on mittens and now a bundle of socks and fingerless mittens, yay!
Wasn't feeling like I was making much progress till I started seeing results, and boy does it feel good to be able to see some results!

Pretty excited too, though I don't know why because I don't know how to spin yarn, but just dying to try it. I just watched a few videos on spinning cotton.. one technique they've use in Ecuador and its so simple! They do it by hand which I'm sure takes a lot of practice to get the hang of but they don't use much in the way of equipment... which is why i call it simple lol. The other the lady just simply brushed the cotton away from the seed in a circular process and just simply grafted each piece spinning the out in a circle away from the seed! So much simpler than I thought it was...

I just have to try this for myself. So, perhaps one day I will have to get my hands on a spinning wheel!

~Midnight Waves~

***UPDATED***

Needles: dpn's size 1/2.50mm
Gauge: 9sts and 11rows in 1inch.
Yarn: Knit Picks stroll sock yarn - Sapphire Heather
50g/231yards
fingering weight
75% superwash merino wool, 25% nylon

Midnight Waves:
Pattern: (Feather and Fan).
1. knit round.
2. knit round.
3. dpn#2 (k2tog) two times, k1, (yo, k1) five times, (k2tog) three times.
dpn#3 (k2tog) three times, (yo, k1) five times, k1, (k2tog) two times.
4. knit round.
Cuff:Using long tail cast on, cast on 64 sts.
1. Join and knit in the round for five rounds.
2. k2tog, yarn over; around.
3. Knit for five rounds.
4. Fold cuff over and knit around, joining the cast on edge together with the stitches on the needles. ***you can hide your tail inside the picot cuff if you like, I did this for less ends to weave in afterwards***5. Work "Feather and Fan" for four pattern repeats. (A total of 16 rounds).
Heel:You can work any heel you want. I worked the good old heel flap. If you choose to knit a short row heel, can just skip past the gusset decreases and just start knitting in the round, keeping the pattern on the instep sts only.
6. a.) Slip first stitch, knit across.
    b.) Slip first stitch, purl across.
Repeat both rows for a total of 20 rows!
**(more or less depending on your desired heel).
Turning Heel:
1. Knit across 20 sts, ssk, k1, turn.
2. Slip first stitch, p12, p2tog, p1, turn.
*continue this way until you have 20sts remaining on your needle, ending with a purl side row.*
Working Gusset:
1. Slip first st and k9sts.
2. With new needle, (DPN#1) k the remaining 10sts of heel. Pick-up 10sts in the slipped sts of the heel flap. Pick-up two more sts between heel flap and instep sts (this closes any gaps that might happen otherwise).
**Begin working "Feather and Fan" on instep.
3. (DPN#2) knit all sts (rnd1 of patt).
    (DPN#3) knit all sts (rnd 1 of patt).
4. (DPN#4) Pick-up two sts (to close gap), then pick-up your 10sts from slipped stitches of heel flap. Knit 10sts. (**the beginning of your round will be the centre of your heel)
**NOTE: work front and back of the leg the same.**
Rnd5:
DPN#1 Knit to last 3sts, k2tog, k1.
DPN#2-3 Knit all instep sts.
DPN#4 K1, ssk, k to the end.
Rnd6:
DPN#1 Knit all sts.
DPN#2-3 work rnd three of pattern.
DPN#4 Knit all sts.
***Continue in this manner, dec every second round until you have a total of 64 sts***Foot:Continue working your feather and fan pattern on the instep sts (dpn's#2-3) and in st st over sole of foot (dpn's#1&4).
**I only work 12 more pattern repeats before the toe.
Toe Decreases:
Rnds 1,4,7,9,11: dpn#1 knit to last 3sts and k2tog, k1. dpn#2 k1, ssk knit to the end. dpn#3 knit to the last 3sts, k2tog, k1. dpn#4 k1, ssk, knit to the end.
Rnds 2,3,5,6,8,10: knit all sts.
Rnd 12 and all remaining rounds: same as rnd1 until you have a total of 16sts remaining.
Break yarn and graft toe.
Finishing:Weave in all your lose ends, block if desired, and wear them proudly :)

D.Boyes



Been trying for quite a while to make a pair of socks for my daughter.. up until now I've failed miserably. They were either too big or it just wasn't working... the pattern didn't quite work with the colour... So here, i find myself working gone these... first picot edge cuff and oodles of waves. Still working out the pattern as i go... if I'm lucky i will be able to get a second pair out of the other ball of this yarn. So between the two pairs one pair will definitely fit her and I will be able to work out the kinds in the pattern. I will post it here once I'm finished.

~gone to the birds~

No pics yet... at least none to get excited about. Ive got a plan in the works for a pair of knee high socks. Having a little trouble with finding the right yarn though... looks like i might have to settle for the "hand wash only", for now. At least until I find another trusted and greatly loved yarn supplier.

Anyway, to the plan at hand... think birds, lots of birds. Well, at least enough to cover your legs in delightful little chirping balls of feathers.. balls of feathers that resemble birds... oh, and twigs, leaves and a few flowers here and there just for an added tough of something....

... hmmm...

Well, Ive already got my chart drawn up and hopefully as perfected in stitches as it is in my brain.. and on paper.

Colour though, just a few days left to decide on just the right eye catching and most delightfully perfect shade of... well... perfect! Yup, perfect... its what they will be once the right colour is picked... so, no more ranting for me, I'm off to scour over oodles of colour.

Wish me luck :)


*UPDATE!*
Well, I'm as excited as a nutter freshly escaped from a padded room... I ordered my yarn and its on its way! Soon as it gets here I can start my socks, YAY!!!

**UPDATE**
Ok, I finally got my yarn, it felt like forever, but it finally arrived!
Started out working away like mad, I really did try to get at least one of the socks done within a week... but that didn't work out as planned. And of course, like a fool, I waited until I was almost ready to start the heel on the first sock before trying it on. So, once I wised up and tried it on, I found that my stitches were too tight and pulled apart! I was crushed and ready to lose it... I just could not figure out what I did wrong.. Until.... I looked back at the first pair of socks.. they are the same guage, same needle size and same yarn (atleast weight/brand).
So what on earth could have caused this...
Well, it didn't take long to figure it out.. Only about a week! Duh... I decided to only carry my yarn over three stitches, no more... well, on the first pair I pushed it to 5 stitches as much as possible! So I've decided this has got to be the reason...
AAARRRGGGHHHHH!!!! */rips out some hair*
So in the end, I'm going to rip them back to the cuff and begin again! Being overly generous with my floats just like the first pair... and well maybe losen up my tension... oh, and TRY THEM ON frequently!!!
I will deffinatly post some pictures once I'm done, they really are worth the effort, they look great, even though they dont fit lol.

~Circle Throw/Wrap~

Finally finished this sucker! It's 62.5" at the widest length... It is circular.. and well, very girly!

Detail of the edging.

Done! Good thing too... I don't know how long I'm going to wait between mitts again.. I had finished one and decided I would wait a while and get back to the second one after a break. Well, started off sounding like a good idea, at least until I lost my paper with notes and needle sizes on it :( I blame my kids though (most like was them, but there is a slight chance I lost it).... but, in the end, they worked out great!

~Hat's & Bread, together at last~

 Well.. finally finished this one... what was supposed to be a quick one sitter project.. well, it turned into a few days. In all though, its finished, THANK GOODNESS.. I was getting pretty sick of it.
Still planning on making a pair of mittens and maybe a scarf to go with it. Should prove interesting at the very least.

And yeah, I know its not knitted... But hey, gotta say I'm quite please with myself on this one. A few failed attempts, but finally a tasty loaf of sour dough bread.. mmm mmm mmmmm... and it was yummy too :p
Started out with a home made sour dough starter.. not as easy as it sounds, especially not when you continually forget about it :( A few websites later, a few hours of reading tips and tricks.. but in all, definitely worth the time and effort.

~fingerless mitts~

 Well, here they are... the second mitt is still in progress. The right hand mitt is finished and didn't turn out too bad. Though, there are several things I will definitely have to change in the future..

 And here is the back....

And the second mitt still in progress...