Not quite…

I have a new sock. It’s far from perfect, and it’s a result of trial and error (less trial, much  more error…), but it’s still a sock. I don’t know if it will ever get a partner, but I hope so.

The back side is a big problem. It wasn´t a very good idea to use the same size needles for both the fair isle front, and the ribbed back, which is also knitted in a completely different yarn. I knew this from the start, while watching the backside grow and grow and get bigger and bigger compared to the front. But knitter’s denial is a powerful thing. “Surely this will fix itself after blocking!” Nope, it didn’t. 

So a tiny note to self. Next time, frog! Rip it out before too much knitting has been done and it feels like an impossible task. Really!

Decisions, decisions…

White…

…or red?

White or red… White or red… I’ve been swatching a little, and I just can’t decide which one I like more. I think I’m leaning towards white.

The yarns are a pure joy to work with. The white one is a bit thinner than the red, which shows in the fabric, but it doesn’t really bother me. I expect the yarns to bloom and even out after blocking. All in all, I’m very pleased with the result. Can’t wait to put everything together for the sock.

Wool smelling season

I don’t know about you, but around this time of year, I develop a strange urge to put my nose into any skein of wool that comes my way. Or to be more precise, not ANY skein of wool. It has to be wool that is as close to its natural state as possible. What I mean is wool that has a certain scent to it. A sheepy, warm, soothing, woolly smell. The more smelly, the better, I say!

So I had to drag out my big box of natural wool from the closet and go through it. It is fall, after all! Out with the bright summer yarns and in with the more subtle ones, the ones you just want to cuddle with in front of the fire. These were the ones that appealed to me the most.

I have a sock in mind for these. It involves a fair isle pattern in the round, but not in the way one might expect. This is ‘real wool’ after all, not reinforced with the slightest bit of nylon or acrylic or anything of the sort, and I don’t want to wear it out. As you can see, the white skein even has some rabbit hair in it!

Can’t wait to start knitting with these! The red yarn is Riihivilla, my all time favorite yarn ever. I still haven’t found any other yarn that compares to it. I just need to get some more, since I’m running a bit low…

(And it’s raining, which increases the urge for wool, but makes for crappy photos…)

Making progress

It looks like my little girl will get some socks after all. I blocked the living daylights out of this sock, and it turned out exactly the right size. Now I just need to knit another one before Christmas…

Also on Ravelry.

Christmas knitting

If you didn’t know it, Christmas is fast approaching and there’s not much time left to knit gifts! At least that’s how it feels, with two kids and a job taking up most of my precious knitting time. At the moment, I’m working on this.

Socks for my youngest. Or possibly socks that will be a gift for a newborn. They’re turning out smaaaaaall! I need to see how they stretch after blocking. Red and white, perfect to get that Christmas feeling.

Also on Ravelry.

Elner socks

Woohoo! I just published my very first pattern for sale on Ravelry. Elner socks. So who is Elner, you might wonder. Elner was my grandfather from my father’s side. He lost his mother at a young age, fought the Finnish Winter War, had his house burn down and finally lost the battle with cancer in his sixties, when I was only two years old. I think he deserves a pair of socks, don’t you?

The inspiration for this sock came from, well, lots of complaining about cold feet. I needed to figure out how to make the cuff really warm. And stranded knitting, with cables, doubled… I think that qualifies as warm, possibly HOT!

I also knitted a Shedir hat in the same technique some time ago. I really liked the complexity of cabled knitting in two colors, and decided to try it out on a sock. This is what came off the needles.

Here’s the pattern on Ravelry. I hope you like it!

New start, new blog

It’s been a long time since I wrote anything related to knitting. My old blog Heidi’s Knitbits faded away in 2009, and it feels too old to revive. It’s probably better to make a completely fresh start.

Although the old blog died, my obsession with knitting didn’t. I have a million ideas, some of which will eventually be turned in to patterns. The purpose of this blog will be to share those patterns with other knitters and get some feedback. So welcome! I hope you enjoy!