For something quick and imminently satisfying, may I suggest a pair of Stahl Limbo dk Socks?
I finished these in 2 days and used just 2 x 50g balls. I worked 54 stitches on 3mm needles, with a 6 inch cuff. The socks are very squishy, perfect for dancing in the new year ;o). They're warm too and in this weather, perfect to protect me from frost-bitten toes.
I made no attempt to even make them identical. There would had been no hope anyway, as
1. There was about 2 meters of yarn left There was almost an emergency call to Dawn to see if she had any left over from her pair They might not be the same colourway, but sometimes, you've just got to go with the flow.
2. I can't see the pattern repeat in the pair.
3. I had doubts that they were the same dyelot and went back to check the labels.
I was so eager to photograph them, that I had to compromise. I had daylight but there was a very slight drizzle. The colours are difficult to photograph. With a flash the blues and greens just lost it's intensity and looked really washed out.
That little skein in between the socks is the remnants of 100g of this yarn.
and the artistic shot, here's a little greenery for your winter
I wonder what the neighbours would had thought if they looked in the windows... me with my feet in the air.
New Years Resolutions
I haven't decided which ones that I'll make but I know that one of them is going to have to do with reducing the size of my stash and another one is going to have something to do with procrastination.
Kiri with the scallopy edge
Instructions are written for the short row edge. I'll post the draft tomorrow...
In the meantime, for more photos on my socks (because who can get enough of these beauties ....)
These socks were so beautiful, that everyone had to have their photos taken with it.
Did you see all those lovely handknits on the Alpaca Woman, Yvonne and Karin? simply gorgeous. (Rowanette Jill's very pretty cardi is form Marks and Spencer's Per Una range (sadly all gone by the time of the sales).
Photos taken at Liberty, where else?
Christmas was a perfect lazy day for us this year. It was the first Christmas that the husband and I spent together, alone, without any guests or family. It's nice to see families and friends, but also equally nice to have some 'together' time.
We got some flowers to brighten the house. I know that they aren't christmas-sy red and gold, but I like hyacinths because they smell nice. (Have you noticed how difficult it is to find scented flowers?)
Then onwards to capture Christmas lunch. Come on, you know you'll want a haunch of venison...
Fortunately, hubby bought a 10 lb ham for our Christmas lunch (cold ham for christmas dinner, ham and eggs for boxing day breakfast, ham sandwiches for boxing day lunch, ham and lentils for boxing day dinner, ham and baked potatoes for day after boxing day dinner.. etc.) so we didn't starve, although we might soon start oinking.
We got home from the hunt walk and opened our pressies before having our lunch. (Does anyone ever have strength to open presents after Christmas lunch?)
Hope that your day was as nice as mine. Now, I'm off to write some thank you letters for my very lovely presents.
Best wishes to you and your family for a safe and happy Christmas. May it be filled with good cheer, lots of wool and plenty of knitting time.
No, your screen is not paying tricks on you and no I did not edit the photos toi 'create' knitting content... This is the same sock pattern as I'd previously posted. It's a moss stitch rib. 3 stitches knit followed by 3 stitched of moss... et voilà! This time, I used the Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock in River and the purple.
Sometimes, you just have to do things more than once to prove that you can do it. Thanks to everyone who'd suggested that I try the cuff in the contrasting yarn to eke out a sock using a skein of Lorna's Laces. As I'd mentioned to Mary earlier today, when you buy 2 skeins of yarn to make a pair of socks, you tend to have enough for toes and heels, but doing the cuff might push it... so I wanted to try this just to prove that it can be done.
See, no cheating on the toes.
See how well matched the foot of these socks are? Look at the patterning on the gusset... amazing. this never happens to on with hand-painted yarns and I wasn't even trying to match them.
See the echoing splodge at this side of the sock.
Here's the artistic shot.... I have another even more artistic shot that I'll show sometime in the future.
First to answer a few questions
The Baby booties in my header
To everyone that has asked about the baby booties in my header, it is mostly a Debbie Bliss pattern from 'The baby Knits book'.
It's an easy pattern to make and the changes that I'd made, were done in hopes that they would stay on the baby's feet.
The Steak and Ale Pie Recipe
Here's a link to the American Version. Same pie but all the measurements are in imperial measue and some of the ingredients are explained.
Now, back to the Iris Garden Mossy Socks
First, a recap, I has lots of single skein Lorna's Laces. The mission, to make a medium size pair of woman's socks using 1 skein of Lorna's Laces and a bit of contrasting colour for the heels and toes. How far will one skein go?
So earlier in the week, I left you with this. Both socks got to here, and I was rapidly running out of the Iris Garden.
Here's another view of the same sock. It's too early to start the toes.
I did finish them, but I had to use more contrasting yarn on the foot.
Here's a close-up. 8 rows of the foot were done in the purple. So while not perfect, this confirmed that you can make a pair out of a skein of Lorna's Laces Shepard sock, if you use contrasting heels and toes. (I just need to do a lightly shorter leg).
It's not that obvious from a distance that I cheated the foot.
The total length of the leg from top of the cuff to the start of the heel flap is 5.75 inches (14.75 cm), the heel flap is 2.25 inches (6cm), the foot length from heel flap to start of toe decreases 6 inches (16 cm) where there is .8 inch (2cm) of purple, and standard wedge toe. The stitch gauge is 8.5 stitches per inch (2.5 cm) and 12.5 rows per inch (2.5 cm). The leg was done on 66 stitches and the foot on 64 stitches. Why all this detail? Not exactly, back to square one, but I'm going to try again and this time decrease the leg length to 5.25 inches.
Here's the artistic shot. Funny how washed out this yarn looks under a winter sky. It's actually more vibrant in real life.
Well, not American exactly, but still very good. Yes, not only do I knit, I bake too. Although there's a fish on it, it's actually a steak and ale pie. Comfort food for the winter... yum!
Don't tell me that you think that it kind of looks like a bird's head. This is definitely not a turkey pie.
Maybe I ought to stick to knitting.
STEAK AND ALE PIE
From the kitchen of All Tangled Up
Serves 4
Prep 30mins (there's a whole lot of chopping)
Cooking 95mins
600g braising steak, cubed 2 tbsp flour
1tsp salt
½tsp pepper
1tsp dried thyme
500ml beer (I prefer Guiness)
250ml beef stock (I used the fresh tubs from the supermarket, but you can use boullion cubes)
1tbsp vegetable oil
2 large onions, chopped
2 large leeks, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
3 fat garlic cloves, minced
bouquet garni
2tsps English mustard (you can use dijon if you prefer it milder)
450g puff pastry (buy the ready rolled because life is just too short)
beaten egg
Trim the steak and marinate in the ale overnight. Drain, reserving the ale, coat the meat with the flour, salt, pepper and thyme. (Don't use more flour or the gravy will get really gluey) . Heat the oil and brown the meat a few pieces a time, removing the cooked pieces to a bowl when they’re done. Put the onion, garlic, leeks carrots, and mustard in the same pan and cook untll the onion and carrots are soft.
If it looks dry, add a bit of water. When the mixture is cooked, tip it into the bowl with the meat. Return the empty pan to the hob, turn up the heat and pour in half he beer. Let it bubble, scraping all the bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Pour everything into the bowl with the meat, and wipe the pan clean. Return it to the hob, pour in the contents of the bowl, add the stock, boutquet garni and all the remaining beer and simmer for 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 190C. Roll out the pastry till it’s 50mm thick. Pour in the meat and liquid, add the pastry top and press down round the rim. If the pastry isn't touching the filling, you might need to set an egg cup in the middle to support the pastry.
Trim the edges. Decorate with pastry trimmings, brush with egg and bake for 40 minutes till golden brown. Serve with baked potatoes. (yes, you can serve with mash potatoes too, but baked is healthier!)
You can prepare the filling in advance, which is pretty handy if you've got to work... the best bit, even if you ate the whole pie, by yourself in one sitting, the hand-knitted socks would still fit.
One final point, don't eat the bouquet garni.
(This is to distract you from the sock dilemma ). Yes, it's true when you start running low on yarn, you do knit faster.
Continue reading for Pie Recipe (US measurements version) ..
STEAK AND ALE PIE - 'version American'
From the kitchen of All Tangled Up
Serves 4
Prep 30mins (there's a whole lot of chopping)
Cooking 95mins
1 lb 4 oz.stewing steak, cubed
2 tbsp flour
1tsp salt
½tsp pepper
1tsp dried thyme
16 oz beer (I prefer Guiness, but you can use any beer. Just a point to note, it works better with a heavy beer than a light one)
8 oz beef stock (I used the fresh tubs from the supermarket, but you can use boullion cubes)
1tbsp vegetable oil
2 large onions, chopped
2 large leeks, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
3 fat garlic cloves, chopped
bouquet garni (this is a little herb posy. You can make one by tying together a sprig of thyme, a bay leaf, and a couple of stalks of parsley)
2tsps English mustard (you can use dijon or any other brand if you prefer it milder)
1 lb puff pastry (buy the ready rolled because life is just too short)
beaten egg
Trim the steak and marinate in the ale overnight. Drain, reserving the ale, coat the meat with the flour, salt, pepper and thyme. (Don't use more flour or the gravy will get really gluey) . Heat the oil and brown the meat a few pieces a time, removing the cooked pieces to a bowl when they’re done. Put the onion, garlic, leeks carrots, and mustard in the same pan and cook untll the onion and carrots are soft.
If it looks dry, add a bit of water (or beer). When the mixture is cooked, pour it into the bowl with the meat. Return the empty pan to the hob, turn up the heat and pour in half the beer. Let it bubble, scraping all the bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Pour everything into the bowl with the meat, and wipe the pan clean. Return it to the hob, pour in the contents of the bowl, add the stock, bouquet garni and all the remaining beer and simmer for 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375F. Roll out the pastry till it’s ¼ inch thick.(This is easier to do, if you the pastry is at room temperature) Pour in the meat and liquid, add the pastry top and press down round the rim. If the pastry isn't touching the filling, you might need to set an egg cup in the middle to support the pastry.
Trim the edges. Decorate with pastry trimmings, brush with egg and bake for 40 minutes until golden brown. Serve with baked potatoes. (yes, you can serve with mash potatoes too, but baked is healthier!)
Pooling
'How do you combat pooling?' asks Kathie and Eyeleen. Beth suggests a slip stitch pattern, and Siow Chin alternates with 2 skeins. Others like the pooling and just leave it. I personally do a combination of this, but for socks, I tend to rip and try different patterns until it works. As Rowanette Jill said, the likelihood of me doing a brightly coloured varigated sweater for myself is pretty slim, so I haven't crossed that bridge yet. I find it a bit cumbersome to work 2 strands of yarns together. For these socks, I did precisely that, alternating a strand of vareigated with a strand a nearly solid. It was a messy technique for me, the yarns got horribly tangled. I think that to work with variegated yarns, you need to have a bit of patience and be willing to rip until you find what makes it work or be happy with the results even with it pools. If you don't have the patiences to rip and you're too anal to deal with the pooling, knitting with varigated yarns will probably take a few years off your lifespan.
The mossy sock
Maybe I was too hasty, ripping the cuff and reknitting after only an inch or so, but experience has it that if it doesn't seem right, just carrying on, isn't going to fix it, so I tend to rip early to avoid further tears. With 66 stitches, I still have some pooling on the cuff but I left it, as I can see the pooling 'moving', so that in effect I get a striping effect.
Looking back, at other Lorna's Laces, it has a similar effect to these.
Of course, knitting isn't fun without excitement. In my infinite wisdom, I'd decided that 1 skein of variegated + 1 skein of solid would give me 1 pair of ladies socks adequate for a medium sized foot. Figuring that all I need to do is eke out the variegated yarn by making contrasting toes and heels. Suddenly, I have doubts. The legs is 6 inches long and the remaining yarn on the ball feels light. The excitement is too much to bear, do you think I'm going to make it?
When I first started knitted socks about 3 year ago, neither pattern matching nor pooling were any consideration. Now, all you seamstresses would probably be appalled by such slapdash-ishness. Yes, I've made my own curtains and yes I did bother to pattern match, but only for the window, not for all the curtains in the room. (These days if I did the same curtain for the house, you can bet that every window would have to be matched perfectly)
While putting the laundry away the other day, I came upon these socks. These were the second socks that I'd made, encouraged by Emma and Thos. I used Lorna's Laces Shephard sock in Forest, 64 stitches on 2.75mm needles. I gave them to my husband, who still wears them. It was a very basic pattern from Yankee Knitter, bought from Downtown Yarns in NYC, on a yarn crawl with Kay. It was the first time that I had met Kay and she must had thought me completely yarn starved as I was unable to stop myself from buying yarn at every shop that we'd visited that day.
Clearly this is an extreme example of pooling. The pooling was consistent on both sides.
Today, I would rip that bad boy and start again, but way back then, I was much more gung-ho and thought it part of the learning process, so focused more on getting the technique right and understanding the construction.
Now , I see pooling and I rip, mercilessly.
This went into the frog pond. 70 stitches on Lorna's Laces Shephard socks in Iris Garden on 2.5m = pool. Maybe pool of tears is more accurate. I'm going to have another go at 66 stitches and see how that goes. I don't mind if it pools nicely, but if it doesn't, that bad boy is going down for the count.
Thanks to Sue for getting me the blue Opal Uni and addis, so quickly.
I thought that the opal was a bit rough, so I washed it and conditioned it with a bit of pantene. It really softened up a treat.
I'd decided to do Devan with the blue solid colour and the patch detail. Sometimes, I'm not sure why I bother to block it. Can you tell that the bottom one has been blocked and the top one hasn't?
As I suspected, even with blocking the wonky stitches stayed wonky. That's the problem being out of practice with intarsia.
Now sure what happened but there are an awful lot of ends to sew in. Horrifying really. Can you see how much those hems roll? honest, after blocking, they will be FLAT.
Here's the artistic shot...
This is the 6-12 month size and I was amazed at how big that it looked. The only change that I'd made to the original pattern was to change the stocking stitch edging to a garter stitch one. I'm not a great fan of rolling hems. I've bought buttons, but the problem is I'd bougth 6 and need 7. I also wanted to take the photos before it got darker, or started to rain. There hasn't been much knitting here, so not much to show really. I'm also amazed at how bright this thing looks and am now getting cold feet about shipping it to the baby that I've knitted it for. Don't you hate that? all the hard work to finish it and then doubts at the last moment!