Be careful what you wish for

Earlier this week I was frustrated after having to frog the Whirl blanket for ar least the sixth time. I thought, if only I could have a chunk of time with no distractions to really focus on it and get past whatever silly mistake I was making.

At the end of that work day my manager told me they were letting me go, effective immediately. Suddenly, I have all the time in the world.

I am so disappointed that the house/wedding will likely have to wait even longer now, and I’m not looking forward to interviews or being the newbie AGAIN, but I have to say this is the least anxious I’ve been for months and months.

Plus I’m now onto the text part of the Whirl blanket, with no more than a few stitches needing to be tinked along the way. Bright side.

Hannah

xXx

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Sock it to me Monday 38

The shortie socks did not work out. After the first sock didn’t fit very well I made adjustments when making the second, but it still didn’t fit so I frogged them both.  I still can’t believe my gauge is so different just because I used a circular rather than DPNs.

The socks will still happen though! I can use the DPNs that are free now because I finally finished the Christmas socks, despite their best efforts to be frogged.

Yes, it bothers me that the toes aren’t identical, but after at least 10 mistakes/frogs/restarts there’s no way I’m undoing one just to add a few rows of red. As far as I’m concerned they’re pretty darn good for my first ever striped socks. Plus they’re nice and warm, which is perfect for the Scottish pre-winter Autumn.

Man I love making socks!

Hannah

xXx

Sock it to me Monday 37

Socks are progressing woo hooo!

I’m on the foot of my second shortie sock right now.

Buuuut I’m considering frogging the first one and redoing it. It turns out that my tension is quite different on a sock circular compared to DPNs and it doesn’t fit quite right. I love knitting socks and I love the yarn so why not!

Also I finally finished the first Christmas sock. 8th time lucky.

So far I’ve only had to cast on the second sock twice, and I’m really hoping that will be the only restart this one needs. Fingers crossed, tight.

Hannah

xXx

Recent happenings

Many things have happened, but I’m just going to focus on a few of them.

Firstly, I got a new job (yes,another one) and I think I might actually like it there, which I wasn’t sure would ever happen again. So yay for that!

Secondly, I feel 1/7th less silly for the last time I had to frog this sock:

I don’t know whether it’s a mistake in the pattern or it just assumes you’re actually paying attention and will adjust, but if you follow it to the letter then the heel flap does end up on the front of the sock rather than the back. It’s all sorted now and I’ll definitely be ready when I eventually get to the second sock. 

And of course I saved the best happening for last. As of last month I have an excuse to make aaaaaaaaaaaaall the tiny pretty things, because my amazing cousin had a little baby girl.

This is Phoebe:

She really is that teeny tiny! I’m definitely going to have to downsize my patterns for a wee while. 

If all goes well I should be meeting my little niece next week, so my hooks and needles are whizzing away trying to get everything finished in time to hand over. This is my first offering because babies always seem to be swamped in pastel shades and I find it terribly boring.

There will be more to come in all sorts of fun colours too. Ooh I can’t wait for some squishy baby snuggles!

Hannah

xXx

Froggy froggy froggy

I was going to do a Sock it to me Monday post yesterday, but my sock ended up looking like this:

If my calculations are correct, this is now the sixth time I’ve started and subsequently frogged it. Normally I would have taken the hint by now and found something else to use the yarn for, but I just can’t seem to let this one go.

Today could be the day though! I had a wisdom tooth out last night so I’m off work feeling sorry for myself recovering, which gives me a clear chunk of time to really concentrate on my knitting and hopefully get it all right. 

Fingers crossed.

Hannah

xXx

 

That is the ugliest effing square I’ve ever seen*

*it’s not plagiarism if you change a word, right?

I thought I had my mojo back up and running, but then I made the mistake of ignoring that little voice telling me I didn’t like what was appearing at the end of my crochet hook.

What hideous colours. But the next few rounds will fix it, won’t they?

Nope. Still hideous.

I frogged the whole thing and now it’s in the naughty corner for a while.

It’s strange that the colours I chose for the blanket all look so good together, but take out two or three of them and it can end up a disaster! I used to think I had such an eye for colour.

Well, I’ll try shuffling some around and maybe swapping some out, and see if I can get something workable. Maybe even pretty. Wish me luck.

Hannah

xXx

Sock it to me Monday 33

Have I mentioned that Diagon Ally is addictive? I started a pair for myself last week and so far I’ve knitted them on the sofa, in bed, in the car, on a park bench, and in a cafe!  All this work means I’m already halfway through the first foot.

I’m using the Schoppel Boots yarn bought in Dunoon, just to see how the cotton content plays along. So far I can’t tell much difference from my usual wool/nylon yarn except that this feels ever so slightly rougher on my fingers as I work with it. It’ll be interesting to see what effect soaking/blocking will have when I’m done.

As for the shortie sock, that has been frogged. I hadn’t worked a stitch on it for weeks and it was on the verge of becoming a UFO so I bit the bullet and pulled it all out. Part of me is sad that my plan for the socks didn’t work out, but mainly I’m relieved that I don’t have to keep working on something that wasn’t making me happy at all.

So that’s my sock news for this week. What’s everyone else working on?

Hannah

xXx

Sock it to me Monday 30

I finished my happy neon socks at last and wore them at the weekend.

These are Hermione’s Every Day Socks (Rav link) using Neon Rainbow sock yarn from Siobhan’s Crafts (I cannot recommend enough).

The first Diagon Ally sock is done and I’m whizzing through the leg of the second one.

And my shortie sock currently looks like this.

But there’s a wee niggle at the back of my mind telling me to frog it all. I’m not sure why, but I’m just not that happy with it. I’ll give it a few days in the naughty corner and see how I feel after that.

What do you guys think, Blogville?

Hannah

xXx

Sock it to me Monday 25

Oh this heel is going to finish me off, I swear.

It’s hardly changed since last week, thanks to the saga.

First, while trying to admire my handiwork with the heel flap I noticed that a few rows back there were some purl stitches right in the middle. Apparently counting to two was just too much for me and I’d turned the work after only finishing one needle.

Second, in the process of tinking back to fix that problem I realised there was one needle of 18 stitches and one of only 17. I went back a few more rows and the count wasn’t fixing itself, so I stuck in a lifeline and frogged the whole heel flap.

Yes, there were only 17 stitches all the way down. No, I don’t know how it happened or how I didn’t notice for an entire heel flap.

Thankfully it then went smooth as silk.

But third, the heel turn. I’m now on my fourth attempt. I can’t even remember all the ways I’ve messed it up, but believe me when I say I am never ever EVER using this heel pattern again.

Please keep your fingers crossed/send prayers/good vibes/whatever you do my way that this time I can get the stupid thing right!

Hannah

xXx

WIP Wednesday 05.08.20

Current WIP count: 7

Yes I’m one WIP down, but that’s because I frogged rather than finished something.

The Havana blanket has been sitting in a box for over a year, and I realised the thought of working on it wasn’t bringing me any joy, so I frogged it.
I’m actually quite relieved now it’s gone. Maybe I’ll try again one day if I find the right yarn.

I’m also chugging along with my socks. Apologies for the photo quality – it’s miserable weather in Scotlandia today.

I sort of wish I’d gone for a contrasting heel as well, especially looking at the amount of main yarn I have left.

So these may end up as not-quite-matching socks in the end. That’s okay though; they’re only for me and hardly anyone will see the toes whether they match or not. I can’t wait to get these done and make a start on another pair for The boyfriend.

Hannah
xXx

Sock it to me Monday 17

I am disappointed.

Even after measuring my feet and swatching, the first Rose City Roller wasn’t quite going to fit. So I had to frog and start again one size up.

Considering how little yarn was left when I frogged, I decided to go with contrasting cuffs and toes this time.

Hopefully these will actually fit me!

Hannah

xXx

Sock it to me Monday 13

I finished the boyfriend’s socks, and this time I’ve even sewn the ends in!

He’s very happy with them, which makes me very happy too.

I’ve already frogged and restarted my pride socks three times (I just couldn’t choose a pattern) so they’re only this far along:

I’ve only ever used this yarn for amigurumi before and the colours came out looking quite random, so I’m pleasantly surprised to be getting regular stripes this time. I did say I wanted to try some self-striping!

Now the frogging has stopped it’s going pretty quickly, so I think I might be able to make two pairs this month.

Aren’t socks fun!

Hannah

xXx