SOCK YARN BLANKIE IS BORN!

Hello there! What dismal weather we are having. It always seems to be, that the last few weeks of the school term are spent roasting alive in a classroom and as soon as the holidays begin, the weather decides to play games! Still, the weather doesn't affect the ability to knit....... just the choice of where to knit. My preferred choice is always outside and stubborn to the end, outside it has been...... with yarn and squares and 2.5 DPNS taking flight in the gusts! Nevertheless, a new 'star' has been born; the colourful, the fabulous, the time-consuming, the completely addictive 'Sock Yarn Blankie'!!!!!! He's (yes, definitely a 'he') been on my 'to do' list for quite a while and it had always been my intention to make a start as soon as the summer holidays began. So, on Tuesday, my good pal josiekitten came over for the day and amidst chat, catching up, lunching, laughing and much tea drinking, Blankie was born.
What do you think so far? Colourful? Fun? No guesses how long it will take to complete though; at least a couple years and lots and lots of pairs of socks. SMILE! It's to be completely made from left-over sock yarn. The pattern is on Shelly Kang's blog page, The Heathen Housewife. If you take a look on Ravelry, there are some very beautiful finished blankets. Here are some pics of mine so far .......



Like it?


Hope so...


Anyway, the pics above show progress so far. A start has been made and my intention is to pick 'Blankie' up and add to whenever there is new sock yarn about or the Blankie Mojo is strong.

The first square was made using the leftover yarn from the first pair of socks I ever made. I think I showed a photo of them in one of my very early blog posts.


Once you have made two squares, you can then pick up stitches on each to make a third and joining square. It's very simple, very clever and EXCEEDINGLY ADDICTIVE! BEWARE!




I love it so far! Josiekitten and I swapped yarn, so now there is extra temptation with the delightful thought of new and exciting colourways and yarn patterns to play with.


I'm also making my first attempt at crotchet; well, first for more years than I care to mention. I can remember making several granny square blankets when I was quite small, but have not touched a crochet hook since. I'm making a really easy summery bag, big enough to hold my holiday knitting plus spares....just in case! The pattern is a free download; thanks Lucy of Attic24. I am using Patons 'Sorbet', which is mainly cotton, and still available in ten pretty colours. I think it has been discontinued, but you can grab a bargain at Kemps where it is being sold for 79p a ball.



I hope you noticed my lovely smooth and colourful 'Knit Pro' crochet hook! Present to myself! Hopefully there will be progress to report on both of these projects in my next post; maybe even a finished bag! Then I'll have to decide whether to line it or not. As I've never lined a bag before I will have to do some careful research. I'll let you know next time.

The weekend is fast approaching and the end of my first week of summer hols. ! Enjoy!