JANUARY SOCKS FINISHED!!!

Just finished the first pair of my 'Sock Challenge 2009' socks! They were made with Noro sock yarn that I received for Christmas from Mr Snoopydog. The colours are fab, but the yarn is a little coarse on the hands when you are working with it. It also has lots ot very thin and then very thick bits, which is sometimes tricky when you are working on 2.5's. The pattern is the 'Waving Not Drowning' sock pattern which is free from the Violet Green website.

Oh and while I'm at it......just must show you the pair I cast on last night. Just couldn't resist the colours! It's a Colinette 'Jitterbug' yarn and the colourway is 'Mardi Gras'. I'm just using the Yarn Harlot's 'Plain Sock Recipe', as I want a simple plain pattern to have on the go alongside other things. The Yarn Police will probably be after, as this was a 2009 purchase from the Colinette website and I'm supposed to be on a stash bust!!! I was buying some yarn for something specific (which is allowed!), but this colourway just begged to be bought. Same postage price whether one skein or three....er, yes there are two more skeins of 'Jitterbug'. I'll show you those another time. Just feast your eyes on these gorgeous colours for now.

BRATISLAVA HAT AND MITTS

Completed these in a weekend, well finally finished on the Monday evening. Fab pattern, gorgeous yarn, quick to knit, look great! (well I think so). They are made using Colinette Prism (2 skeins of 145 frangipani). The pattern is from the Colinette booklet, 'Artyfacts'.They were made for my youngest daughter, who is working for the UNDP in Bratislava at the moment. The temperatures have dropped as low as -15 degrees this winter. She has already reported back.....and they are keeping her nice and snuggly!

There are some really fab colourways in this yarn and the total cost was about £10. Not bad eh! The Colinette website is very, very addictive with lots of gorgeous yarns.

FIRST FINISHED ITEMS OF 2009

I've been knitting rather frantically in the last two or three days, in order to get a couple of items complete before going back to school on Monday. The scarf is the Rowan 'Tainted Scarf' pattern and knit using Rowan 'Colourscape'. The range of colourways in this yarn are really lovely. The pattern said two skeins, but I only used one and the finished scarf is easily long enough.

I exchanged the other skein for a different colurway, at my local John Lewis. Hmmmm....I can knit another one now. Bonus!

The socks have been waiting to be finished for ages.....since before the rush to complete Christmas presents. I wanted them finished, so that I am ready to start some lovely new 2009 projects. I hate having unfinished bits and pieces lying around for too long. I bought the wool from a little yarn shop in Aberystwyth last August, whilst we were in Wales for my son's wedding. It is a Regia Kaffe Fassett design, colourway 4259.The pattern is the Yarn Harlot's 'Basic Sock Recipe'and it works really well for a plain 'no need to think' pair of socks.
I'm now about to cast on the first pair of my 2009 Sock Challenge socks, using some gorgeous Noro sock yarn bought by Mr Snoopydog, as a Christmas gift for me! Yum! Yum! You'll have to wait until next time to see.......oh, the suspense!

Sock Challenge 2009

Well, I've now made my choices of yarn for the 2009 'Sock Challenge'. It was great fun deciding which yarns to choose. I have chosen twelve different brand names and aim to choose a different pattern each month.....watch this space. Some of the yarns have been chosen for a particular reason. January's 'Noro' was a Christmas gift from Mr Snoopydog, so had to be first of the year. August's yarn was bought in Hay-on-Wye in August 2008, whilst we were staying in Wales for our son's wedding. The Opal hand-painted yarn was originally bought in Hay-on-Wye at the same time and I gave the Jaywalkers made from in to Snoopydog 2 when she set off to work as an intern with United Nations in Bratislava. They were to keep her feet her warm during the harsh winter! I really loved the colourway, called Autumn Song, and managed to purchase another skein on-line. So, September socks have to be.......Jaywalkers for meee!!!!!

The suspense is mounting as the moment comes to publish this year's winners.....
(my stash feels lighter already!)

....THE 2009 NEW YEARS HONOURS LIST....



Congratulations to the chosen few! (very few when you consider the size of my stash....they are indeed very lucky.)