Lounge Around Socks

Hello all

As you are all aware I have the curse of the freezing cold feet. I do love a pair of socks to chill out it and to keep my toes toasty. 

I felt that I had understood the basics of knitting socks that I wanted to challenge myself further. I had never crocheted a sock until I created this pattern. I very quickly found that the knitted and crocheted sock rules differed. For a start, with a knitted sock you tend to need to use smaller needles. If a smaller hook is used, the sock would become so tight that you cannot get it over your ankle!............which I sadly discovered by experience when I managed to cut the circulation from my foot. The only solution seemed to be to use a much larger hook size than recommended with the yarn. 

When crocheting, the pattern forms a spiral which was apparent in the yarn that I used. I absolutely love West Yorkshire Spinner's yarn and wanted to make a pair of socks in the bull finch colour. The way to compensate for this was to make the first sock starting with the hook on the inside and then have the hook on the outside for the second sock. That way the decreases and the stripes were on opposite sides so that they looked like a pair. 

I love the pattern as it combines working in the rounds with working straight which makes it really interesting. Hopefully, it will avoid second sock syndrome. 

The socks are really comfy and I was chuffed with the end result. I want to thank Inside Crochet for publishing the pattern in their latest magazine. 

I am truly in the knitting festive spirit. I have ordered some of my family members yarn and began the Christmas projects. Hopefully I can get them all dome before the big day :s

Until next time

Happy Crafting

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@knitsnotperfect

http://www.ravelry.com/designers/sarah-reed

Chunky Cable Slippers

Hello All,

I have returned from my holiday in the caravan and I can confirm that it was freezing at night. I was extremely grateful for my holiday socks but still felt that I needed something more for my little toes.

I had some wool in my stash that I should have used a long time ago to treat myself with but I never got around to using it. I decided that now was the time to treat myself.....and my poor freezing toes. 

One of the reasons for putting off this project was that it involved using cable knitting. This is creating a 3D pattern that you often see in aran knitting and it creates a lovely effect. This involves slipping some stitches onto a cable needle and placing them at either the front or back of the work. You then continue to knit a few stitches from origianl needle and then knit the stitches from the cable needle to create a raised effect. The pattern used was from Toft alpaca so check out their website if you would like to purchase a copy :)

The pattern was challenging as this was a new skill to me but I was pleased with the results. I have also learnt that by holding the stitches on the cable needle to the front of the work it makes the cable turn to the left whereas if the stitches are at the back it makes the cable turn to the right. 

I have used chunky yarn which means that my slippers are extra thick and my toes are lovely and warm. I have enjoyed doing a cable pattern so much that I have booked myself onto a course with Knit Nottingham. 

I have started work on another animal so I will show you all when it is completed :)

Until next time

Happy crafting

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@knitsnotperfect

http://www.ravelry.com/designers/sarah-reed