Summer shrug

More thoughts on the tencel/merino sock yarn, especially now it's been washed. It is very smooth and shiny and seems to glide along the needles whilst knitting it without being slippery. It stood up to a bit of frogging, but I'm not sure how well it would withstand repeated ripping back. It also doesn't seem to have the 'cling' of some sock yarns, and after washing the socks didn't seem to spring back into shape the way some socks do. I think choosing a stretchy stitch pattern would probably help with this, although I do wonder about whether the heel would bag and sag over time. I'd use it again, but I wouldn't actively seek out sock yarns containing tencel.

And now crochet! I've been practicing, and last week I made a shrug for the pirate. It's just a rectangle of treble crochet sewn up to make a shrug type shape - easy, and a really good way for me to practice holding the yarn and hook properly. Small person likes it too.






The yarn was just some acrylic DK from stash, and took just a couple of hours to make. This one's made me a happy badger.

I rock

Webbo reckons I rock. This pleases me greatly.



And now for more socks! I offered to knit the pirate some socks and she chose some Fybersaptes merino/tencel in pinks.


This was the best photo we could get, as she refused to stay still, but I'm again not totally happy. Basically, I cast on 48 stitches, did a 2x2 ribbed cuff for a bit, some leg and then a short row heel. The heels look ace with no holes at all, but they just don't seem to fit her properly. I have no idea whether this is because small people have funny shaped heels in general, or if it's just my small person that's odd. The yarn itself is lovely, and I'd definitely recommend it. It's smooth and shiny and just glides along the needles. I've got enough left for a pair of anklets for me, and am looking forward to seeing how it holds up to repeated washing and wearing.

And thanks for the shop recommendations - it seems that there are a few universally loved shops (like GK), and whilst everyone has been very restrained with naming names of not so good shops it's pretty clear who are to be avoided.

Return of the Camera

The camera has been found! It is still unclear as to exactly where it was hiding, and a small person with sticky fingers was definitely involved somewhere, but as it has now come back I shall ask no further questions.

So, I have multi many things floating around my head and I have been doing muchos knitting too. I initially thought I'd do one huge blog post about everything, but have changed my mind. I'm too drunk to cope with that.

To begin with then, I have been doing sock knitting. Sock number one of this pair was knitted on the way home from Woolfest, and I made an almighty bodge of the heel, hence no heel close ups.


Despite this, I'm fairly happy with these. The yarn is from The Yarn Yard (bought at Woolfest, colourway unknown), and it is very nice to knit with. It has a smooshyness to it which I like, and I love the colours. The stripes match up pretty well, and this is totally coincidental - I made absolutely no effort to do this. The only complaint I have about these socks is entirely to do with my knitting of them. There is the naff heel, but I also think I knitted these too loosely. I used my 2.75mm Boyes needles and got 7.5 spi, and I think this yarn really needs to be knitted tighter than that. I'd happily use this yarn again, but next time would probably use a 2.25 needle to make a firmer fabric.

There are other FO's to share, but I'll be blogging regularly over the next few weeks so I'm not going to share them today. Instead, I'd like to ask for people's thoughts and reviews of online yarn shops. Just recently I've had some excellent customer service from some shops and some downright shocking service from others. I'm feeling quite magnanimous today and so shall not name names (yet), but wondered if other people had recommendations or lists of places to avoid like the plague?

Swallowtail

All photos courtesy of my neighbour's camera - mine's still hiding.

AWOL

I have sock yarn from Chrissy, fluffy fibre samples from Caroline and 3 FO's. Unfortunately my camera appears to have gone walkabout. It isn't by the phone, the bread machine or down the back of the couch (where it usually hides), so if anyone has advice on how to persuade a missing camera to come home, then I'd appreciate it.