Getting colder...

It is forecast to get very chilly at the end of the week.  In preparation, I have finished my slipper socks.

I have cold feet all the time.  I wear socks to bed in the middle of summer, so big cosy socks are a necessity for winter.  These socks are rather chunky and a little silly.  They were made using two strands of double knitting yarn, rather than the worsted the pattern called for, and 5.5mm needles.

One thing to remember is that these are rather slippy-slipper socks, and should not be worn on the laminate floor!  With warnings to prepare for winter, I pulled out my granny square blanket.

This has been ongoing for 7 years, this year I am determined to get it finished!  I was pleasantly surprised by how much I had done, I have finished sewing up 200 squares, only another 50 squares to sew and then a border...  And in other news, Mark has been guinea pig shamed!

Knitting and a little snoozing...

I'd seen the one row lace scarf by Turvid and thought it looked great.  Although I couldn't quite believe the comments that it was so easy.  Can lace ever be easy?  I cast on with some squidgy drops merino extra fine, and surprise, surprise... it was easy!

The pattern calls for a one row repeat (hence the name) and once you have knitted a few rows it becomes super simple.  I managed to rattle through the ball in two days, and made the strip into a twisted cowl.  I am now ready for Autumn!

I also realised how difficult it was to take a picture of yourself wearing a cowl without a) looking like you have 4 chins or b) looking like you have really odd shaped breasts!  In other knitty news, at the weekend I went to the Knitting and Stitching Show at Ally Pally.  I was surprisingly restrained with buying goodies, although I did get some lovely self-striping Rico superba yarn which will make some very cute socks.

I also treated myself to a copy Pop knitting by Britt-Marie Christoffersson, which has some amazing knitting samples in it, that I can't wait to experiment with.  On the needles currently I have some rather silly, but very practical slipper socks.

My attempt to progress on these this morning, was halted by a rather sleepy Jeremy cozying on my lap.

Who wouldn't want to climb in to a fleece sleeping bag on an overcast October morning?  And I think we can all agree that this is good foot action!  Glasgow is home to some VERY exciting knitting events this week here, here & here.  Maybe you can catch one?

Knitting progress

Birch is finished, though needs to be blocked.  My hands were then itching to get started on something else, so I made myself some more Wise Hilda socks.

 This time I used some yarn that I brought some time ago in Lidl.  I really like this pattern, it is a k3p1 rib, which is so easy to do whilst watching TV (or watching the seagull chicks outside).

Last year we had one seagull chick on the roof opposite, well this year we have three.  They are rather comical to watch as they get bigger and start to practice using their wings.  Although my heart is in my mouth every time they start flapping close to the edge!

Wise socks

These socks are very wise.
Firstly, we are forecast snow this weekend, so warm hand knitted socks are a very wise choice. Secondly, because the pattern comes from Wise Hilda Knits.
Wise Hilda is very wise indeed, as she knows how to avoid holes when picking up gusset stitches after turning the heel. A very handy tip. The pattern is quite easy (K3, P1), so a great knit for when watching TV or when travelling about. The yarn is Drops Fabel, that I won from a give-away from A Playful day podcast. All this wise knitting makes me wonder if my guinea pigs would like a jumper? Somehow I suspect that it would not be very wise at all!

Gingerbread men in the post...

I was woken up this morning by the sound of a package falling onto the doormat. That noise is enough for me to scurry quickly out of bed, far quicker than I ever would if it was a workday! Delivered this morning was my prize from the asking for trouble blog giveaway. Kawaii notebooks, badges, gingerbread men & an uber cute bread slice charm. Thank you!
Back to my crafting, my opt art blanket is finished and in the post, will share photos soon. In the meantime I have cast on some Wise Hilda socks for me, using some beautiful variegated drops yarn that I won from a playful day podcast giveaway.
The pattern is suitably simple, so that I can knit away whilst daydreaming or watching tv. And, I'd forgotten just how much I like using a variegated yarn, I find myself calling out the colours as I knit along "oooh, purple", "oooh, green!" :)

Gentle knitting...

After a busy few weeks, time for some gentle knitting. Firstly off the needles my second herringbone rib sock. The first sock was finished last November!
They really shouldn't have taken as long as they did, though I managed to lose them in the abyss that is the spare room, which is my excuse and I'm sticking to it. If I hadn't had such a long break whilst making these, I'm sure I would have found them much easier. The pattern is well written and relatively straightforward, however it took me a while to get the herringbone rib pattern memorised. And then by the time I'd remembered it, I then put the half-finished socks away for months and months, so that by the time I looked at them again, I had forgotten the pattern!
Because of this there are a few holes, or shall we say - personal design touches? But as they are for me, I really don't mind. Next on the needles is another project for me. I'd read some great reviews of The Gentle Art of Knitting by Jane Brocket, and I also enjoy reading her yarnstorm blog, so I treated myself to the book. After admiring the many lovely patterns, I've picked the simple squishy slouchy hat to start, using some Patons Moorland Tweed DK that my mum gave to me.
The pattern is nice and simple, perfect knitting whilst watching the TV. And the yarn is quite pretty, with flecks of colour throughout. I wonder if I can get my hat finished for my holiday?

The Spreull Family and their knitted stockings

Every time I go to the Hunterian Art Gallery I am drawn to a painting by David Allan of The Spreull Family.

David Allan - The Spreull Family, 1793
Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, Glasgow

Not because of the size (though at 117cm x 154cm it is huge), nor the detailing of the landscape, nor the expressions on the sitters faces, nor the little girl sitting on the floor staring into the distance, not even the gun dog on the right. I am drawn to this painting because the older lady has in her lap on double pointed knitting needles the start of some socks! Actually they are probably stockings, as apparently socks were rarely worn in the 18th century.

The artist David Allan (1744 - 1796) studied at the Foulis academy in Glasgow. Allan spent ten years living and painting in Italy, before returning, firstly to London and then back to Scotland. He became renowned for his genre paintings or conversation pieces, usually of families in informal settings (such as this painting). The family were the Spreull family, the father is James, graduate of Glasgow University, City Chamberlain and Superintendent of the Clyde. With his bright red hunting jacket, the vast landscape and size of the painting, this is all about James showing off his wealth and power. His wife Margaret (McCall) sits with their three eldest children (records show that they went on to have ten children in total). And to the very left of the picture, looking rather sternly, with knitting in her lap is Hannah (Park), James's mother.

Stockings were worn by everyone and without the advent of lyrca or nylon, they were made to fit the leg, narrower at the knee and ankle, and wider at the calf and thigh. Very poor people may have had stockings cut from woven cloth, rather than knitted. These would not have stretched very well, and may have been uncomfortable, so knitted stockings were preferable. Stockings could be machine knitted, as a stocking frame had been invented in 1589 by William Lee. The story is that Lee invented it to get revenge on his girlfriend who preferred to spend her time knitting rather than attending to him! By the mid-18th century machine knitted stockings were commonplace. So much so that hand knitters of stockings would, despite knitting in the round, imitate a seam by adding a line of purl stitches. Usual stitches for stockings were stockinette stitch (I assume this is were it gets its name from) or 1x or 2x rib. Fancy 'clocks' (patterns or motifs) were knitted by use of purl stitches or embroidered on to the finished stockings. I wonder what Hannah's finished stockings were like? And was she just desperate to get back to her knitting rather than posing for a painting? Note: for an 18th century stocking pattern see here.

Avoiding the rain...

My plans were to go in to town and visit a neoclassical building for UWA. However, the weather was awful, (to the point I would have probably needed a boat rather than a bus to get there). Instead I stayed indoors and decided to finish a few projects instead. One herringbone rib sock down, one more to do.
Eccentric weaving off the loom, inspired by starbursts and zig-zags.
And a cute deer sketch based on a Greek bronze from 725-700 BC.
Hopefully the rain will stop soon!

Doors open!

Today was Doors Open Day, we checked out the marvel that is the Britannia Panopticon Music Hall. Opening in the late 1850's, this was the place to go for entertainment. Comedy, theatre, cinema, carnival, wax works and at one point it even housed a zoo! It also holds the rather impressive claim that Stan Laurel made his stage debut here. The music hall closed in 1938, and a charitable trust are currently trying to restore and reopen this amazing venue. Today Victorian and Edwardian outfits were on display, including some very fetching swimming gear, and a flapper inspired wedding dress.
Old films were shown and there were some very interesting posters on display.
Tickets for the bearded lady anyone? A walk along to St Andrews in the Square led us to some interesting street decoration. We finished off the day out with food and a couple of music purchases. The perfect accompaniment to fuzzy felt folk is casting on herringbone rib socks in bargain grey sock wool.

Hygge socks

So I've finished my stripey socks. The yarn was brought almost a year ago back in Vancouver.
The misti alpaca is so soft & comfy. Perfect for having cosy feet around the flat this autumn. Well, when I say cosy, I really mean 'hygge'. This is a Danish word that doesn't really translate.
The soundtrack to the end of these socks was Psych Folk, accompanied by a cup of herbal tea.

I think I might go and knit a yogurt now...

Guinea pigs and alpaca socks...

I finally finished my guinea pig cross stitch. I brought the design from RatTans, I didn't use the exact threads it mentioned & made a few mistakes along the way. I like how he looks quite cheeky!
For my next stitch 'n' bitch project, I am knitting some socks, using yarn I brought on holiday in shop on Granville island. I have picked a plain pattern to show off the colours in the yarn.
As for my kingfisher textile piece, when I started to sew the origami shapes on, I realised I didn't have enough!!! So back to making more squares!