Captain Cat's Socks

I have just published my first paid for pattern on Ravelry. It's very exciting if not a little nerve racking.  I've released it now to celebrate Fathers day here in the uk this weekend. 

These socks were inspired by Captain Cat from my favourite poem Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas. Captain cat the blind, welsh seaman is a charming, warm character and was perfect to take inspiration from to design a Mens sock pattern that I could knit for the lovely men in my life. The pattern could easily be made for woman too, the cable pattern is over 15 stitches so can be added into your favourite sock recipe. But the heel which is my favourite part of this design, is a slip stitch heel, flap and Gusset with the cable pattern going right to the bottom. I think it looks really pretty.

I hope you like my socks.

To Purchase the pattern head to Ravelry Store.

Samples

Child size -In cascade 220, shade - sage fingering on 2.25mm 
Gauge- 9st/ 12 rows per inch 
foot length 7 inches for UK child size 10

Adult size –In Drops Delight, shade 03 – blue print, sock yarn on 2.25mm 
Gauge - 8st/12rows per inch 
foot length 9.5 inches for UK men’s size 8

Natural Dyeing in Tordouet.

Last week we were in the beautiful village of Tordouet in Normandy, France.
It was a great break and though there wasn't a lot of knitting my son Hector and I filmed part two of my video series. This Video is about Natural Dying with onion skins and an Iron nail.
We had loads of fun making the video so I hope you enjoy it.

Part Two - Natural Dyeing

I've done a lot of natural dyeing before for my Meadow sweet yarns and always find natural dyeing is super easy and fun to experiment with. the basics you need are:

A large Pot, (not one that you will cook in again)
Tongs
Wool or natural fibres (superwash wool is what I use)
Alum or a small piece of Iron.
Water 
Washing up liquid
Dye matter - Onion skins, Walnut leaves,  Blackberries, Teas... you can experiment with all sorts.

I hope the video gives you some inspiration to have fun with Natural Dyes. 

Happy Knitting!!

New Video Blog. Part one - using a Niddy Noddy.

This video is the first of a series where I take you through the process of creating a jumper, from selecting and naturally dyeing your own yarn to designing and knitting the finished garment.

I hope you enjoy my video and even join in with your own project.  You can keep up to date here or on Youtube. Click Here to view and Subscribe.

Happy Knitting!!

Knitting Short Rows

Sometimes sitting down to learn a knew technique can be a little daunting. I've heard through the old knitting network that people can be intimidated and even put off a pattern if it includes short rows, and to be honest I probably could of been included in this in the past. But I know they are a really important technique to learn, so recently I taught a simple short row class, and in planning it realised that every pattern I have on the needles at the moment Include short rows, infact the majority of everything I knit has them to some degree.

Take the heels in socks, weather it's a traditional Heel flap and gusset or a afterthought heel they all include short row shaping.

These are my free pattern Shorter days, Shortie socks which have a garter stitch short row heel. which are really hard wearing, and to not any more difficult than any other heel turn.

My son Hector has been asking for some bed socks, so I made him these which have a heel flap and gusset which I think stay on little feet better. the wool is from Fying Tiger, so it's easily the cheapest socks I've every made, it's only £1 a ball and I don't think I used half of it, not bad for wool socks, and as you can probably see from this picture they are getting a lot of wear.

You often find short rows in jumper construction either in the back of the neck, to make it higher or on the bottom hem to make it longer at the back. Or like I'm Knitting at the moment, short rows are a great way to shape shoulders rather than having to cast off stitches and have a more staggered look.

I've been wanting for ages to cast on a Stephen west pattern, as you hear so much about how great his patterns are and how interesting the construction is. So I've cast on his Dotted rays shawl. It's pretty simple, very enjoyable so far and is a great example of short row construction. 

But by far the easiest and fun introduction to short rows are all the quick dishcloth patterns you can find. And if you haven't had a go with dishcloth yarn your missing a treat. They are knit on straight needles and its the short rows that make the circular construction.

Here are a couple I've made This week the light one at the back is The Almost Lost Washcloth I knit this in the Rico design cotton, which is so soft and they have great speckles and stripes. The round one at the front is the Crazy eight dishcloth and this is made in Knit picks, Dishie. which is one of my favourites. These are so much fun to make. 

I hope you have a fun time trying something new.

Happy Knitting!!