Sock Fetish :)

Whooooop!  Yesterday I got my 'Knitting Socks - Getting Started' book from Amazon and amazingly the double pointed needles I'd ordered from E-bay came at the same time - well what's a girl to do??, it didn't take long before I couldn't resist playing with my new 'toys' :) :) . . . 

First of all, I'd never tried knitting with bamboo needles before - they're lovely!  No clickedy-clack noise and  very smooth and lightweight - me likey!   Secondly, I've never tried using double pointed needles and have never knitted in the round before either - all very exciting, hehe!  I was a bit concerned that I'd forget how to cast on as it's been ages since I've done any knitting - funnily enough on my new needles I was having a bit of trouble and had to go back to my old metal ones briefly to trigger my memory, and it came flooding back to me.   It was back to the new bamboo ones then though, once I got started :)

At home, we have an array of handknitted socks called 'bobban' socks handed down through the generations, made from locally spun yarn which is the same used to make Harris  Tweed.  These would have been knitted I think by some family member or other, probably an Aunt or grandparent at a time when most women could turn their hands at knitting socks, mostly made for male relatives who would wear them while undertaking various outdoor occupations eg. fishing, cutting peats, etc.   It's probably a dying art now unfortunately . . . 

 

These two are well worn and very old!!  (My Other Half wears them inside wellie boots for fishing trips - just the job and very warm and thick!)  They  are probably antiques!

I like the cultural significance of being able to knit socks as it's something my own grandmothers would have been able to do, so it would be nice to learn the skill  myself (they would be highly amused that I buy all these 'how to' books to teach myself though - they didn't have the luxury of Amazon!)

The Knitting Socks book is  fantastic and really well illustrated - it is an American publication, but that doesn't cause too many problems (I believe they use four needles in the US to knit in the round while we in Europe use five - I've decide to take up dual nationality and adopt the American method, hehe!).

The heel shaping was well explained and I was surprised that it all seemed to come together (after a couple of attempts at some points!).

So far, it's all looking quite good and I've got beyond the heel-shaping bit which I believe is the tricky bit, but this book takes you through every step and explains why the sock is shaped the way it is.  I'm really impressed at how well it is laid out - I could never have learnt from an ordinary pattern so it's been invaluable.  I've tried the sock on so far and it does fit - even if it looks quick funny as it's quite chunky and bulky - perfect for wearing inside my walking boots though, perhaps?

It's beginning to look like a sock - hurray!

I've really enjoyed knitting in the round, and much prefer it to working rows back and forth which I sometimes find a bit monotonous.  I've used 4.5 mm needles and an aran type yarn (50% wool and 50% acrylic) which I bought last year.  It's lovely to work with.  Would be quite fun to try other garments in the round eg. mittens, etc.  Whoaaaa, better not get ahead of myself though - gotta finish this sock first!

The heel flap is done in a knit-one, slip-one stitch which I was unfamilar with and threw me a little, but it's to add bulk apparently - who was I to argue, it looked about right, but was difficult to count the rows intitially.

I'm now at the stage of knitting the length of the foot, having completed the shaping of the side gussets - I'm almost out of wool and have had to order more as I only had a small amount left - hope it comes quickly so I can finish the sock!

Here, I'm comparing the old bobban sock with my knitted one (in progress) . . . 

Not sure what my Hebridean grandmothers (whom I never met as both grandparents passed away before I was born) would think of my Americanised sock version, hehe!  Hope to show you a  finished sock at the end of the week, even if it might look a bit quirky! (I might need two though LOL) 

Alison x

P.S.  Sunday dinner was very delayed today due to the 'sock in progress' work being undertaken!

P.P.S. 'Tweedie' work will continue as normal throughout the week, socks or not :) :)

Retail therapy and other stuff

I've fallen off the wagon again in blogging terms, mostly because last week I had a bit of a stomach flu/cold, and just had to succumb to it and process whatever 'tweedie' orders came my way - 'creative' work came to a halt and I decided just to take the time out and recover - all better now tho! :)

I must have felt in need of some retail therapy though, because I had an appointment on Tuesday in Stornoway which meant I had to hang around for over an hour beforehand - this proved to be a very dangerous exercise - ooops!  I was just killing time so I popped into 'Wee W's' (our alternative to Woolworths which we all loved here in the Western Isles, boo hoo - RIP!) and came  across some lovely storage jars.  They leapt into my shopping basket, whooooosh! . . . 

They're Kilner jars - aren't they pretty?  Lovely clunky clasp lids - they make me feel like making jams and preserves, although I never  have (yet!!) :D  (but I just had to have them and they were very cheap!)  I now must learn to make, jam, or chutney or marmalade (I eat a lot of marmalade, so that might be a good idea!!)

On my way to my hairdresser's appointment I passed the newsagent (this was to become my most expensive  hair appointment ever and I don't spend much money at the hairdressers being a kinda DIY gal, hehe)

Now I don't usually buy craft magazines as I find I can sometimes buy craft books for the same price, but . . . 

I couldn't decide which one to buy . . . . . . . so, guess what happened - Oh Dear!  (I will really be treasuring both mags, because heck, they cost enough!!!!)  Both very inspiring tho - so worth it for that alone :D

Eventually, I reached the hairdressers . . . . but it was a very precarious, costly journey through Cromwell Street - I must have really needed some retail therapy, pheeeeew :)

One outcome of  buying the craft magazines is that I have  decided I MUST LEARN TO KNIT SOCKS - this has become a compulsion over the last two days, but I have to do it - there's  a voice inside my head telling me LOL.  Mostly because there was a  lovely pattern in Mollie Makes for a pretty pair - yet another crafty addiction to add to my list.  I've now ordered double pointed needles  and  a 'how to' book on knitting socks - I'm very excited to start a new crafty project!  Hope I haven't forgotten my knitting skills - it's been a while???  :) :)  Have you ever tried to knit socks?  Is it difficult?

'Speak' soon :)
Alison  xx

P.S.  Here's the latest granny square I've crocheted (last month sometime) - I've now run out of cotton yarn,  which I loved  using.  This square is from the Granny Square book (200 Crochet Blocks) I bought in the Summer . . . 

 . . . easy to follow the pattern, but, I think - a really pretty outcome!
(I WILL find some use for all these random crochet squares, flowers etc. -sometime!) x

Oooops - AWOL Blogger Returns!

Sorry, I have been AWOL for the last week or so - things went a  bit wobbly on the blogging front!

I think I spent half the week worrying about 'teenage son' who was embarking on a solo trip to the mainland to view a possible prospective University campus in the Big Smoke (Glasgow) - worrying is a very time consuming activity, takes a lot of dedication, commitment, time, etc - hence the entire sum of the week's crafting was a crochet facecloth LOL :)  Here's a bit of it in progress, I was using up some remnants of cotton yarn . . . 

Anyway, it took my mind  of the notion that he might take a wrong turning in the Big City and find himself in some horrible back-street somewhere - these fears were completely unfounded of course and he returned safe and well, full of the joys of prospective University life - gulp, what a thought!  

No sooner was he back on dry land, and we were celebrating 'Little S's' birthday - it's been that kind of week. I let him and his school pals have the run of the house on Saturday - I have no idea  what they  were up to here, but they were having a laugh anyway! . . . 

It was nice to see his school pals altogether - they will all be going to the Big School next year in Stornoway, so they will be a bit more dispersed - and future birthday parties will probably be a bit more sedate - more  change, Oh Dear :)

Just to wind up proceedings, we enjoyed some lovely fresh wild salmon last weekend, courtesy of my Other Half who caught it in the local  river - it was very yummy!  Wild salmon is a rare treat - even the boys noticed the difference in taste from farmed Salmon - a very different fish altogether . . . 

Well, must dash as I have some orders to make up and post today - back to 'tweedie' work in earnest!

Bye for now :)

Alison x

my creative space . . . weekend crafting

Last Sunday I started experimenting with slightly longer sections of crochet lace I've been practicing making  . . . . after a little playing around with them and draping them around my wrist, I came up with . . .  

. . . a sort of a lacy wrist cuff - very ornate as you can see, but I just decided to go a bit over the top with it as I was enjoying the whole process of putting it together and  playing with the textures and shapes.  I'm not sure if I'm quite lady-like enough to carry off such a fanciful, romatic cuff - but maybe someone else would, so it might end up as a gift :)  Here's some more shots of it . . .

I added a chain loop for closure and  a wooden button, plus a little pearl button at the top for extra snug fitting . . .

I think it needs a hand with lovely long fingers and nails to show it off properly (my nails are only a little longer than usual as the pesky nail clipper has done a disappearing act again - that's my boys for you!!)

I've basically added a couple of rows of treble crochet to one edge of lace and double crocheted the two sections together on the reverse side - and hey presto, it worked a treat!  (it was a bit of a fluke really, if I'm honest, hehe)

I really like it just as a little art-piece in it's own right - this  crochet lace thing has really got me hooked, hehe!

P.S.  The lace is really not difficult to make from the pattern (Learn to Crochet by Coats).  I used a 3mm hook and 4 ply cream cotton yarn (Lyrics Puppet cotton).  

I'll  definitely be making more lace - very addictive!

More creative goings-on over here- Byeee :)

Alison xx

Still catching up . . .

Apologies, I may be over-blogging at the moment - is there such a thing??? LOL

I'm trying to wrap-up the last month's crafty activity - these are some 'tweedie' pouches, one complete and two WIPs , which I was working on just before I disappeared off the radar at the end of July . . . 

Sorry - it really is a bit darker here this morning! (hence wobbly images, or is it a wobbly camera-woman!!)

The view out of the living-room window is a bit wintry today . . . 

It even crossed my mind briefly last night that it might be time to put the open fire on - Oh,  come on, it's only the end of August - eeeks!

On a more cheerful note I have enough crochet pattern books to see me through a VERY long winter, hehe :)

Here's a closer shot of the inside of the cupcake applique purse . . . 

. . . there's more cake inside of course!

I'm quite pleased how the applique purses worked out - so I might be working on some more of these designs, better finish off these ones first though!!!

Bye for now

Alison x

P.S.  I'll post better images of the 'tweedie' purses once I list them on my website (she says hopefully!!!!) :)

'Doggy paddling' and a lovely blog award :)

I'm still doggy-paddling a bit and trying to catch up after getting the boys back to school and organising some other stuff which has been going on in the background, but I'm getting there!  Alessandra awarded me this lovely blog award towards the end of my break - so without further delay, here's the deal!  Firstly I must  post the award on my blog and thank the person who awarded it to me - well, that's easy, I love Alessandra's blog - great photography, great 'makes' and a  fun personality - what more can you ask from a crafty blog, hehe!  Thanks Ale! :) :)

Next:  "Give the award to five bloggers that have less than 200 regular followers and inform them about the award with a comment or via email."

Now, I don't really get a lot of time to catch up with new blogs - I'm a bit of an old faithful friend and tend to stick to my 'regulars'!  Here's five I've come across though which I've found very inspiring:

www.curiouspebble.com/

www.biglittletales.blogspot.com/

www.seaweedandraine.com/

fruitfulfusion.blogspot.com/

myredwellies.blogspot.com/

As I've said, I don't get a huge amount of time to read  blogs but I do love to visit them from time to time and get such  a lot out of them when I do.  Some of these talented ladies will possibly have more than 200 followers - but I did TRY to follow the rules, honest Aslessandra!!!!  :) :)  I will try and inform these lovely ladies this week - I'm guessing some of them might be a little like me though - doggy-paddling* like crazy, so I won't hold it against them if they don't manage to respond!

* My use of the term doggy-paddling is a metaphor for 'frantically moving in the water, trying to stay afloat, while juggling a hundred and one things at once'! (. . . and probably not managing many of them!)   

Sounds familiar,hehe!! :D

Bye for now - lots of crafty stuff to report later in the week!
Alison x

P.S.  Sorry - my font-size has gone a little funny in this post - ooooops again! :)

P.P.S. - sorry, I can't leave my post without adding some craft stuff - I just couldn't do it LOL!  Here's  a lovely gift I received from Juliet - it's a long story, but isn't her quilting work just amazing - her attention to detail is  just incredible :) :) 

And a little close-up (sorry it's a bit dark and cloudy here today - apologies for poor pics) :

Love her choice of fabrics too!  Thanks Juliet, and the chocolate was yum too - sorry no pics of that, I ate it too quickly, hehe!

Lastly, I haven't forgotten my 'Granny Square a Day' - so here's a couple I made during the hols - I think that's me covered, pheeeew :)

OK, I'm definitely going now - Byeeeeeeeeeee :)

Better late than . . . .

Oh my - I didn't mean to take a whole month away from my blog, but looks like I did!  There's far too much crafty stuff I've been doing to fit into one post, so I'll have to eek it out over a few posts here and there.  

And,  yes, I was on holiday - but we holidayed 'at home on the croft' this year, giving me lots of time to do some experimental crochet which I loved - the sewing machine came out this week after an absence of 3 whole weeks and that was to make something for myself, which I'll reveal at some point.  So a complete break  from crafty business but not from crafting itself - I had  lots of relaxing fun!  We had some glorious weather here too, the moor is in full bloom with glorious purple heather . . . 

Some beautiful, clear blue skies, so I didn't feel too hard-done-by . . .

Some yummy cake on my birthday . . .

And some fab, new crochet books (I don't know how my boys chose the perfect books for me, heehee!)

. . . both are great books for quite different reasons - very inspiring!  (Crochet Motifs is in American terminology so watch out for that, but you get used to it)

And quite a bit of experimental crochet, I was particularly excited about being able to make my own crochet lace, whooooop!!!! . . .

NB: (I made these samples from one of my older 'How to' crochet books (Learn to Crochet by Coats) just for info . . . 

a little close-up (you can tell I'm excited about this!) . . .

Little S made some lovely jam tarts to celebrate his big brother's exam results - these are the ones which were left . . .

Sun, food, and crochet and a little decluttering of our wee house (just a wee bit of Domestic goddess, but not too much!) - that's a brief summary of the last few weeks - I feel quite rejuvinated, so I must have had a  holiday that 'did the job'!

Another lovely surpise was receiving a blog award from Alessandra - she is too kind!  I will try and respond to this as soon a I'm back in the blogging mode : )

I have way too much  other crafty stuff to drone on about - but I think that's enough for now though!!!

Cheerio an Drasda :)
Alison x