Go Team Tardis!

I'm competing in the Olympics! Well the Ravelympics, (linky for Ravelry members only, sorry!) no I've not gone mad lol Its just one big organised knitting event to coincide with the Olympic games. Basically, you can compete in "events" such as the Sock Put, Scarf Strok, Afghan Marathon etc durning the 17 days of the games.
I've decided to represent Team Tardis (predictable I know..) and I'm competing in the Baby dressage.



Which means that I've got 17 days to complete the Baby Bamboo Cardigan for my friends baby, ideal opportunity to complete it, it needs doing so off I go!
Wish me luck!!

In the style of Mastercard...

Buying new storage shelves from Ikea, including the Tv unit I didn't know I needed until I saw it (don't ask!) - £51

Dinner for 3 in the Ikea cafe because we can't resist the meatballs - £14

Making your bedroom look like your dream yarn shop - Priceless!


Oh its been a good day. I decided it was about time I made a proper effort to store my nice yarn, and I wanted to be able to look at it, so, in my infinite wisdom (and yet another extra payment from the tax credits people, I'm not arguing..) I suggested we make a trip to Ikea so I could look at "stuff". Didn't think I was going to see any thing I liked at first, wanted some thing with small compartments to put yarn in, and nothing was looking right, until I came across this one. Didn't believe it had a £20 price tag, it was ideal! All I wanted was an extra shelf (could have done with two, but no bother, will pick one up next time!) and away we went!
Half an hour to build, and way way more time to sort my stash out in a way I liked. I've still got two boxes full I just couldn't fit on (more because its bulky rather than too much!) but it does look super cool, and surprisingly looks like its always been there for some reason! I do have a favourite shelf tho I have to say..

Lots and lots of lovely skeins of sock yarn, its just all squishy and lovely and and..having to restrain my self from rearranging it all again!
(oh the tv cabinet, was in bargain corner, looks much better than my current one and was going cheap, wasn't planning on replacing mine just yet, but hey these things happen!)

Oh and on top of all that, I've finished another pair of socks! Been OTN since November, but I'm making my self finish things before I cast on some thing new, there are loads of things I want to start, but I just won't until I've completed a few things first. So, here we have...

Not Cable Socks, Middle Earth yarns, Not just for goths, and Jet

As you can probably tell, I've been playing with changing yarns, these socks have black ribbing cuffs, heels and toes, and look great, wear fantastic as well! There is suposed to be a pattern in there some were but it didn't come out very well, but no matter, I love the socks! Already got plans to do the reverse of the colours, Jet socks with not just for goths heels and toes, but prob won't be for a while yet, will look cool as a sort of matching pair ish! One day, one day...
Right, off to rearrange that stash again...........

Finally some thing to show!

Ah finally finished a project! First one in a while..well I've done two, but one has been going on for a few months.
First socks where made from some yarn I'd had for a while. I'm not usually a pink person, infact I'm usually the first to run from most things pink..but this looked funky, and the name made me laugh! Plus it came from an etsy shop that I like very much cause she has some stunning colourways, it is of course, Gemini knits, totally recommend any thing from her shop!

(Black)hearted socks in blue purple moo!

I actually had these completed by the time I went to Woolfest, I wanted a new pair of socks to wear and partially show off (not that I showed any one!) but as sods law would have it, the shoes I wore, which I've had for ages (talking a good 18mth if not longer!) decided to bleed red dye all over the heels of the socks!! Bloody typical if you ask me. You can just see it in the first pic, because naturally I didn't photograph them before I wore them. There is a lesson here I am sure...
I actually tried out a new technique with these socks, I was board of doing a heel flap, I'm not keen on how it looks and I find it a pain to do, esp with the heel turn as well because I haven't worked out yet the numbers to divide it up by and have got to look it up every time. So, I test drived the afterthought heel! Basically means, when you get to where the heel would be, you knit in a piece of waste yarn, and then just carry on! No heel flap, no turning the heel, and no gusset! Just knit the number of round appropriate to your foot, finish the toes as nomal. The tricky part is unpicking the waste yarn and catching all the stitches...

(Yikes look at the tarnish on those needles! Good job I found the brasso...)

But once you've done that, you just basically knit the toe again, decreasing at each edge and voila, a perfect heel! It will give an interesting looking heel with stripy yarn, but with a varigated yarn, it eliminates the pooling that happens whilst doing the gussest on anotherwise perfectly patterning sock, and it gives a nice looking heel that matches the rest of the sock.
After thinking about it for a while, I realised that it could prove useful to me on making other socks. At the moment I avoid doing toe up socks, because I just haven't managed to do a top up cast on nicely since Lolita legs, and short row heels are just frankly scary and complicated! But with an afterthought heel, I could do a provisional cast on for the toes, to go back and knit later, and also put in an afterthought heel in the right place and carry on knitting to the top of the sock, bind off, and then add the missing parts! I'm sure this will work in practise, but I have yet to try it!

It will come as no surprise, that my next finished item is....socks! This time some baby socks, for my friend, I've yet to finish the main present, as I'm getting up the courage to reverse the shaping without instructions for the left hand side, never knitted basically blind before, with general instructions to just reverse shaping, takes more of a thought process for me! But any way, quick pair of socks, that I will send off, hopefully tomorrow!

Baby to toddler socks, in Krafty Koala fairground.

They are uber cute I have to say, and almost (note I said almost!) makes me want a baby of my own to knit some for. (I said almost, don't panic!)

And and, I've been spinning on my new spindle!

I have it on good authority that this is pretty good going for a first attempt, bit overspun and a bit uneven, but hey, I managed it! I'm going to finish off the roving and do it properly to skein it up and set the twist, think I'll leave plying for another day, but I'm pleased with my first go, and this spindle is bloody lovely to use, its so nicely balanced, I'm sure that made all the difference. I do think, however, I'm going to start stalking ebay for a spinning wheel. I can just see my self enjoying that, nothing would please me more to spin my own sock yarn. It would be a great sense of achievement!
Its some thing to look forward to at any rate :-)