Crafts

2024 in socks – pair 2

May 15, 2024 by Penny Leave a Comment

As I sit here writing this we’re half way through the fifth month of 2024 and I’m delighted to say that my sock knitting project is on track. If anything, thanks to working in a very quiet polling station on the day of the local and Police and Crime Commissioner elections, I’m actually ahead of schedule. But let’s not get ahead here. Pair of socks number two. My third and fourth socks of 2024.

Following on from my first socks of the year this second pair were made following the same pattern, and again using a ball of yarn that I picked dup form the middle aisle in Lidl as an impulse purchase last year. Two different shades of grey and white in a regular repeating pattern.

A pair of hand knitted socks on a wooden table surface. The socks are striped in two different shades of grey and white.

With so little changing from the last pair it should come as no surprise that they fit perfectly, and generally worked up without any problems.

I’m still encountering a couple of holes larger than I’d like at the sides of the heels, but with the more I knit socks I’m managing to decrease this a first bit. Having the confidence to pick up a few extra stitches and then doing an extra k2tog is helping. Maybe by the end of the year I’ll have solved the problem and finally have a perfect pair of socks? As I said at the start, let’s not get ahead of myself!

What I can promise though is that the third pair of socks of the year is going to be a bit different. I’m currently on the cuff of the second one and will be back once they’re finishes with something a bit brighter in colour to show off.

2024 in socks – pair one

February 22, 2024 by Penny Leave a Comment

Life likes throwing curved balls doesn’t it? The academic year started off reasonable calmly, but since October it feels a bit like we’ve been hurtling along somewhat out of control, whilst hanging on for dear life. All three kids have encountered various hurdles, I tried to take on all the training needed for a career change, and then a family bereavement on the day that the kids broke up from school for Christmas meant that none of our festive plans really went where we expected them to. For the kids sake we went along to the festive light displays and the panto, but it was very much a case of going through the motions rather than enjoying it.

In the start of 2024 things again felt on hold until there had been a funeral, but even on the first day back at school for the term a totally different curved ball came in, and it’s only today about six weeks later that that has finally been resolved (waiting and patience are not my strong points at all!) and finally I feel like I can breathe again and make plans going forwards.

What has kept me as calm as possible though has been picking up my knitting needles again, and also losing myself in books.

I made a pact not to buy any more craft supplies or books in 2024 until my birthday in July. So far I’ve only managed to keep half of that! What I am successfully doing though is finally working my way through some of my craft stash. One thing that I realised I had a stupid quantity of was sock yarn. So, my 2024 sock challenge was born. A sock a month. That way by the end of the year I should have 6 pairs of socks to wear.

A completed pair of hand knitted socks. They are striped, but not matching with a main bright pink colour and yellow, brown and black and white patterned bits. Next to them is the remains of a ball of yarn.

Nearly two months I’m I’m delighted that this is a challenge that I’m actually ahead on. The first pair of socks were completed in early February and are already keeping my feet toasty and warm. The yarn is something I picked up cheaply in Lidl last year, and the pattern is one from John Arbon Textiles that came with some alpaca sock yarn that I mush have bought about 8 or more years ago. I finished the alpaca socks in 2023 and discovered that the pattern gave socks that fit perfectly, and in particular gave enough length to work really well with the DMs that I wear 99% of the time when out of the house. The piece of paper with it on is now getting a bit tatty and so I really do need to type it all out again with the couple of small modifications that I made after the first pair.

The start of a hand knitted sock on three double pointed needles. It can be seen that this is being knit in a car and in the background is the Shedunnit podcast playing on my car's audio screen.

For now though sock number 3 is on my needles and I’m just working the short row heel and hoping I didn’t make a mistake when trying to do so whilst also listening to a British Sign Language demonstration at WI last night. Anxious about making sure we woke at 4.30 the morning for B to head off for a long work trip I needed something to calm my hands until we started signing ourselves, I just hope I’m not having to unpick it when I pick it up again this evening!

The book reading is a little behind where I wanted it to be by now, but I’m hopeful I can pull that challenge back into shape over the next couple of months. I’m also hoping I can make the time to write about what I’ve been reading over on Penny Reads too. So far I’ve only managed to document one book since Christmas, but there is so much more I want to say for some of the others that have been transporting me to different places this year.

Disney Encanto Patchwork Quilt

September 22, 2023 by Penny Leave a Comment

There hasn’t been anywhere near enough time for crafting of any sort lately. I’m really hoping that as we step into autumn I’ll be able to make some time to spend evenings curled up with some knitting or crochet once more. My hands miss being busy, but at the same time I’m often so exhausted after a busy day that if I sit in front of the TV in an evening I’m most likely to fall asleep.

A completed Disney Encanto themed quilt hung on the washing line. It has a purple boarder all around.

Looking back at the whole of 2023 I have generally been making attempts to actually finish craft projects rather than start new ones. With a couple of exceptions. One being something that I’m justifying to myself on necessity grounds rather than anything else – a Disney Encanto quilt for my youngest’s bed.

Fabric squares laid out on a double bed. Sevela of teh squares have an Encanto theme to them, whilst the others are coordinating plain coloured blocks.

Until now she has normally been sleeping under a patchwork quilt that I originally started for my eldest daughter, Little Miss C. Bearing in mind that said Little Miss is now 13, you probably get a feel for just how long it took me to complete said quilt. My youngest did at least yet to sleep under it for all of last winter and it gave me a lovely warm feeling to know that she was going to sleep at night curled up warm and snug under something I made.

By now though she’s shot up in height and was starting to get cold feet from them sticking out from under her quilt, so I knew it was time to start a new one. A chance trip to The Works for a sketch book for my eldest saw me happen upon an Encanto set of Fat Quarters. The youngest loves the film on Disney plus and so she instantly asked if I could make her something from them. A quilt seemed the obvious answer.

I bulked out the fat quarters with some plain pieces of cotton that I picked up at a local fabric shop in St Albans – Fashion ‘n’ Fabrics – and it wasn’t long at all before I was cutting out squares and working out a layout. The edges and backing fabric came from the same shop, along with the batting inside. The design and sizing was made up as I went. I basically just tried to get as much as I could out of the fat quarters, having accounted for any wastage from fraying once the fat quarters were washed through.

A close up showing one corner of the patchwork quilt with a purple fabric boarder around the patchwork squares.

The edge sizes were again made up based on how much fabric I had and it’s fluke really that it ended up the perfect size for the small cot bed that she sleeps in. I’m delighted with the fabric layout and how it’s all turned out.

A close up of a sewing machine in use as I quilted a diagonal line across an Encanto themes piece of fabric

My sewing machine encountered a few problems when I was doing the final bits of quilting and so I spent hours unpicking and re-sewing right at the end of the make. Luckily my husband takes machines apart for a living and so was able to help take my sewing machine to pieces in an attempt to find out what was causing the problem. I’m not sure we managed to completely get to the bottom of the problem, but we did at least make enough progress to get to the end of making the quilt.

Just yesterday my daughter pointed out just how small the Harry Potter dressing gown I made her back in lockdown now is – so I’m expecting a request for a new mum-made dressing gown before Christmas. I guess I’d better get my machine properly fixed before then!

Candy Cane Socks

January 11, 2022 by Penny Leave a Comment

I’m really trying in 2022 to keep track of all the various craft projects that I have in my stash and actually manage to finish. The first complete one of the year is something I actually started at the back end of 2021, but failed to finish in time for Christmas. I can’t exactly remember when I treated myself to this gorgeously festive Candy Cane 4-ply yarn from West Yorkshire Spinners, but it may well have been years ago.

It is years since I last knit any socks though and I was feeling a bit out of practice when I got my dpns out. I had previously got to the stage where I had one go to sock pattern that I know fitted my feet perfectly and I had an annotated paper copy in my knitting bag so that I could quickly knock up a pair without really having to think about it. In various house moves I’ve lost that pattern and I wish I could remember where it came from.

For these socks I was following the Candy Cane socks pattern that West Yorkshire Spinners released along with the yarn. It’s written by Winwick Mum who is a bit of a legend when it comes to sock knitting. I’m not sure I’ve followed any of her patterns before, but I’ve certainly seen her tutorials before and know how much everyone rates her.

I did have a couple of moments of confusion in this – especially when I started doing the heel flap backwards as I’d not quite understood the instructions – but overall I’m really pleased with how these turned out, especially after such a long gap since last knitting socks.

The only thing I think I need to improve on is tension on my dpns and not ending up with a ladder effect where you can see how the stitches were split across the needles. This had already improved by the second sock and I’m hoping that it will improve more in future pairs.

They might not have been finished by Christmas 2021, but I’m delighted to have finally got to grips with socks again. These definitely won’t be the only pair on my needles in 2022. And, in writing this blog post I’ve also realised that West Yorkshire Spinners also has a whole Christmas Collection of 4-ply yarn, with the Vintage Tinsel particularly nice. Maybe that can be a festive treat to myself at the end of the year if I manage to master my sock knitting this year.

Not one, but two finished crochet projects

April 16, 2021 by Penny Leave a Comment

If the last 12 months have taught me anything it is that I was incredibly well prepared when it came to having things to do in the event of lockdown during a global pandemic. I’ve not needed for a single item of craft materials at all. But, I didn’t factor into my plans having to home school two kids whilst looking after a toddler too!

When I see all these pictures of people’s amazing lockdown creations I have to remind myself that I may well have been able to do similar if I hadn’t been grappling with Year 6 English grammar and facilitating Year 3 science experiments! My ridiculous level of craft supplies did make me realise that I really need to finish some projects off before buying anything new, so that’s exactly what I’m planning to do in 2021 and just over three months into the year I’m rather proud of my efforts so far.

Anyone who used to follow me back when I was Mrs C will know that I am a crochet addict, and taught myself to crochet after falling in love with Lucy from Attic24’s amazing crochet blankets. Over the years I have bought myself three of her kits, but until recently two of them sat unfinished as I acknowledged that I’m absolutely useless at sewing in ends as I go along!

With the Hydrangea I’m not entirely sure when I actually started this blanket, but I do know that I was already working on it when I first met my husband nearly four years ago. It’s seem me through quite a lot over that time and in a way the idea of finishing it felt a little strange after it had been such a constant in my life. But finish it I did. I also challenged myself to start sewing in ends before I actually finished all the rows. For every colour stripe that I completed I made myself sew in 5 ends before starting the next. It sounds so simple, but was actually a real challenge. Once I started motoring though the last few stripes though the motivation to get it finished took over and it wasn’t long before I could actually move straight on to the edging and finish it all off. Quite an achievement.

The second blanket had been in my basket for even longer. Looking back I think the Moorland CAL started just after Christmas 2016. I bought myself a kit as a Christmas present and also bought my mum one at the same time. She was a relatively recent crochet convert and I thought it about time she tackle a big project. I managed to roughly keep up with the crochet along itself, but then the dreaded ends started haunting me and once I was left with nothing else to do but sew them in it just sat there on a chair for years. Literally. It’s moved house twice with me in its incomplete state and I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever manage to finish it.

Mind over matter finally kicked in and after several nights sewing in ends (although not as many as I feared!) I was able to start thinking about the edge. The only problem being that I couldn’t actually find the yarn I needed to do it. I was able to make a start based on extras I had in my yarn basket, but knew that somewhere I had kept all the officially Moorland leftover yarn for when the day came. The problem was I’d put it in a safe place before those two house moves!

I cracked on regardless though with what I had and was hoping that I would have enough, but quite soon disaster struck. A meter of blanket edging to go and only a couple of inches of yarn left. A plea for help on Instagram brought along a lovely lady that I’ve only ever spoke to via the platform and she so very kindly popped a bit of yarn in the post for me. Thank you so much!

With one yarn near disaster under my belt I was beginning to think about replanning the colours for the remaining rounds of the edging yet a sudden urge to look inside an old hamper on top of the fridge freezer in our garage revealed the safe place that I’d stashed the left over yarn in over four years earlier! To say I was relieved would be an understatement.

The edging consists of four rounds and I actually deviated from Lucy’s planned colours and swapped the grape for plum as the rich purple is the colour that I love most in all the beautiful moorland tones. If you’re unfamiliar with the blanket I should say that it works it way upwards from the greens, peaty browns and heather purples of the Yorkshire Moors and gradually works up to a blue sky. For anyone that loves the moors it really is a perfect reminder of them and one that I hope one day I will take with me when we eventually move back up to Yorkshire – planned for when the middle child finishes secondary school we hope.

To say I’m proud to have finished would be an understatement. I also weirdly feel relieved too. The two blankets feel like they have been hanging over me in a weird way for quite a long time too. I already miss not having a crochet project on the go and I’m having to try very hard to always have something crafty that I can quickly pick up and get on with when I want a moment’s calm. I won’t pretend I’m not itching to buy another Attic 24 kit and have my eye on the kit for her original Granny Stripe blanket. I’m just trying to make myself hold on until I’ve got a few more completed projects under my belt to justify it. Let’s hope I’m not making myself wait until the very end of the year or else it will become a Christmas present to myself!

Now I just need the weird April weather to calm down a bit so that it’s warm enough (and not snowing!) so I can take some decent photographs of both blankets. The colours of the Moorland in particular are so gorgeous, but you really need to see it all laid out to appreciate it properly rather than folded up.

Sewing a Harry Potter Dressing Gown – Simplicity Pattern S9002

June 19, 2020 by Penny Leave a Comment

Making a birthday special in lockdown is hard work. But when you have a child that is a massive Harry Potter fan, you’re planning a new Harry Potter themed bedroom for her, and then you happen across a sewing pattern for a Harry Potter dressing gown then you have to make it as a birthday present. Even if you are somewhat up to your eyes in home schooling in the middle of a global pandemic at the time!

Harry Potter Dressing Gown

It’s ages since I’ve done any proper dressmaking, but with added confidence from watching this series of the Sewing Bee I figured I should be able to manage a dressing gown. Originally I’d seen someone sharing an Instagram post of a Harry Potter cloak that they’d made, and I then ended up down an online rabbit hole that took me to *Simplicity Pattern S9002 for these house themed Harry Potter dressing gowns, or robes as they call them in America.

I think the last time I made something from a proper paper pattern was actually back in secondary school, yet I have a whole collection of patterns that I bought not long before I left my ex-husband that I’d never got round to doing anything with. There’s also a whole box of vintage patterns somewhere in the garage that also need some love and attention. I figured that I had to stop being so scared and just get on and make something.

Fabric choices

For this dressing gown I decided to make it in fleece fabric as I know my daughter loves that soft feel to a dressing gown. I ordered my fabric from Empress Mills who have an amazing selection of both plain and patterned fleece online. With everyone in lockdown at the time it was a fair while before I actually got the fabric, but lots of people inform me that they normally have a much quicker turnaround.

Sew on patches

I chose an obvious black fleece for the main body of the dressing gown and then, as my daughter is a Gryffindor fan, went for a red wine colour for the edge, hood and sleeve bands. I found a *Gryffindor sew on patch on Amazon which was perfect for the front of the gown. It’s worth noting that this isn’t included in the pattern and there are no hints on where to buy one from. Amazon seem to have a *wide selection of Harry Potter sew on patches though that should work for the four different houses.

Following the pattern

The pattern itself was relatively easy to understand, with good clear instructions and diagrams of each step. I found laying out and pinning the pattern pieces incredibly hard work, especially as I don’t have a big enough table, so was working on a deep pile carpet (80s style!) on my living room floor. It made cutting the pieces particularly difficult, especially as the fleece is really quite thick when folded double.

Luckily fleece is so much easier to sew than it is to cut. It’s also quite forgiving in terms of having a bit of stretch so that if you pin pieces together well you can always stretch one piece enough to line up notches etc. if your cutting has been slightly off.

The part of the project that I found the hardest was the contrast cuffs and edge bands. For all of these you apply iron-on interfacing to one of the band pieces before attaching it, and then you have to attach the other piece of the band and have one edge of it pressed under. It’s relatively straight-forward, but the problem is that fleece doesn’t exactly press nice and neatly, and it certainly doesn’t hold the press. To finish the bands off you’re supposed to stitch in the ditch, catching the folded under edge neatly on the other side so that the finished result is all neat. Let’s just say that the fleece didn’t exactly help to make this happen. As I said before though, fleece is luckily quite forgiving when sewing, and I ended up having to sew a few bits by hand to make sure the edges were caught under neatly.

Finished result

I’m so pleased with the finished result. And incredibly proud of myself for getting it finished, without needing to call anyone on FaceTime to help! Admittedly it’s not absolutely perfect, but it is far better than I expected it to be. If I were to make it again, I’d probably go for a less firm interfacing as the bands and cuffs are a bit stiffer than I’d like, but that really is a minor thing.

And the best news is that my daughter absolutely loved it when she opened it on her birthday morning.

What next

The whole project has certainly given me my sewing confidence back. Probably a good thing, as Master C has asked me to make him a dressing gown for his birthday in September. He’s already chosen the pattern he wants (*Simplicity 3575) and I’m hoping that it won’t be too tricky. I might just have to find a more amenable carpet to cut the pattern pieces out on this time!

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