Knitting

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.

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.

Vintage Woolworth Knitting Magazines

June 5, 2019 by Penny Leave a Comment

What I love about going to a car boot sale is that you really have absolutely no idea what you are going to find. Or what you’re going to bring home with you. It’s fair to say that you don’t always want to bring home some of the things you find. But for other items you know that as soon as you clap eyes on them they have to be coming home with you. The latter was certainly the case when I spotted a couple of vintage Woolworth Knitting Magazines in amongst some knitting patterns and books that an old man was selling.

I’m trying not to dwell on the fact that it was a man on his own selling these, as I’m sadly guessing that it means his wife or partner has either died or is no longer able to knit. I’ll certainly forgive him for the badly placed 50p each price stickers that have been slapped right in the middle of the covers of each of the two magazines.

On the outside they both look relatively tame. The 1973 issue 4 certainly shows how much brown and beige were in fashion at the time. Quite a contrast to issue 2 which came out in 1972 and had the boy on the cover wearing a very fetching pair of green trousers with a hand knitted yellow sunshine sleeveless pullover.

Inside Issue 3, 1972

The covers were enough to make me pick up the magazines, but inside was something else entirely. This rainbow crochet maxi-dress is pretty special, but I’m not sure I can quite carry it off on the streets of Dunstable!

Maybe instead I should work on Master C and convince him that together we could rock the sunshine and flowers look?

I’m not sure Little Miss C would forgive me if I presented her with this smock top and trousers combo. I don’t think even doing it in a different colour would help much!

Perhaps I should set my attentions on winter instead and set the whole family up with co-ordinating ski-sweaters and hats? You’d certainly spot us all coming in the snow!

Inside Issue 4, 1973

Despite the more sedate cover, the 1973 issue of the Woolworth Knitting Magazine opens with a bang with this on page 2! Who can possibly not want to make that??? Its title is “Loopy Outfit” and in 2019 I think you’d have to be a tad loopy yourself to go out in it.

There are some fantastic “His ‘n’ Hers” sweaters and some brilliantly comedic posing from some of the male models in the magazine too as they show off their knitwear.

In fairness though this edition also has in it a fair number of tops that actually would look perfectly acceptable in modern times.

These “ribby tops” in particular would look perfectly nice with a pair of jeans for a vintage look.

I’m not so sure I’ll be wearing a crochet bikini on the beaches of Norfolk this summer though.

Woolworth have obviously had some tie in with Disney in 1973, possibly to mark the release of several of their big films at the cinema.

For Robin Hood fans you could ask you mum or grandmother to knock you up your very own waistcoat to keep you warm in the cinema.

To keep the kids warm for their bedtime stories there are some remarkable crochet dressing gowns, although I’m not too sure if these kids are unimpressed by the dressing gowns or frightened by the candle.

This Flower Power Toddler Suit has to be one of the most remarkable things I’ve ever seen. Probably not helped by the slightly deranged look on the girl’s face. Heaven only knows what would happen to your child if you rocked up to a toddler group with them wearing it. They’d probably be a fire risk for starters!

It’s been a while since I’ve picked up any vintage knitting or sewing patterns and until I sat down and properly went through these Woolworth Knitting Magazines I’d forgotten how much I used to love doing so. They transport you back in time so much. There’s also all the vintage adverts I could tell you about – everything from toilet roll to sewing thread – but they’ll have to wait until another blog post.

I’m back, writing about what I love, and that in itself makes me smile.