A year on …

Some of you may remember this post from exactly a year ago all about a trip to the North York Moors, celebrating Halloween and learning to make socks. Back then, I had all but given up on knitting as a possibility. I’d admire other people’s work, sigh, then return to my crochet. One day, however, I walked into my then local wool shop, The Wool Stop and the lovely owner, Jen, was knitting socks in this colourway and I just knew I had to learn to knit socks so that I could use the gorgeous yarns.

I never looked beyond the possibility of knitting socks at all and yet everyone I spoke to said, ” If you can knit socks, you can knit anything” or experienced knitters would say they couldn’t make socks, so I began to wonder. Maybe I could knit something other than socks.

I was very lucky because all along I had so much encouragement from other bloggers and readers of my blog and from Jen at The Wool Stop. It was exciting! I was inspired by ErickaEckles and her knitting journey (read all about it here) and all of the amazing things that she was making and the knitting designers she would refer to. So I asked Jen to give me some knitting lessons to help me get started. She is a great teacher and gave me the confidence to try new techniques like colour work, cables and lace work. I definitely made the most of those lessons once I knew we were moving to Canada!

Which is where I am now. I had no idea that I would be writing this in Chase, BC, when I took that sock lesson. We had applied to move here but it seemed such a distant goal that we never thought about it much. I certainly didn’t think I’d be about to share my most exciting make yet.

Yes, I have completed and blocked and worn for the first time today, my Ishbel shawl and to say I am delighted would be an understatement. If you follow me on Instagram, you will have seen this hint of the finished product. If you’d like more details about the yarn I used etc, I’ve written it all up in my Ravelry notes. Before I show you a picture, I’d just like to say that this shawl would still be something I dreamt of making, if it hadn’t been for Lisa (erickaeckles) encouraging me to start and for keeping me going along the way. We both started an Ishbel (her second) at the same time and it really helped to have a friend to knit with, even if we were on opposite sides of the planet!).

So, here she is… My Midnight Ishbel

I wasn’t sure about the black yarn at various points during the knitting of the shawl but it isn’t a solid black. There are flecks of grey and white which I love. The points were much pointier when I unpinned it from the blocking mat but over the course of today they have started to curl so I may need to reblock. I’m pleased with the size, less than 100g used.

And because no post would be complete without some outdoor shots, here you go..

And one that captures the giggling fits I was having whilst my husband tried to take these pictures for me and maybe also how happy I am with my shawl.

I wasn’t sure if I would get much wear out of my shawl in the cooler weather as it is a light shawl but we went to Boo at the Zoo tonight for Halloween and it is warm. Yay!

I’m writing this whilst my meringue bones bake in the oven for a Halloween party tomorrow so I’ll sign off as I did a year ago. Time for a glass of wine and wish everyone a Happy Halloween.

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Warm feet

Thankfully the weather here isn’t too cold yet (uhoh, that’s going to jinx it now) but it is cooler and a little while back I found that my feet were getting chilly in the house. I am wearing my hand knitted woollen socks all of the time but the floors get cold and I don’t want to wear my socks out, so I need slippers too.

The great thing about living in a small town is that you get very resourceful. No slipper shop? Not a problem. I have wool, lots of it, picked up here and there, garage sales, thrift shops. And I have Ravelry!

This is the yarn I had to hand

It is a super bulky 100% wool so good for felting and warmth.

The pattern I used for these slippers is called Felted Granny Slippers (free on Ravelry). Basically the slippers are made up of granny squares that are cleverly joined to make a slipper.

The slippers don’t need to be felted if the squares are made to a size that results in a slipper that fits. I wanted a denser texture for more warmth so made the squares bigger and felted mine. It is worth noting though that granny squares don’t felt particularly well as they are made up of trebles (UK) and therefore have a lot of twist to them.

Before

After

I actually ended up lining the inners of these with felt as I wanted them to be a bit more substantial. I also stitched the sides up a bit for a better fit. They aren’t the most attractive slippers but they are very warm and very comfy and doing their job well. I think I would make another pair in worsted/aran next time and make them to fit without the felting (maybe for spring/summer wearing).

Keep warm.

x

The issue of light

When we were in England I had worked out the perfect places to take pictures for my blog posts so that I was happy with the light and back drop. I’m yet to find these places here and it’s frustrating as I really do want my pictures to reflect my projects and me in a positive light.

Maybe this has become more important to me since I joined Instagram (I’m buttercupandbee). The standard on there is so high.

In the meantime, here are some of my current projects.

Hoping this is finished soon so that I can wear it.

Trying to add pattern to my socks.

And you don’t want to know about these yet!

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