Pattern: basic toe-up sock plus a bit of colourwork - see below
Yarn: Patons Kroy Socks 4 Ply
Size: To fit me
Yardage: about 2 skein total
Needles: 2.00 mm and 2.50 mm dpns


I love these socks; I'm wearing them right now. They have a nice slightly rustic look to them with their contrast toes and heather grey yarn. I thought the yarn felt kind of rustic while I was knitting but it softened up incredibly when they went through the wash; now these are soft and cozy socks. They involved a lot of froggingthough. Between me forgetting to change needle sizes, changing my mind and just making mistakes the tops of these socks have been knit at least three times each.

I think my colourwork looks better than it did the first time. I used smaller needles and held the blue in my left hand; the stitches are a little more even and the blue more noticeable. It gets kind of stretched out of shape when I pull my socks all the way up but evens out again when they slide back down to my ankles. My picot border also turned out much better; I made it a bit deeper to discourage the flipping over. Looking at it now I think it could even be a few rounds deeper but I'm not doing any more frogging on these socks.

Slouching their way down my leg is a bit of a problem (though it does make the colourwork look better) because I bound off a little tightly when I sewed the border down. I was stretching the cuffs as I went along but I guess it was not enough.

I thought I'd share my pattern, such as it is, for these socks. The colourwork panel is a 15 stitch repeat and could, of course, be used in all sorts of things that aren't socks. The pattern is for toe-up socks but if you like top-down better you can just work everything in the other direction and get pretty much the same result.



Fingering (sock) weight yarn in two colours:
250 - 350 yards/metres MC
80 - 100 yards/metres CC

Tools:
2.00 mm (US 0) needles (dpns or circulars - whichever you prefer)
2.50 mm (US 1 - 1.5) needles (for colourwork)
Darning needle

Gauge:
aprox. 8 sts per inch on smaller needles

Using your preferred method and CC, cast on and knit toe. I like to use Judy's Magic Cast-on. For a 60 stitch sock (to fit a foot 8 - 9 inches around the ball) cast on 24 stitches and increase every other round until you have 60 stitches.

Change to MC and knit until foot measures 2" (5 cm) less than desired length.

Work short-row heel in CC over half your stitches. For a 60 stitch sock work cross 30 stitches down to 12 and back up to 30.

Change back to MC and work until leg measures 2" (5 cm) less than desired length.

Work colourwork band as follows:
Work 2 rounds CC.
Work 2 rounds MC.
Switch to larger needles and work chart (see below).
Work 2 rounds MC.
Work 2 rounds CC.
Work 2 Rounds MC, break yarn.

Work picot cuff in CC as follows:
Work 5 rounds.
Work eyelet round (*YO, K2Tog* repeat around).
Work 5 rounds.
Sew down last round in inside of cuff using last row of purl bumps from MC (this is a handy tutorial).

Colourwork Chart:


Work the chart beginning at the bottom right corner. Work right to left (repeating around your sock) and top to bottom.


Kind of minimalist instructions, I know, but there are so many detailed sock patterns out there I didn't think I really needed to rewrite the whole thing when others have done it better.

Pattern: My Own-ish (see below)
Yarn: SULI FIBRES Easter Bonnet. Wool with mohair, silk and beads.
Needles: 15.75 mm wooden needles

This is not actually a recent project but I decided to block it out yesterday and, given the yarn name, today seemed a goodday to post it. I usually call this my “dishcloth shawl” because the pattern  is actually the first part of a free dishcloth pattern I got when I first started knitting. I made this a little over a year ago and sometimes use it to keep my shoulders warm at work. It’s more of a fishu than a shawl but it’s great for filling in the neckline of a shirt when the air is cold but you don’t want to wear a turtle neck.


Since it is all garter stitch it had a kind of lumpy texture (see above) and I wanted to see how it would look blocked out flat. I gave it a good soak and a rinse and pinned it out on top of a sheet on the carpet. I think it responded very well. The stitches stretched out to make a clear lace pattern with large eyelets making a border down the sides. The texture of the yarn itself still shows very well (perhaps better) but the shawl has a smoother appearance and will lay flat on a surface, or my shoulders, instead of bunching up. It’s still more of a shawlette than a shawl but it grew almost 20 cm (8") in each direction.


The picture at the top is a curl of mohair (I think) that was sticking out of the shawl when I finished blocking. It reminds me of that perfect curl Superman always has in the middle of his forehead.


Materials
Yarn: Any you like.
Needles: Any size to suite your yarn and desired gauge.
Tapestry Needle

Gauge:
There is no set gauge for this pattern. Using the suggest needles for your yarn as a starting point you can experiment to achieve different effects. A tight gauge on smaller needles will produce a dense, solid fabric. A loose gauge on larger needles will produce a lacier shawl.

Terms:
K1fb: Knit into the front and back of a stitch to increase one.
YO: Yarn over. Between two stitches put the yarn around the right needle as though forming a stitch.

Directions:
Cast on 2 stitches.
Row 1: K1fb, K1fb; 4 sts
Row 2: K2, YO, Knit to end of row. 5 sts
Repeat Row 2 to desired size or until you have only enough yarn left to bind off.
Bind off top edge loosely.

Finishing:
Weave in yarn ends. Block your shawl as desired for an even finish. Lacy shawls can be blocked out tightly; denser shawls won't need as much stretching.

Pattern: My Own (see below)
Yarn: SULI FIBRES Pink Mixy. Wool, mohair, silk and sparkle. Bobble plied, thick and thin.
Needles: 4.5 mm bamboo DPNs
Modifications: None

I actually made these up last weekend but didn’t get around

to photographing them until today. They were a lot of fun to make up. They go pretty quickly and you can try them on as you go. I’ve got a few patterns for more advanced styles of mitts with cables and colour work and I was able to use those as guidelines for making my own pattern. Zeke seemed quite excited to be part of the pictures.

These represent my third try at the lower cuff. I started off with 2x2 ribbing but the bobbles in the yarn made it very stiff. I discovered that the firmness of the yarn meant that the edge didn’t curl when it was in stocking stitch so I went with that instead. The ribbon runs through a series of eyelets and lends a little daintiness to the somewhat heavier texture of the yarn. I used very thin ribbon (3.5 mm, Pearl from the Montano series I got the other day) but I think thicker ribbons would look interesting too.

I’ve been wearing them at work all week. They are great for keeping your hands warm at the keyboard - your fingers are free but they don’t get so cold - they’d be great for knitting too.

Here is my pattern for anyone who wants to try these:

Tools and Materials:
Yarn: SULI FIBRES Pink Mixy (See note at end about choosing yarn)
Needles: 4.5 mm DPNs or size needed to obtain gauge
Gauge:  12 sts/4” in stocking stitch, in the round.
Other: Ribbon, tapestry needle, waste yarn or stitch holder

Sizing:
Provided you cast on loosely these should be a 'one size fits most' kind of project. For reference my hand measures 7” around the knuckles. If this is significantly larger or smaller than your hand measurement you can add or subtract stitches in multiples of 2 and the eyelet pattern will still work out.

Note: The knitted portion of these mitts is completely reversible. There isn't a proper left and right until you add your ribbons.

Right Mitt: Cast on very loosely 20 sts. Distribute over three or four needles and join into round.
Round 1: Knit.
Round 2: Knit.
Round 3: (Eyelet Round) *k2tog, yo. Repeat from * to end of round.
Round 4: Knit.
Repeat round 4 16 times.

Thumb Gusset:
Round 21: K1, pm, m1, k2, m1, pm, k to end of round. 22 sts.
Round 22: Knit.
Round 23: Knit.
Round 24: K1, m1, k4, m1, k to end of round. 24 sts.
Round 25: Knit.
Round 26: Knit

Palm:
Round 27: K1, move next 6 sts to wast yarn, CO2, k to end of round. 20 sts.
Round 28: Knit.
Repeat Round 28 5 times.
BO loosely.

Thumb:
Transfer 6 sts from wast yarn to needles.
Pick up 4 sts around top of thumb gusset. 10 sts.
Knit 5 rounds.
BO loosely.

Left mitt:
Make as Right mitt.

Finishing:
Weave in tails, filling in any holes around the thumb join. Block. Decide which mitt is left and which is right.  Thread ribbon through eyelets to make bow on outside of mitt. Repeat for second mitt.

Choosing Yarn:
The yarn I used to make my mitts was a unique handspun yarn but I think it is possible to substitute any number of other yarns with similar properties and gauge. SULI FIBRES Pink Mixy (81m/66g) is a blend of wool, mohair, silk and sparkle; it's bobble plied on a thread with a thick and thin texture.