Captain Cat's Socks

I have just published my first paid for pattern on Ravelry. It's very exciting if not a little nerve racking.  I've released it now to celebrate Fathers day here in the uk this weekend. 

These socks were inspired by Captain Cat from my favourite poem Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas. Captain cat the blind, welsh seaman is a charming, warm character and was perfect to take inspiration from to design a Mens sock pattern that I could knit for the lovely men in my life. The pattern could easily be made for woman too, the cable pattern is over 15 stitches so can be added into your favourite sock recipe. But the heel which is my favourite part of this design, is a slip stitch heel, flap and Gusset with the cable pattern going right to the bottom. I think it looks really pretty.

I hope you like my socks.

To Purchase the pattern head to Ravelry Store.

Samples

Child size -In cascade 220, shade - sage fingering on 2.25mm 
Gauge- 9st/ 12 rows per inch 
foot length 7 inches for UK child size 10

Adult size –In Drops Delight, shade 03 – blue print, sock yarn on 2.25mm 
Gauge - 8st/12rows per inch 
foot length 9.5 inches for UK men’s size 8

Natural Dyeing in Tordouet.

Last week we were in the beautiful village of Tordouet in Normandy, France.
It was a great break and though there wasn't a lot of knitting my son Hector and I filmed part two of my video series. This Video is about Natural Dying with onion skins and an Iron nail.
We had loads of fun making the video so I hope you enjoy it.

Part Two - Natural Dyeing

I've done a lot of natural dyeing before for my Meadow sweet yarns and always find natural dyeing is super easy and fun to experiment with. the basics you need are:

A large Pot, (not one that you will cook in again)
Tongs
Wool or natural fibres (superwash wool is what I use)
Alum or a small piece of Iron.
Water 
Washing up liquid
Dye matter - Onion skins, Walnut leaves,  Blackberries, Teas... you can experiment with all sorts.

I hope the video gives you some inspiration to have fun with Natural Dyes. 

Happy Knitting!!

New Video Blog. Part one - using a Niddy Noddy.

This video is the first of a series where I take you through the process of creating a jumper, from selecting and naturally dyeing your own yarn to designing and knitting the finished garment.

I hope you enjoy my video and even join in with your own project.  You can keep up to date here or on Youtube. Click Here to view and Subscribe.

Happy Knitting!!

Knitting Short Rows

Sometimes sitting down to learn a knew technique can be a little daunting. I've heard through the old knitting network that people can be intimidated and even put off a pattern if it includes short rows, and to be honest I probably could of been included in this in the past. But I know they are a really important technique to learn, so recently I taught a simple short row class, and in planning it realised that every pattern I have on the needles at the moment Include short rows, infact the majority of everything I knit has them to some degree.

Take the heels in socks, weather it's a traditional Heel flap and gusset or a afterthought heel they all include short row shaping.

These are my free pattern Shorter days, Shortie socks which have a garter stitch short row heel. which are really hard wearing, and to not any more difficult than any other heel turn.

My son Hector has been asking for some bed socks, so I made him these which have a heel flap and gusset which I think stay on little feet better. the wool is from Fying Tiger, so it's easily the cheapest socks I've every made, it's only £1 a ball and I don't think I used half of it, not bad for wool socks, and as you can probably see from this picture they are getting a lot of wear.

You often find short rows in jumper construction either in the back of the neck, to make it higher or on the bottom hem to make it longer at the back. Or like I'm Knitting at the moment, short rows are a great way to shape shoulders rather than having to cast off stitches and have a more staggered look.

I've been wanting for ages to cast on a Stephen west pattern, as you hear so much about how great his patterns are and how interesting the construction is. So I've cast on his Dotted rays shawl. It's pretty simple, very enjoyable so far and is a great example of short row construction. 

But by far the easiest and fun introduction to short rows are all the quick dishcloth patterns you can find. And if you haven't had a go with dishcloth yarn your missing a treat. They are knit on straight needles and its the short rows that make the circular construction.

Here are a couple I've made This week the light one at the back is The Almost Lost Washcloth I knit this in the Rico design cotton, which is so soft and they have great speckles and stripes. The round one at the front is the Crazy eight dishcloth and this is made in Knit picks, Dishie. which is one of my favourites. These are so much fun to make. 

I hope you have a fun time trying something new.

Happy Knitting!!

Lost and Found Jewellery

Some of you may know from previous blogs or from my profile that my main job for the last 12 years or so has been my Jewellery collection, 'Lost and Found'. And I'm very excited to have opened an Etsy shop so you can now buy it online. 
I thought I'd take this opportunity to share a little about my back ground and history of the collection and myself as a Jeweller.  To visit my shop Just Click HERE or go to Etsy - LostAndFoundByRosie

I’m a 4th generation jeweller with my paternal grandfather having an enamelling factory in the Birmingham jewellery quarter. I studied Jewellery and Silver Smithing at Sheffield Hallam university. I have always loved art and sculpture but wanted to have skills that I could work with to express that and which was also a viable way to make money so I could always do what I loved for a living. At university I did a lot of silver smithing and ‘conceptual’ jewellery work; giant concrete bangles and such. When I left I worked for the fabulous designer Lara Bohinc and I feel that is where I really learnt to make jewellery, making multiples of single items and really learning the business.

My Lost and Found collection has been exhibiting in galleries all over the country from the Shetland Isles to Somerset. The collection was featured in the Marie Claire Hot List and Elle Collections.

The inspiration for all my work has been the story behind the piece. My father, mother and brother are actors and writers and so the idea of telling a story is very important to me. And with the ‘Lost and Found’ collection I find that people always want to know how the fragments got to the garden. Who ate from the plate or smashed the cup that ended up buried in a garden? I love that. To give people the opportunity to create their own story and look at discarded objects differently, even if they are broken.

Hope you've enjoyed this little detour from my knitting life and please visit my shop HERE!!

Autumn sock pattern

There’s nothing like the changing colours of the leaves and the nights drawing in to make me want to wrap up in hand knits and start dream knitting for the cold months ahead.  So to help us along I have a new pattern, a sock pattern, which is very exciting,  Called ‘Shorter days, shorty socks’.

I love knitting shorty socks and as it’s not quite cold enough yet for the big wool socks I thought these were perfect. They are easily adaptable for longer socks and could be made as children’s or men’s also.

As a general guide when I knit socks on 2.25mm needles, US 1. I cast on 36 stitches for a baby, 48 for a young child , 64 for a woman, and for men I’m casting on 68 at the moment. A lot of patterns suggest 72 stitches for a man but I think that is slightly too many for my tension.

In this pattern I have used a garter short row heel. Predominantly for aesthetics but also it fits my heel really well and I don’t have to switch to DPNs  for the heel as I like to knit socks on 9inch circulars. Also with this heel I have knit the short rows over 36st rather than 32st. I find this fits my foot better as I have a wide foot with a high instep.

This Pattern is knit in Rico Design, Superba Circus in the Brown Mix, and some Life in the Long Grass, Starman, for the cuffs and toes. I have been staring at these two colour ways together for months waiting to find a pattern, and what better than to come up with your own, so you have exactly what you envisioned.

So here it is your  ‘Shorter days, shorty socks’ Pattern,

You will need

2.25mm needles

4ply sock yarn

1 darning needle

• ·      Cast on 64 stitches in the round, place marker for BOR.

• ·      Knit 2x2 Rib (knit 2st, Purl 2st) for 14 Rows,

• 
  

• ·      Knit 7 rounds

• 
  

• ·      Purl 2 rounds

• 
  

• ·      Knit 4 rounds

• 
  

• ·      Repeat last 2 rounds twice more so you have 3 garter bumps.

• 
  

• ·      Knit 17 rounds

• 
  

• ·      Knit across 35 stitches, slip the next stitch, wrap and Turn.

• ·      Knit to 1 stitch before the BOR marker, wrap and turn.

• ·      Continue to knit to 1 stitch before the last wrapped stitch, and wrap and turn, until you have 8 unwrapped stitches, (14 wrapped stitches either side)

• ·      Knit these 8 unwrapped stitches and then Knit the first wrapped stitch, wrap and turn.

• ·      Knit back to the first wrapped stitch on the other side knit this  then wrap and turn.

• ·      Continue till all the wrapper stitch have been knit.

•  

• ·      Begin to work in the round again. I like to add an extra stitch marker to devide my stitches in half now so I know where I am when decreasing for the toe.

• ·      Knit till your sock measures approx. 2inches short of you foot length.

Garter Short Row Heal

*remember I knit my heel over 36stitches rather than the usual 32stitchs.

There are tons of great tutorials that explain the garter short row heel really well, I find it really helpful to watch tutorial videos. Here’s one I found really helpful, the knitpurlhunter.com 

                           And of course Very pink knits has a great wrap and turn video.

                          

But here is how I knit mine.

The Toe knit on DPNs

      Round 1:

·      Needle 1: K to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1.


·      Needle 2: K1, ssk, k to end of needle.


·      Needle 3: K to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1.


·      Needle 4: K1, ssk, k to end of needle.

·      Round 2: Knit all stitches

·      Repeat these 2 rounds until there are 8 stitches (or half  the amount you started with) on each needle.

·      Now repeat round 1 until there are 4 stitches on each needle or until the toe measures 2 inches.

·      Seam up using the kitchener stitch method.

 I hope you Like them, If you do give them ago please share Ravelry on my page.

Happy knitting!!

Birthday swifts and 9 inch needles

So it was my birthday last week and I had a great time with family and friends and got spoilt with lovely knitting tools that I’ve been wanting. We had lovely food and wine and went to the woods in Kenilworth, and Rich and I actually went out together for a meal, which was amazing. 

As I said in my last blog, I’ve been exploring all the beautiful hand-dyed yarns and buying some really beautiful skeins of yarn. But the one thing missing was a yarn swift and ball winder.

Having for so long avoided buying skeins because I hate having to wind by hand (and getting in a horrible tangle), I’m so thrilled with my new toys and I just love seeing how the yarn winds up and changes. You can really see all the colours and pattern, especially in the speckled and striped yarns. It’s quite magical and got me really eager to finish projects and cast more things on so I can wind some more. 

I also got this great tote bag, (I’m not sure what company it’s from), and this sock ruler from Rosies Moments on Etsy – and she put in these really sweet stitch marker too. I’m sure I’m going to use these thing a lot. 

In another knitting exploration, I bought myself some 9-inch circulars to try some socks on. I’ve heard so much about them – totally mixed reviews but I thought I’d give them a shot. I haven’t got too far but I’m really liking them. I thought I’d try some socks for Rich first as they have more stitches cast on and thought that might be easier. 

The first two rows were a little tight but now it’s great and, compared to knitting on DPNs (double pointed needles), it seems much easier to transport and do little bits on. I’m really pleased with those – I love learning new techniques. 

I’m knitting Rich another pair of the Molly Weasely Family sock as it was so quick and easy when I knitted my own. I have for cuffs heals and toes The Women's Institute, Unique Shetland in Olive Green and for the leg and foot I have by Rico Design, Suberba Circus in Brown Mix 05 . He loves brown so I think I’m on to a winner. 


I finished my Hermione’s everyday socks and I’m so pleased with them. I was worried they were going to be massive after blocking them, as I did them in a sport weight yarn but I have a really high instep so they fit me great. I had to look up how to do the eye of partridge heal on DPNS and I don't think it came out exactly how it should, but I really like it all the same, and would do it again as it is.

I’m going to do a non-Harry-Potter themed sock next I think. I’ve never even read the books and I feel like I’m a super fan. 

I have a few other projects to cast on but I’ll share them next time when I’ve made more progress and there is actually something to show. And I also have a ‘Holes in the plot bookmark the sequel’, which is another free pattern ready for my next blog. So if you had a go at the first which was a introduction to Yarn over stitches, this is a little more challenging and a really lovely lace pattern. 

Happy Knitting!