The Slightly Slouchy Beanie

I made this hat as a thank you gift for a friend who loves the outdoors. She hikes, and cycles all the time , does a lot of travelling, and does not wear anything fluffy or frilly – or, as far as I can tell, patterned .I wanted a hat that fit her practical needs, including being light and small to pack, but did not look like something only a bloke would wear.

 Fortunately for me, she not only said all the right things when I gave it to her, but a few weeks later told me how much she had been wearing it, so either I have been successful with my pattern, or she is very kind and has extremely good manners – or both. Even better, it was relatively quick to knit, and was a good use for some of my large stash of sock yarn. 
I used Heirloom Jigsaw sock yarn and Patonyle sock yarn for the contrast brim. The self patterning Jigsaw yarn  makes a nice non repeating variegated yarn as a beanie.

I am planning on putting this pattern up for free on Ravelry  - once I have some test knitting done. 

Small knit series -Socks on holiday

I like to take a new project with me on holiday. My New Zealand trip was very enjoyable, with some terrific stops at knitting shops and trials of new-to-me-yarns -( loot to be revealed later), and I also finished a pair of socks within a week, whilst knitting on the plane and in the car.



This sounds rather productive until I reveal that they were socks for a 9 year old boy.
He even agreed to model the socks on location.
The yarn is Heirloom Jigsaw Self Patterning Sock Yarn, colourway 81, and the pattern is our StitchBliss child's sock pattern.
I probably have enough yarn left from the 100g ball for another pair,but am feeling like a more varied colour palette- maybe some fair isle?

What do you do with your remnants?

I don't like to throw out yarn. This means that, like most knitters, I have lots of small amounts piling up in my knitting stash. Every so often, I have the urge to use them up.

Some of my favourite things to make from remnants are children's clothes. These child's socks are made from Jigsaw Heirloom 66 and Patonyle sock yarn 1003 remnants from larger socks. The pattern is my own.
These socks fit youth size 1-3 (Australian) and will be worn out sliding down the hall. This is a much better use of the yarn than sitting in my knitting chest.
What are your favourite remnant projects?

Socks

I think I have mentioned before how much I love knitting socks. They are such a convenient handbag project, and I can knit them whilst talking, or travelling or watching television.
Here are 2 of my latest pairs of my socks.
This pair is from Heirloom Jigsaw 4 ply.
I have made them with 2.25mm needles, using my own sock pattern, with a reinforced flap heel and reinforced toe. The self striping colourway is number 66, a most unimaginative name IMO.

Here is the much more imaginatively named Kaffe Fassett Regia sock yarn "Jungle Mirage"
( I used 2.25 mm needles for this pair too, and tried really, really hard to follow the pattern pamphlet that we can give away with the yarn purchase. I am very bad at sticking exactly to a pattern. This was my first time making a round ("German") heel, and I have to say, I am not an instant fan, it does not seem to fit my foot very well. Sharon, however, finds this a fabulous heel, so probably it is just my feet. I failed to follow the pattern when I came to the toe, my toes being less pointy than the pattern and requiring a less elongated decreasing section, and I finished the toes with kitchener stitch rather than a seam, so not too many changes.
The last sock I want to show you is by Elizabeth, who has been knitting socks for around 70 years.
She is unbelievably fast and accomplished, and will not pose for a photo with her sock for some strange reason.:). Elizabeth asked me to find her some very purple sock yarn, but thought she would try Heirloom Jigsaw number 78 whilst she was waiting. Unfortunately she does not care for this sock, finding the colour combination not to her taste, but as there is now a list of about 15 people who have offered enthusastically to take the socks off her hands when they are finished, I am sure her grand-daughter will like them very much as a Christmas present. All the eager sock recipient hopefuls will just have to knit their own.