Obsessive? Me?

A couple of weeks ago I hadn't heard of Herbert Niebling, and had never considered knitting a tablecloth. A few trips to eBay and Amazon later and my Herbert Niebling/Lace Tablecloth cup runneth over.....



I did manage to avoid bidding on any more Niebling patterns last weekend and I take that as a positive sign that when I die they won't find me buried in German Anna magazines (although I'll probably still waiting for that dang Lyra yarn!!!)

I realised as I flipped through these magazines that it is quite possible that I'd bought the english editions in the 80s! Anna was one of the few magazines to feature bobbin lace patterns and so I often bought it around that time. Although I was a knitter then the knitted tablecloths wouldn't have interested me or caught my attention. I was a Kaffe/Sasha Kagan big jumper with all over colour or cables type girl.

Some of the patterns I particularly like in these editions..... (If you click on the pictures you can see more detail.)













While waiting for the Lyra yarn I've decided to steal a great idea from BrooklynTweed and begin work on a small blanket based on this doily design using this very squishy Posh Yarn yarn. (Why orangey colours? I have no idea. It doesn't go with anything in my house. But I like it.)

The pattern is from Modern Lace Knitting.






And finally, I've finished (almost) the first Kaffe Fassett sock. I decided to try afterthought heels on this one - and I like them better than the short rows - despite the need to graft TWICE. (Gadzooks!) This one will need a little after grafting surgery as the stitch pick up wasn't quite as tidy as it should have been. More details when I finish the second one. (Do I know how to keep you coming back or what?)

Pink Socks for M

A couple of weeks ago M requested some socks. Yipppeee! I am always on the lookout for deserving feet to make socks for and M certainly qualifies.



I asked her what sort of sock she wanted and asked her to pick some yarn she liked from the stash. She did a bit of thinking and then sent me a text to say "can I have a pinky colour, light and dark, and can I have them lacey". I was pretty sure that is was the Duet Sock Yarn that had caught her eye - from her description of the yarn and the fact that the yarn was sitting on top of the stash when I got home!

The lacey request was a bit of a problem for two reasons, one the yarn is DK weight, and two it's variegated and would overpower most lace patterns. Not deterred I decided to make a pair using a Cable Twist Pattern from Hello Yarn (which I found around that time being praised on Dave's Blog). It's an easy pattern and the stretchy ribbing means the socks should fit reasonably well around the leg. When I make these again I'll use a bigger needle size (I knit these on 2.5mm - should have used 3 or 3.25 I think for the DK yarn.)


I was feeling a bit bad about not making lacey socks though so I found some more 'pinky yarn' in the stash (Bubblegum from Cazza) and decided to make modified Monkeys. Not lacey per se - but they do feature YO's! As suggested on a knitting forum I replaced the purl stitches in the pattern with knits. This sped up the knitting time and gives a pleasing effect I think.

The yarn surprised me by knitting up in these funky spirally stripes. (I had thought it would knit up more like it did on the heels.) When i recovered from the surprise I realised that a heel flap heel would destroy the stripes.


Egads!

It was obviously time that I bit the bullet and took on short row heels to preserve the spirals. Armed wth More Sensational Socks I tackled the short rows and although there is LOTS of room for improvement I'm ok with the result. I don't think this will end up my preferred short row treatment - but it'll do for a first try.

I'll leave the socks out for M to pick up tomorrow. Hope they fit!


Unrelated to pink socks for M today I received some Kaffe Fassett Regia sock yarn from Woolly Workshop which I'll be casting on at the first opportunity. This obligatory photo doesn't really give the true colour of the yarns (they are in fact two different colourways) - but I felt compelled to post it anyway!! I've got another colourway on order.

PS - Still no sign of Lyra yarn. Sigh.

Tapping my fingers impatiently (knitter style)....

So, I'm waiting for the yarn for the BKC (Lyra tablecloth) to arrive. Being an impatient sort I'm restless and can't seem to settle into anything knitting-wise.


I've wound some sock yarn....

....cast on for some socks....

...then decided I didn't like them.






I started making some hats for Innocent Smoothies.



For the benefit of non-UK readers I should explain that I don't normally knit for my refrigerated beverages. I'm knitting these as part of the Big Knit fundraising drive. These hats will be sent to Innocent who will start shipping the Smoothies with hats in late November. Participating retailers will donate 50p for each hat to Age Concern, specifically to support initiatives to help old age pensioners keep warm in the winter months.

I'm going to try to make 100.


I've pre-ordered Kaffe Fassett Knits Again from Amazon. (Along with some good ol' Canadian content - a documentary about Glenn Gould on DVD and a book about Terry Fox which is guaranteed to make me cry. All books about Terry do.)

I've cast on this BubbleGum sock yarn (from Cazza) and have started a modified Monkey pattern (substituting knit stitches for all purl stitches). So far so good.

But in my heart my knitting fingers are still tapping.....