My Sock Yarn Blanket Begins...

So the thought was in my head last week, and it wouldn't go away, and now it would appear that I have started a new project, one that might well be a long time in the making...

 I gathered all of my leftover sock yarn, and my trusty 3mm hook, and I began making little squares. And suddenly there were five of them...

 The pattern is one that I found on a search of the internet, a sweet little mitred square pattern that works very nicely indeed. My particular method and exact stitch numbers are...

(UK stitch abbreviations)Using a 3mm hook and 4Ply yarn, chain 31 and turn

Into the back loops only (which gives the nice textured ribby effect) double crochet 14 stitches, skip 2 chains and dc14. 

Ch 1, then dc into 13 stitches, sk2, dc 13. Turn.

Ch 1, then dc into 12 stitches, sk2, dc 12. Turn.

Ch 1, then dc into 11 stitches, sk2, dc 11. Turn. And so on, you get the idea...

Until you have only two stitches either side of the gap, and you simply draw up a loop from each of the side stitches (still skipping the middle two) and wrap and pull through all of the loops. Then cut your yarn leaving a tail to sew up with!

This gives you a square that is approximately 5cm square. I just stitched them together through the side stitches, and added each square as it was made, hopefully this will help me to avoid the dreaded colour OCD...

My thanks to the creator, Mary Grace at Hooked on Needles for the wonderful pattern! 

My Week

I am ever so glad that I made the most of the beautiful weather at the start of the week - today is dreary and rainy and Wintry, but I am making the best of it with plenty of tea and knitting. I spent most of the week in the post-WonderWool wind-down, enjoying my lovely new stash and mooching around the online versions of the beautiful stalls I had visited. I took time to knit with my WonderWool buddy on Monday and we discussed the day and our plans to use our lovely purchases. I spent a little time tending our garden, so pleased that my husband had the foresight to plant beautiful wallflowers and tulips. 

On Thursday I went walking with my dad and his little dog, wandering through the woods and along the canal, stopping to admire the bluebells and wild garlic that lined our way. We mooched along and chatted and managed to avoid the April showers, and it was just lovely.

My Month In Makes...

This month saw a sock knitting innovation - I picked up some Drops Big Fabel chunky sock yarn, and using a combination of two patterns I made some cosy socks! I used the Quick and Chunky Sock Pattern as a starting point, and took some bits from my favourite Beginner Sock Pattern, and now I have two pairs of very gorgeous socks, that take very little time to make! I've started another pair for my sister too.

I finished two pairs of 4ply socks - some stripy ones and some Frankensocks, and I'm working on a third pair, with Drops Fabel yarn that looks like fancy Fairisle. 

I'm making progress with my 2015 blanket, I've finished seven rows now, and I love it so much! I finished my granny square blanket, and it's currently on my sofa being adored by my kitties. At the beginning of the month I started a new stash-buster blanket, I'm not using a pattern, just making it up as I go along, and it's coming along rather nicely. 

It's been a lovely month of makings!

WonderWool Wales

On Sunday we ventured into the beautiful Welsh hills for our annual visit to WonderWool. I love this gathering of like-minded folks, where everyone is passionate about craftiness, the atmosphere and enthusiasm. There are so many talented makers there, so much beautiful yarny goodness. 

I always love seeing the beautiful fluffy critters - Alpacas, sheep and Angora bunnies, happily enjoying the attention. There were huge installations too - Alison Murray's Gingerbread house covered in cakes, with knitted walls and a cosy bed in the corner, and the Giant Cardigan for Cardigan by Lisa Hellier. It was all so very impressive and inspiring! 

I didn't take a shopping list, but of course I expected to buy sock yarn - I found bargain Araucania Ranco merino 4ply in grey pink, and some beautiful Merino/Cashmere 4ply from Rosie's Moments which was my special purchase of the day! I also picked up a Kool Aid dye it yourself kit from Rosie's Moment, I am so excited to try it out! I just love the idea of dyeing my own sock yarn before knitting it up. I found some beautiful hand-dyed wool from Eliza Conway, I went for mustard, olive and turquoise, and was kindly given a purple ball by a friend. I didn't really have a plan for it, but I bought plenty so I'd have enough for a project. It was 50p for each 50g ball so it was pretty bargainous! 

I'm already looking forward to next year, and I can't wait to start using my lovely new stash! 

My Week...

Another week has passed, can't believe how time flies!

Tuesday - tea and cupcakes in The Vintage Rose Tearoom, Llangollen, and my "new-to-me" tea, coffee and sugar canisters, featuring peppers...

Wednesday - Meeting a new friend on our Anniversary evening stroll in the park in Chester

Thursday - Afternoon tea in Ellesmere followed by a trip to the movies to see "Guardians of the Galaxy"

Friday - My first Asian wedding, so very beautiful! 

Saturday - Honey and her lady-like paws, and my newly balled-up skeins of sock yarn - can't wait to start knitting!

A Visit to Ruthin

I love to visit quaint little towns, and one of my favourites is Ruthin in North Wales. It's an old town, with a castle and a gaol, and lots of lovely shops, but my first stop is always the Craft Centre. It's an Applied Arts gallery, full of beautiful objects and exhibitions from a variety of disciplines, and is always very inspiring.

The special exhibition was "As William Morris Said..." inspired by the quote -

"Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." William Morris

I particularly liked the ceramics by Derek Wilson, in tones of grey and white, with some lovely yellows. I think personally I am drawn more to colours and patterns than the more utilitarian, minimalistic work in this exhibition, but it was interesting nonetheless. 

As well as the main exhibition, there is a Willow installation that fills the entire of Gallery 2, called "Inundation". It really is amazing, such a massive expanse and filling so much space, but still so open and airy.

The town itself is lovely too, and I always enjoy pottering around the charity shops, antique centre and the yarn shop, where I gave into temptation and bought three skeins of beautiful sock yarn. And of course there was cake, because it seemed rude not to...