Friday, February 26, 2010

Dangerous Socks For Boys

So, I heard back from Knitty, and though it was a lovely email, it was a rejection. Dangerous Socks For Boys However, for the small sum of £2.50 Dangerous Socks for Boys could be yours! Just click on the link below and (hopefully) you'll be able to download the PDF. It's via paypal, I believe. Just click the link: I wanted to create some socks for my boyfriend that were manly enough for him (no lace, nothing too fancy), comfortable enough to wear in slightly warmer weather and most of all interesting enough that I didn’t get the dreaded second sock syndrome!
I also wanted a pattern that I could knit while on the move – something I could commit to memory easily. Dangerous Socks For Boys Thus, the Dangerous Socks for Boys were born, though the only danger is that you might want to keep them for yourself rather than give them to another boy in your life. Dangerous Socks For Boys The cuff ribbing is designed to flow into the main pattern, though it can easily be replaced with k2p2 rib. The central ribbing flows down the heel flap, helping it to hug the heel when worn. The blue sock is shown with k2p2 ribbing, the brown sock is shown with patterned ribbing. Dangerous Socks For Boys Dangerous Socks For BoysDangerous Socks For Boys Dangerous Socks For BoysDangerous Socks For Boys
Dangerous Socks For BoysDangerous Socks For Boys (Click to see larger versions) So go on, treat the boy (or man) in your life to some dangerous socks!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Not (quite) an epic fail

Well, sort of. I heard back from Amy, the editor at knitty.com. She told me that, as I suspected, I had only sent her my headshot and not the rest of the pattern details. However, she has asked for me to resend the details, so I might still be in with a shot! Woo!

-oOo-


We spent last weekend moving all of our superfluous stuff from our house to the house of some friends in a large van. It was a long wheel based high top something or other! It was pretty big anyway. I didn’t drive it because I couldn’t reach the pedals and we couldn’t figure out how to move the seat any further forward! We also took a van-load of things to the tip, so we have much more space at home.
Now the real fun begins (sarcasm) because we have to tidy, sort, throw away some more things, tidy some more, sand, paint, dust, sweep, Hoover, tidy, stick down, cover up and generally make the place look like it should.
I want to get it on the market by the end of March – with some luck we might even be able to get people round to see it over Easter that way. Perhaps that’s ambitious, but we’re so close to being ready, all it needs is some commitment, elbow grease, and me not to get ill or injured!

-oOo-


The shawl I’m knitting at the moment is coming along, although I’m not spending enough time on it. Lately I have been watching a bit of telly in the evenings, which isn’t conducive to lace knitting for me. So I’ve been mostly knitting some stockinette socks I’ve been making. These are a surprise gift for someone, who fortunately has feet a similar size to mine (one size larger, so should be an extra few rows before I begin the toe!)
To add interest (and, as it turns out, speed) I’ve been knitting two at a time on one circular needle. (I think I mentioned that already!) Which is working well for me!

Monday, February 15, 2010

Epic Fail?

On Sunday I went to a vintage wedding fair. Truth be told, I was a little disappointed, though I don’t know what I was expecting, I think I expected something larger. Anyway, there were some lovely things there, and I consolidated my desire for a fifties style wedding dress. I like the way A-line skirts look on me, and the masses of underskirts. A long time ago, not long after I met my fiancĂ©, we went to a fancy dress party. We decided to go as “fifties kids”, so he wore tight jeans and a checked shirt and I wore a circle skirt and a fitted v-neck cardigan.
Leon and I
(You can’t really see the coolness of the skirt in that picture!) I love dressing up!
There’s a chance that I’ll find something in a traditional bridal wear shop, so I’ll be doing the trek around those at some point. Probably with my Mum. It should be fun, though perhaps a bit daunting. I’ve managed to find pictures online of the sort of thing I’m looking for. The other thing I’m considering is getting something made especially. That would be cool.
The main thing I’ve changed my mind about is the colour. I was thinking about having a green dress (after seeing this knitted one on Rav) but I’m not sure that they’re wedding-y enough for me. While I want something practical-ish, it should be obvious that it’s my wedding day – right? So I’m almost certainly having something white (unless I change my mind again) – though I’m also hoping to have an accent coloured sash (and possibly shoes…)
-o0o-
We’re continuing to pack up things in the house. He’s ordered a van for us at the weekend, and we’ll be using that to ship some stuff to our friends’ house – they’ve kindly agreed to store some stuff for us. This also gives us even more reason to sort ourselves out as we can’t trespass on their hospitality forever! We’re also going to take the opportunity to get rid of some of our larger items that we no longer want/need. This will cause some fun in the interim, as we will not have enough sofas for visitors! That said, I’d rather that be the case than for the place to be a mess!
-o0o-
I’m still getting a fair amount of knitting in amongst the chaos! I’ve been working on the two-at-a-time socks for FFIL (that’s Future Father In Law) and I’m about a third of the way down both heel flaps. It’s going quite well, considering. I’m a bit apprehensive about the picking up of the stitches around the heel flap, but I think I know what I’m doing. I am kind of making up as I go along, which is fun.

I haven’t heard back from Knitty about my sock pattern. I have a suspicion that I had a bit of an epic fail with my email submission, which may mean that I can either (1) submit again for the following issue or (2) self publish and submit another pattern another time. I’ll be sending a note to Amy of Knitty before I do either! (I have done that)

The cardigan is going slowly. When I’m knitting at the moment it is mostly the socks, or the swallowtail shawl that I have on the go. Because it’s a triangular shawl that means that each pattern repeat takes a little longer than the last. I’m quite excited to get on to the next section though, for the beads! I’ve got two options on the bead front
Image not mine,
borrowed from e-beads.co.uk - an excellent business
who shipped my beads really fast a
nd didn't charge the earth
for either the beads or the postage!
On the left, metallic iris purple, on the right, silver lined amethyst.
Both are very pretty, and remarkably similar! I’m not sure which set I’ll pick yet, but I like both! Both sets match my yarn too!