sharing the plowshares

Here's the latest in the Great Sock Gift Project of 2011-2012. April is a busy month in the Pfitzner family. First off the rank is my father-in-law. I've been searching for some more good blokey sock patterns. Something that's not too boring to knit and not to fancy to be off putting. 

And this was the result:

 
They're called plowshare socks which is perfect for my father-in-law because I think his favourite place to be is on his farm just north of Adelaide. The pattern was a little risky because not that many other people had used it but I love it.

It has a slipped stitch in the middle of the rib which really makes it pop. And there's a chevron kind of pattern to make the plowshare shapes. Kept the interest going without being technically difficult. A really clever pattern.

I also love the yarn which is hazelknits artisan sock (my go-to yarn of choice at the moment). In the words of my father-in-law it's comfortable and surprisingly light. I also love the colourway which is called low tide and is a beautiful mix of blues, greens, grays and browns. Quite similar to the new Cookie A sock club yarn from Socktopus.

And the good news is that the socks fit! Although in the pictures they were kindly modelled by mum. Anyway better get back to the April birthday knitting :-)

another pair finally finished

I've blogged about these ad nauseum but they are done. The rib was pretty straight forward, the intriguing techniques revolved around knitting a sock from the toe up.

I thought the eastern cast-on was fiddly but effective (particularly being a tight knitter made it a bit more difficult). 

The short row heel worked out better than I anticipated. I like the sewn bind-off.

My mother bought me this beautiful yarn right when I first got into sock knitting. I love the colours and love the way the raspberry stripes came out. I needn't have worried about the yardage of the colinette jitterbug, they've added another 10g since many people were remarking on the low yardage. I could have added another inch or too, which is frustrating since they are toe-ups. Next time I'll have an electronic scale on hand and make an informed decision about when to bind off :-)

Holiday knitting goal #2 done and dusted.

deb's dazzlers

 It's been a bit of a busy time in terms of birthdays and my sock gift project. These socks are for my step mother-in-law, a bit of a mouthful but you know how these things go. Anyway it was a significant birthday and her favourite colour is purple. So I went searching for the right wool. It was a bit tricky to find a nice purple, but in the end I saw this wool that was quite variegated with aqua and a few other colours. The other nice thing was that the wool was from New Zealand, which is where she'd spent her birthday.

Given the variation in the wool I thought I'd stick with a simple rib. And I thought I'd give Ann Budd's On-Your-Toes another go. You can get the pattern in a free ebook here. It was good to practice the Eastern Cast-On again. Fun to knit a sock from the toe-up and good to practice the short-row heel again. I've ravelled it here.

Anyway, better get back to it. I've still got to finish my own version of these socks. I've made a bit of progress since I last mentioned them, finished the first sock and finished the toes of the second. The other socks I'm working on are a complicated lace pattern, so these socks are good for knitting while I'm out and about and don't have to concentrate too hard... :-)

winter hedgerows

I thought that the socks I made for my sister were actually quite gender neutral so I thought I'd try them again with a masculine feel for her husband: heavier weight wool and a more neutral colour. These are the biggest socks I've ever knitted so they took AGES. And I think they might even be a bit big :-/ Oh well... I've ravelled them here.
Here's the comparison:

his...

and hers...

I'm now in the process of trying to get pictures of each of the recipients in their socks in some zany situation. Let's see how I go.

Anyway, better get to it. 2 more pairs of socks to knit this month :-)

these lobster socks rock

I'm so excited to be able to blog about these socks. I'm thrilled with how they came out. These socks are a part of the Great Sock Gift Project 2011-12 and are for my beautiful sister. They are an interesting rib that are supposed to bring to mind the hedgerows of country England. An idea that was a little bit lost when I chose lobster coloured yarn. But I love the colour and I love how the rib goes right down the back of the heel.

They also have a rounded toe rather than a wedge toe which I find quite appealing.

I've gone a bit overboard with all the photos. But I just love love love these socks.

I've ravelled the socks here. And the free pattern is available here. I should mention the designer is called Jane Cochran and I think she is just so talented. These are currently my favourite textured socks - a bit more interesting to knit than a basic rib but not too hard.

I was also knitting them at the same time as I had these beautiful roses. And I think I must have a thing for this colour at the moment.

w.i.p. wednesday

This is a crafting phenomenon which refers to 'work in progress' wednesday... where I can give you a sneak peak at how some of my knitting projects are progressing. Some will have to be more obscure than others...

First, here are some socks I'm working on for myself at the moment:

They’re called ‘on-your-toes socks’ by Ann Budd. It's a free pattern available here. They’re a pretty simple rib pattern that won’t get lost in the beautiful colour scheme of the yarn. They’re also an opportunity to try out some new techniques like starting your socks at the toe (most sock patterns start at the cuff) and also a short-row heel (rather than a heel flap). 

Here's the cool toe.                          And the short row heel.

They're on hold at the moment while I work on some more pressing projects, but I've almost finished the first sock. :)