Spiral contradictions

I have been thinking about spirals far too much recently. I think I made it clear a couple of posts ago that I don't like it when sock yarn spirals. The offending socks I was writing about earlier are here:


















(I don't usually wear them with tights like this, but I wore these tights to work today and I couldn't be bothered taking them off for the photo.)



Why then, have I started a new sock pattern with deliberate spirals? And why am I loving it? The other day I saw that the lovely Lady Gem had started a gorgeous sock pattern and I just could not resist trying it myself with the posh sock yarn. And how happy am I that the sock yarn spirals, and now I have two spirals going in different directions on one sock?

All I can say is that when Lady Gem posted an innocuous picture of a sock she did not know what she had started! My spiral-phobia is over!

Wishful thinking

Today has been about wishful thinking and nothing else. I'm really into my economy drive at the moment and stuck to my budget dutifully last week. I had seven pence in my purse by the end of the week and was really pleased that I hadn't spent more than I had intended to. Today I went to town and did lots of window shopping and wishful thinking.

If I were not saving for Australia these are the things I would have bought today:

A red cardigan from Warehouse
Some underwear from Freya
A Yankee Candle in Clean Cotton (the biggest candle they have, I might add)

I went to town with a book gift voucher and went to buy this month's book for reading group. I couldn't find a copy so I went to the enquiries desk and then another member from the group appeared in the queue holding the last copy in the shop. I was quite disappointed about this because this shopping was permitted, because it was a voucher, but alas was not to be.

I did touch a couple of balls of wool today but, thankfully, didn't see this gorgeous yarn anywhere. I saw this yarn Regia Nation 5399 on a blog today and immediately fell in love with it and I really want to knit some Jaywalkers in it. Instead I have started a pair of socks for me in the posh sock yarn Caroline got me last year. It's about time I used this yarn and I really like it so far. Again, I can't find the camera so there is no photograph. The great thing about having lots of gorgeous sock yarn, which admittedly I do in my stash, is that when it's belt-tightening time you fall back in love with yarn you had forgotten.

Remember I was complaining about the spirals in the Maine Woods Yarn? I'm still not keen on that but I have to say that this is the softest sock yarn ever. The finished socks are a treat on the feet and despite the spirals I will make more.

I suppose my post seems quite down today, though secretly I'm pleased with my ability to resist temptation for beautiful things, but if all I have to complain about is spirals in socks, I guess life isn't really too bad.

Strictly showing off!

I've had a tough three days at work this week. Today I got home early (6.30pm) and I am fed up of meetings. Two things happen to me when I have a meeting. Firstly, I get behind with the things that I should be doing and can't cross things off my list. Secondly, from most meetings I get more jobs to do which means that my list gets even longer. I have two meetings tomorrow and another one on Friday. Next week I have a meeting every day after work and a couple during the days as well.

To cheer myself up I have bought tickets to go to Strictly Come Dancing Live. I cannot wait! I booked the tickets about five minutes ago and Ezzie knows nothing about it because he's out and it was a spontaneous decision. We haven't got great seats but at least I'll be there, in the thick of it, looking out for the gorgeous Anton du Beke and the gorgeous Darren Gough. I am having severe withdrawal symptoms at the moment and I don't think I can wait until September when it all starts again. I recorded a lot of the programmes this year as well as the Christmas Special and the Story of Strictly so I am binging (bingeing?) on those at the moment. I think Darren Gough is my most favourite person from it ever and I even forgive him his tattoos. I've actually met Darren Gough. I went to a cricket match ages (probably ten years) ago and he was playing and at the end of the match I got his autograph and I did like him then because he did seem a nice, charming guy, so Darren and I do go back a long way.

I can't wait until Ezzie comes home to tell him. In fact, now I've finished showing off here, I'll phone my Grandma and Mum to do the same.

More socks

I know it's a new year and I know that new years are about new starts, but so far this year I've knitted three pairs of socks and my list of things to knit includes more socks. I thought that 2007 was going to be the year of the sock, but 2008 might just be as well. I've decided that this year I am going to alternate socks for me and socks to be given away. Therefore, my first socks were for me, the second pair were for my pupil and the current pair are for me. I think this is a much fairer system and means I get some knitted socks because as I started Christmas knitting in July, it had been a good while since new wool was on my feet.

My pupil was mightily impressed with his knitted socks and turned up to school without socks in anticipation of wearing his woolly pair. The trouble is that now all the kids want socks and they are offering me all sorts of deals. Obviously this is all a compliment, but I'm liking knitting for me at the moment. One of my uncles wore his Christmas socks to a football match recently and said that his feet were noticeably warmer in my knitted socks. I think that he might be hankering after another pair as well. Oh dear, what have I started?

I'm currently knitting some socks in Maine Wood sock yarn in colourway Londonderry and it is gorgeous to work with. So soft, so pleasurable in the hands, I love it. The only thing I don't like about it, and this complaint is not exclusive to this sock yarn, is when the sock comes out in a spiral. Unfortunately in typical McKnitty fashion, I can't find the camera to take a photo of it, but I'm sure you get what I mean.

Anybody able to recommend a gorgeous soft sock yarn which doesn't spiral?

How neglectful of my blog I've been! Two weeks off work and only a Christmas Eve post. It's quite bad really, but as with all holidays I am full of plans and good intentions which rarely amount to much.

I got some lovely presents this Christmas, including a wooden needle case, a Vogue book about socks, which Ezzie did a good job in finding, as well as a calender with a knitting pattern a day. (I can't find the camera today and I was all geared up to take and post photos, but it's not to be, I'm sorry.) The calender has some great patterns including some socks which are called Leaves of Whimsy and I'm going to knit them for myself soon.

I did manage to get all the knitted socks completed. The final pair I knitted in four days, which is a new record, especially for men's socks. Everyone seemed pleased with their socks, but I won't be doing this again in the future. It was too much work and overly ambitious. Since then I have knitted myself a regular pair of socks in Lorna's Laces in Sweetie. They are really nice and it's great to knit for myself again.

At the moment I am knitting more socks and this time for a pupil at school. I can't remember whether I mentioned this in my last post, but I bought Shona's Christmas present second-hand from a kid at school. He set the price, but then reduced it if it included a pair of socks. In terms of the time I'm putting into it, he got a good deal, but I am using up some old left over yarn, so it's cost effective for me. I see it as quite a compliment that people desire my socks so much!

In the sales I bought some reduced Cashmere. It's still expensive, but definitely better than full price. I have a cashmere scarf I started last year and I needed more yarn, so it was good to get it half price.

Apart from that, however, I'm on an economy drive and will be using up whatever yarn I have hanging about. To be honest, I have plenty of yarn to knit with, but this year I have to be more sensible because the trip to Australia is going to cost a lot of money and my car's not doing too well at the moment so I might have to buy a new car this year. I do love buying yarn; I always think about all the potential and there are some amazing fibers and colours out there at the moment. I'll just have to look from afar.

Happy New Year!

Christmas Eve

Well, it's Christmas Eve and instead of relaxing and looking forward to tomorrow, all I can wonder is whether I will finish the final pair of Christmas socks. I started them on Saturday and finished the first sock yesterday late at night. All I had done was knit. I reduced the number of stitches and rounds to make it quicker and knitted round and round, no fuss, no messing, no special features. I have never managed to knit a whole sock in two days, so I have cast on the second one today and am determined to finish the second one. This pair is for my Great Uncle and I won't see him until Boxing Day, so there is time but it's pretty much all I can think of at the moment.

The only other thing I'm thinking about at the moment is the Strictly Come Dancing final on Saturday night. I love Strictly and I always fall in love with one of the couples and this year it was Matt and Flavia. I did start off loving John Barnes, but he was knocked out a few weeks ago and I always love Anton du Beke, but he also wasn't in the final. In the past I have fallen in love with Darren and Lylia, Mark and Karen so it was inevitable that this would happen again this year. Did you see Matt and Flavia's show dance? It was amazing! They are amazing together. I really can't believe that Flavia actually goes out with Vincent Simone; he's no where near as nice as Matt and I really think Flavia needs to sort it and quick!

That's my Christmas Eve message. Back to the sock.

I can't sleep

I went to bed about an hour ago and realised very quickly I was having "one of those nights" where despite being tired the last thing I can do is sleep. I've not had one of these for a while but I know the signs early on and usually the best thing to do is get up and do something.

I'm feeling anxious about a couple of things at work and it's this which is keeping me awake. I haven't done anything wrong, but a recent decision at work has benefitted me but is going to upset others. I feel really guilty about it all and I'm expecting some hostility tomorrow. I'm also worried about next year's exchange because I haven't managed to fill the trip and I have to send the Germans the details on Friday and I don't want to run a half full trip. I have two days to generate more interest and get the deposits in. I know the exchange, like anything, ebbs and flows, but I've really promoted it and the interest has been disappointing.

Anyway, to counteract all this negativity and wondering in my head I decided to get up and look at the stash. Last Friday we had Knit Club here and I raided the stash and I was appalled at the state it's in and the number of "forgotten" yarns and projects I have. I have some lovely yarns and I cannot wait to start knitting some gorgeous socks for myself again. Lucy bought me a lovely skein of Natural Dye Studio sock yarn in pinks, blues, greens and purples and I cannot wait to get it on the needles. Thank you Lucy! The rummage didn't last long, because I quickly felt overwhelmed and remember "sorting out the stash" is a New Year's Resolution and cannot officially start until January.

I have finished the Jaywalker socks this evening, so I have only three more pairs of Christmas socks to go. Will I make the deadline? The next three socks are going to be plain old knit, knit and more knit, no pattern, just lots of stocking stitch. As lovely as the Jaywalkers are, I had to knit them on 76 stitches, which is 16 more than I usually knit. I'll post some photos next time and you will be impressed by the small amount of yarn left from these socks. I didn't waste any of the yarn. They do seem to have taken longer and being separated over my long weekend didn't help. Incidentally, I hadn't left them at work, but in the car of a neighbour, so they were only ever 200 metres from my house and not the 14 miles I originally thought.