Chunky is Good

I've been experimenting with different styles of necklaces lately--both in my making and in my wearing. I don't normally wear necklaces that I would call chunky, but I've attempted to make a couple recently. I had these interesting big beads waiting for repurposing.

Not feeling too happy with my experiments with leather, I tried some waxed linen thread. One thickness was all I could manage to thread through the beads, but I wanted a thicker texture, so I then braided another two lengths of yarn around the first. I wasn't able to estimate the finished length successfully, so my next step was to add several knots between each bead until I had the length I wanted. My next step is to try wearing it with some of my new black tops. Hopefully it will add a bit more variety to my wardrobe.

Sock Progress

I am happy to report that number one sock is finished. I even did the kitchener stitch and wove in the ends right away! And number two sock is on its way.

I'm keen to get it done so I can actually wear the socks. I can certainly see how this could become addictive.

Colour Fix Options

I've done a bit of clothes shopping in the past week. Apart from one pretty blue top, everything I could find in a size and style to suit me was black. The alternatives were mostly lime green and tangerine--not colours I can happily wear. This isn't a new challenge and I do have quite a collection of accessories to add the necessary colour to my wardrobe. A bit more prettiness is always in order, though. And the necklines of the tops I bought don't suit my existing necklaces too well. Here's what I made yesterday:

The sea-green feature beads were in my stash. The pretty clear faceted chrystals came from my Christmas stocking. I've made a slightly longer necklace than the ones I normally wear and it has a ten centimetre extension chain so I can vary the length just a bit. As well as earings to match, I had enough beads to make a little pendant. That can go on a silver chain as a low-key alternative to the necklace. The scrap of fabric in the top right of the pic is silk. I hemmed up a 20 cm piece to use as a summer scarf. So that's three possibilities to add colour to my new tops.

For Me

Just to prove that I really am getting on with my sock knitting, here's where I'm up to this morning.

It's going to be a hot day here--not the weather for wearing woollen socks. But part of the beauty of sock knitting for me so far is that the piece is small enough in my hands that it's comfortable to knit in any weather.

Oh and I'd better put mopping the living room floor on today's to-do list as well!

Sample Sock

I don't know how many times I've shared my desire to knit socks here. And how many times I've been "welcomed to the dark side" by my sock-knitting friends. I've knitted a few pairs in 8-ply, but they're really only good for lounging around, not wearing with shoes. Now I'm one step closer. This week I finished a sample sock in 4-ply wool on my new knit-picks dpns--2.25mm. The itty bitty stitches make me feel like a real sock knitter. Admittedly it's only one sock and I did it in a child's size, just to make sure I was clear on every step along the way.

I was so pleased with myself that I promptly cast on in my size--thankfully I have a small foot, so it's not that many more stitches to tackle. I've already had the benefit of having worked a sample. I've used the long-tail cast on this time and it looks better than the one I used for the sample. I'm just about to turn the heel. Then I will have gusset stitches to pick up. That will be the next place to learn a lesson. The sample has the predictable little hole at the end of the gusset. I'd like to avoid that if I can.

Drat

After my succesful necklace makeover experiment, I thought I'd try making another chunky necklace. I had some black leather cord which I thought would be ideal. The main limitation was the thickness of the cord, but I found a nice collection of beads with big enough holes. I threaded and knotted away happily until the cord snapped.

Drat! If I get thicker cord, it won't fit through the beads. Maybe I can try something with wire.

Martha and Me

I have to confess to a general ignorance of things famous: movie stars, pop stars . . . you'd think I'd been living on a different planet for the past forty years. But I have heard of Martha Stewart--not that I'd easily recognise something designed by her. Recently Bec at Sticks and Stones featured a Martha Stewart pattern. She said, " it hardly used any yarn and was a fun quick knit." That sounded attractive. I was particularly intrigued by the clever loop design which allows the scarflet to secure itself. I decided to commit a ball of hand-dyed baby yarn to the project as an experiment.

It was a fun quick knit. All except for the last five minutes or so when I found myself playing chicken  with the end of the skein of yarn. It was a that point that I registered the fact that my ball of baby yarn was only 25 grams rather than the 50 grams or so called for in the pattern. I'd taken the comment "hardly any yarn" a little too literally. It was enough, but only just. In the interest of saving yarn I didn't repeat the ribbed loop on the second end. And my anxiety about running out of yarn resulted in a considerable tightening of my knitted tension. Anyway, there are enough attractive features that I'll be keen to play with the design a bit more. By the time I streamline and embellish the ends of the scarf and add a bit of length it will no longer be recognisable as Martha Stewart. That's the way I like to play the game.