Green socks

Here they are, my new long bedsocks:

The colour is right in the top photo. I used the pattern on the cover photo of Melissa Morgan-Oakes' book Toe-Up 2-At-A-Time Socks for the shaping and measurements but simplified the lace pattern and made it my own.  I think the heel is very pretty here.

It was hard to estimate how far my yarn would go so I started the ribbing early. Binding off looks a bit curly but it mustn't be too tight.

I have been cutting more strips for the log cabin quilt. Still a lot to cut, but it means that I will use up many of my fabrics. and that is the point. Use up fabric, have fun sewing, get a quilt. Win-win-win.

Almost Summer

Suddenly, on Wednesday or so, it was warm again. After a little rain shower the nature just burst into greenness and growth. My green socks are slowly growing too. I'm going to knit them as long as the yarn allows.

Today I made a test block for a new quilt. I have what feels like tons of light blue fabrics, and some brown ones left over from the Shadow Plaid. I have never made a Log Cabin quilt, just single blocks, so I thought it was time to give it a chance. I have always liked brown and light blue together.

I have a fair amount of 2" strips cut already but need more. I'm also going to cut them to the required length before sewing to keep my squares square.

Scilla Sibirica in our garden. I would love to have more but they seem to take their time to spread.

Today I had tea in the garden, in my short sleeves, and really enjoyed the +21 C temperature. 

Summer Knitting

This skein of hand dyed Lempi sock yarn from Lentävä Lapanen, the Flying Mitten, has been waiting for inspiration since March. It is a lovely yarn from a rare Finnish land race sheep Kainuu Grey, specially made for the Flying Mitten in colours designed by Taina, one of the owners.

 

I tried a new lace pattern, from toe to top, two at a time. I started the heel too late, and the leg, where there is lace also in the back, became too tight at certain points of the lace pattern. I wasn't so sure about this before the socks were finished.

 

 

Afterwards:

 

I unravelled both socks beyond the heel and started again. Here are the soles and the beginning of the heel. The weather has been almost chilly, we had the coldest latter part of June ever. Prolonging a woolly knitting project suits the weather just fine.

 

Last night I finished them again, with a happy end. My pattern had a link to a great bind off for toe to top socks here.

In my new version I made the gusset longer to get more stitches around my ankle.

 

No more lace on the backside, just a stretchy k1 p1. The socks feel super nice and so did the yarn while I was knitting. There is some lanoline left in the yarn because it has been treated so gently throughout the whole process from fleece to needles.

 

Melanie has just knitted her pair with this yarn in another colour way, go and have a look if you haven't already.

More socks

A nasty flu has been slowing me down. No fever, just coughing so loud that the squirrels outdoors jump, and now a nose so runny that I must keep a hankie in one hand all the time. Almost, that is. It is so easy to exaggerate! I have been sitting quietly on the sofa and knitting, when I felt better.

 

 

Two new pairs of wool socks for the Red Cross campaign. I love to test new patterns for these. I can follow the pattern not knowing what size my socks will be because my yarn is not the same as in the pattern. I had two 50 g balls of red and one ball of grey yarn. First I knitted the red pair with a surface pattern of knit and purl, from the Two at a time socks book.Then I took the grey yarn and started a basic pair from toe to top from the other book by Melissa Morgan-Oakes. I made red stripes until I imagined there was just enough grey yarn to finish the top. Now I have two tiny balls of the red left, and I think I'll use them for some stripes in a new pair. At the moment I'm half way done with the heels of my next pair, another pattern from those books.

 

Yesterday I took these socks to the Flying Mitten Lentävä Lapanen. Some new pairs had already been added to the tub they provided for the collection for the Red Cross last week. Their own knitting group had a meeting last night so more socks or mittens were expected.

Visitors

Recently we have had some rare visitors. Two weeks ago a trail of new tracks came from the forest to our yard, something bigger than the usual hares.

 

In the front garden it looked almost like little children had been skiing there, spoiling the virgin snow cover.

Then we had a better look, measured the marks and checked with a book "Tracks on Snow": Not a deer but an elk! We know they live in the forest but this was a first visit so close to the house.

A week later another new visitor came: Melanie came to celebrate our birthdays. I'm five days and some  many years older than she, so Friday was just fine for our birthday cake. It was wonderful to finally meet her in person after five years of blog friendship. I was so happy to notice she was exactly as I imagined her.

On Saturday we took the train to Järvenpää and started our tour with the number one on her wish list, Villa Cooper. As you can see, we had beautiful weather for our walk.

Just some Easter pictures from the inside. Decorated twigs like the ones children would bring you on Palm Sunday with their blessings in exchange for some chocolate eggs.

Lovely white feather wreath.

I think I will leave the rest of my tour pictures until Melanie has shown hers on her blog so I don't spoil her surprise. This is what I knitted her for her birthday, to make sure she will survive our cold March days during her visit. I'm slowly learning the toe to top method of knitting socks, but I'm still having difficulties with determining the distance from toe to beginning of the heel.

 

With these yellow tulips from my sister I wish you all a Happy Easter!