I finished this quilt in August, but didn't dare send it to the Netherlands in the mail... So I waited until we traveled there ourselves, and on Friday, December 16th, the quilt finally arrived at its destination: Hugo's student accomodation in Wageningen!
He was very surprised, and loved it! He enjoyed looking at all the t-shirts that are part of it. So many memories!
I'm so happy with the final result!
I have started knitting the second sock of the Florentine Lace Socks (see previous posting), but I had cataract surgery on my right eye in early November. Afterwards, I could see really well with that eye, but not yet with the other, so not a good time for lace knitting. Instead I made another pair of DK socks using the Sail Away pattern that I almost know by heart now:
These are for my BFF in the Netherlands, who I will see on Sunday, as we fly out there tomorrow!! She chose the yarn (Oceans, from Heathermaid of course), and I found free printable labels at Billy and Baa. I hope she will love them!
I'm currently knitting another DK pair for my middle son, whose first pair is now a chew toy for our dog, Shaggy...
He chose this yarn, called Turban Shell - I really like those colours! The first sock is finished, I will finish the second one in the Netherlands so he can wear them while we are there.
And I will bring this ball of yarn, so I can start another pair when they are finished! I don't know yet who they will be for, but I am sure I'll find someone ;-)
(Last weekI had cataract surgery on the other eye and I now have perfect, 20/20 vision - but I will save the lace knitting for when we are back home)
As mentioned in the previous post, I started on the Florentine Lace Socks in August. This is not the sort of knitting you can do while watching tv, so I started another simple pair of DK socks as well, with the gorgeous Kookaburra yarn from Heathermaid:
This pair is for our eldest son, who is now studying in the Netherlands. When it was finished I got my middle son to model them (with a little help from Shaggy):
And then I sent them off to the Netherlands:
Three weeks later, they arrived and Hugo loves them! He sent me this photo. The weather had just turned cold, so they were very welcome :-)
In the meantime I had finished the first Florentine Lace sock:
It is beautiful, but this may be my first case of second sock syndrome... Instead of casting on the next one, I started on a pair of socks for my youngest son:
This pattern is the Rustling Reed Socks by Lisa Wicks. It looks very cool, but again I am not really enjoying knitting it! Maybe I should stick to basic socks... The yarn is Peacock from Stray Cat Socks in New Zealand, that I bought back in 2017!
When this sock is finished I may start on the second Florentine Lace sock, and alternate working on these two pairs. I have also ordered more DK sock yarn from Heathermaid, for some uncomplicated simple sock knitting!
This winter has been very productive! After the rainbow socks that I showed in the previous posting I started on a pair of DK socks for my youngest son. I used the Fast Forward pattern by Kate Atherley again, and knitted these two at a time. I was quite proud of myself for mastering that skill, but to be honest, I didn't enjoy it very much, so have gone back to knitting one sock at a time. No second sock syndrome here so far ;-)
My son was very happy with his socks and our dog Shaggy liked them too! I immediately started on a pair for my middle son, again with DK yarn from Heathermaid, this time using the Sail Away DK Socks pattern by Felicity Ward. I also used my new Addi Sock Rockets magic loop needles - so much better than the old one that kept twisting.
These socks were a succes with both my son and our dog...
Sadly Shaggy got hold of one sock less than a week after I finished them...
I have mended it, and once again reminded my son not too leave his socks lying around where Shaggy can get them!
I had ordered three balls of DK yarn from Heathermaid, planning to knit a pair of socks for each of my three sons. But as our oldest is now living in the Netherlands, where it is summer, I decided to knit a pair for myself now, and a pair for him later in the year, to give to him when we visit the Netherlands in December.
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I wanted to try something new, so made the Sailors Rope DK Socks, also designed by Felicity Ward. Love the cable! I finished the pair earlier this week. When I tried to make some photos, Shaggy wanted to be in them as well:
That was my sixth pair of this year! And I'm not done with sock knitting yet. But winter is almost over, and before long we won't need warm socks here in Queensland, so I've started something a bit different: lace socks!
I bought some very soft alpaca/merino/nylon yarn from Heathermaid and have started on the Florentine Lace Socks. To be continued!
My Rainbow socks are finished! I brought them with me on our winter holiday to Tasmania and knitted at night in our cabin, sitting near the wood stove, very cosy :-).
In Hobart I found a yarn shop and of course I had to buy a small souvenir...
More sock yarn! ;-)
It will have to wait its turn, as first I need to finish these DK socks for my youngest son:
For these I am using the Fast Forward pattern from Kate Atherley again, and this time I am knitting them TAAT (two at a time). So far, so good... The yarn is again from HeatherMaid on Etsy.
Winter has arrived Down Under, and here is another pair of socks! These are for hubby, who really needed some, as our new rescue doggo Shaggy had destroyed his favourite socks...
This is my first pair of toe-up socks, first knitted on Magic Loop and first made with DK yarn! I used the Fast Forward pattern by Kate Atherley and enjoyed making them - it really is a kind of magic, the way a ball of yarn is transformed into a pair of socks. The yarn is called 'Fireside' - handdyed DK yarn from HeatherMaid on Etsy.
Now that hubby's socks are finished I've gone back to my rainbow socks. The first one is almost done!
I could have mended that hole, but the soles were also getting very threadbare... Time to knit a new pair!
In May 2017 I bought some blue self-striping sock yarn in Melbourne, when I was there for the National Gymnastics Championships. I made a start on the first sock (they were meant to be for my gymnast son), but then in July we went to the Netherlands, where my mother-in-law taught me to crochet... and the sock disappeared from sight... until a few weeks ago!
I was pleased to find that I still knew how to knit, and surprised at how much I enjoyed it! After a few weeks of knitting regularly both socks were finished (I had to Google how to cast on, as I had completely forgotten!). They fit very well, just like the previous pair (I used the Basic Ribbed Socks pattern by Kate Atherley for both pairs).
I'm very keen to do some more knitting in the coming months, so have ordered a few balls of self-striping yarn from HeatherMaid on Etsy.
I've already started knitting with the rainbow yarn - it's so much fun to watch the colours appear!
For this pair I am using the Pin Striped Socks pattern designed by Julia Swart. Can't wait to add the afterthought heel to my sock-knitting repertoire!
PS I am also quilting the t-shirt quilt, bit by bit. I tried an all-over pattern, but that wasn't a success, so I am now quilting in the ditch. It's about halfway done. Not really enjoying that part, but still excited about the quilt itself. Stay tuned!
Here is another Mandala Pillow - this one's a present for my middle son's girlfriend.
Again I used Bendigo Woollen Mills cotton 8 ply - this time the colourway Blush, that I also used for the legs of Ringo the Flamingo.
Here's the pillow together with the first one I made:
And here are all four I have made so far:
I've already started the next one! That one will be for my youngest son.
