I’m not a huge gift knitter, but this year, I have a few handmade presents planned, and they’re keeping my needles completely busy. While I’m really enjoying making for people I care about, I’ve also started to daydream about what I might cast on when the last gift is cast off! I usually have a thousand and one thoughts swirling in my head about what I’d like to knit next, and the challenge is sifting through all the inspiration to figure out what I need or what to knit most. So the other day, I broke open my new Strickplaner to start getting organised for 2022.
Read moreTalking to Strangers About my Socks
Adventures of the Rainbow.
How many times have strangers commented on your socks?
If we weren’t all knitters this would be a very odd question, I know! But bear with me…
I now have a few pairs of long, hand-knitted socks that give me enormous pleasure. They were incredibly fun to knit, and now that they are done, I am getting a huge amount of joy from wearing them. But it’s not only me that gets joy from my hand-knitted socks…
Read moreComing Soon: The Use Every Scrap Knitalong
Summer has finally arrived in Frome! It’s only due to last until the weekend, but it has trigged my annual desire to cast on for socks. Every. Year. Without. Fail. The weather gets even a little bit warm, and I cast on for socks. It’s the rules.
This year I thought it would be fun to do a knitalong to show you how to make a pair of socks that uses every scrap of yarn. This is the method I used to make the fabulous striping pair above.
Read moreThe Yarn Fumes are Getting to Us!
It’s been a super-exciting few days as we’ve prepared for the release of batches of Old Maiden Aunt & Fab Funky Fibres hand-dyed yarn in our online shop! Lilith and Elaine both contributed special hand-dyed yarns to Confident Knitting (OMA yarn is featured in this month’s Burnished Mittens and the FFF yarn is to-be-revealed), so we were so excited when the opportunity for a more sustained collaboration presented itself.
Read moreFinding Joy in Socks – and a video tip
I have to admit that my socks isn’t generally the first place I look when I need something to give me an injection of joy! But it has been my go to so far this month…
I’m not talking about my sock drawer, although as a knitter with a penchant for self-striping sock yarn, there is certainly joy to be found there! I am of course talking about my current knitting project: Dambisa Socks by Noma Ndlovu (Etsy link) (Biggerthanlife Knits on Instagram).
Read moreLittle Lessons: The Short Row Heel
One of the things that keep me coming back to sock knitting is the endless possibilities it offers. Socks are, of course, great little canvases for trying out a new technique or stitch pattern. But even if you want to keep your sock knitting relatively simple — your go-to handbag or Zoom project, perhaps — there’s still plenty of scope to try something new! Perhaps you like to endlessly experiment with your knitting to, or you’re still just after your perfectly fitting, winning sock combination. If so, I present for your consideration: the short row heel.
Read moreLittle lessons: Weaving in ends in ribbing
Today’s post has news of not one, but two new pairs of socks on my needles, as well as a video tutorial on weaving in ends in ribbing. Happy sock knitting all!
Read moreLittle lessons: Using the long-tail cast on with double-pointed needles
Sometimes the hardest part of a project is getting started…
I remember so clearly when I first learned to knit socks, that casting on was actually the trickiest part of the process. The stitches were so small, and the needles were EVERYWHERE, like an out of control hedgehog! Getting going was what slowed me down the most.
Today’s blog post includes a video tutorial on casting on for socks.
Read moreOn my needles...
I managed a good chunk of knitting time over the Easter weekend, which has done wonders for my general mojo. I hope that you are all getting some knitting time amongst everything else too!
It has been absolutely lovely to be able to sit out in the garden to knit. I love my garden – I ran a gardening business before I started work as a technical editor on The Knitter – but I don’t often sit outside and enjoy it. I suffer from hayfever for a large chunk of the time of year where it’s warm enough to sit out, so it was an extra treat for it to be warm, but not too pollen-y last weekend.
Read moreComfort socks
Today’s blog post is about my happy-place knitting, socks! It includes links to tutorials to get you started as well as what I’m planning for our blanket.
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