Knitting Socks

Knitting socks is - to me - a lovely, mindless way to spend an evening in front of the telly. I don't really have any quilty handwork, and I'm too, TOO fidgetty to just sit there. If I do, I end up snacking a lot, and end up feeling bloated, fat and uncomfortable.
SO, knitting socks it is.

But really ... knitting the same type of sock all the time tends to be boring, SO when looking through the summer issue of knitty, I found this pattern, and since I already had this yarn (and no, you really, really don't want to browse that shop ... it will probably be very, very expensive to do so), and the double-pointed needles, I started.

Now, some of you who read this blog probably already know, that English is not my first language, but I usually have no trouble with it, so I forged ahead.

I have not unpicked this much in the longest time !

Oh, well. BUT, sock # 1 is now finished - as can be seen from the picture - and so far, sock # 2 is much smoother sailing.


... but let me tell you, taking a picture of a sock on ones own foot is not quite as easy as might be imagined. Oh, well. It looks as it looks :-) and I like the way it looks, actually.

Another Sneak Peek on the Sampler

And these are the blocks that I've finished - so far - for the Inklingo Sampler blog. It is still loads of fun, and I'm learning such a lot about machine-piecing patchwork.
I am not very good freinds with my sewing-machine, so I am definitely out of my comfort zone here. HOWever, it is fun.
All of the above blocks are 6" square. Some started out being 5", but were log-cabined with a strip on all 4 sides.
BUT, I'm hand-piecing too :-)
All the non-square (i.e. hexagonal) blocks, are hand-pieced or hybrid pieced. Same goes for the square, but absolutely wrong size blocks I've made using the LeMoyne star 6" collection. Blocks can be made with the free collection too.
ANYway, these are the blocks that will be published on the Inklingo Sampler blog in the course of the next few months.

Super Karla is finished !

The Super Karla shawl is finished.

It was loads of fun to knit, and perfect for someone as impatient and easily bored as myself.
Lots of different lace-patterns in there, so ... might be said to be a sort-of lace-knitting sampler.
I added an extra row of squares, because I had lots of yarn left when I had finished the last full row of squares in the pattern. IF you decide to knit it, 2 skeins of Noro's Kureyon Sock-yarn will get you there with the pattern as it is.


Since I added another row of squares, I broke into the third skein for the border ... but not until then !

Materials : Kureyon Sock-yarn from Noro, 3.5 mm needles, and pattern from Karen Noe.

My Design Wall

Well, this is what it looks like at the moment.


I'm really sinking my teeth into the Sampler, and I am enjoying every moment of it. This is fun !
Those of you following the Inklingo Sampler blog, can see many of the blocks that I'm planning to keep you entertained. Most of what happens until the end of August is up there.
And yes, there are hexagon-blocks in there as well :-)
They can be made square or be left as they are, and be made into their own project.

Boredom and remedies

I knew I would be bored at work yesterday. I am a sub. at that place, and have a 3 hour break in the middle of the day some days, seeing that it's a public office, and we have to have a late opening day at least once a week. So, everything closes down from 1 to 4. And since it is not "my" office, I cannot do any of the zillion small tasks that are postponed. I can only do "this much" and nothing more. The tenured staff needs their priorities, filing and organizational systems respected. Also, I live too far away to go home, and 3 hours really is a lot of time, if you are on top of your work. I am fortunate enough to be that at the moment so ... what to do.

Well, I came prepared.

I brought some sewing and a DVD to watch on the 'puter. The newest BBC "Sense and Sensibility", (imdb-entry with list of cast etc. here)and my present "carry along and work on forever" project. Rectangle hexagons.

Got another rectangle made, and watched most of S&S at work, and finished it off when I got home.
And how do I like it ?
Well ... its major flaw is, that it is not the Emma Thompson version. The only thing that was clearly better in this one, was Edward Ferrars. I like Hugh Grant a lot, and find him charming in 4 weddings and Notting Hill, but I think his playing EF in the old (movie) version, was the one disastrous mis-casting in that one.

The major flaw with the new one, however, is (to me) that I cannot see Willoughby as instantly appealing. He is not at all appealing, romantic or dashing to me. I found his acting in Mamma Mia flat and unintersting, and thought it probably had to do with having a quite uninteresting part, but that does not seem to be the case. To any and all of you who love him, I apologize. He simply does not click with me.
I can sympathize with Marianne not falling instantly in love with Brandon in this version, and her eventual joining up with him, but ... Willoughby ... no.
I guess that Willoughby, Wickham (in P&P), and Henry Crawford (MP) have the same problem. They need to be charming, handsome and urbane, but also need to be seriously bad news ... and to find a young enough actor to pull that off seems very difficult indeed.

So. Do I recommend this version ? I really don't know. As I wrote, the major flaw is, that it is not the Emma Thompson movie, and for someone who does not have that sort of prejudice, or disliked the movie, I think this one could be a very good introduction to S&S.

And this concludes my first "task" in the Jane Austen Challenge.

Announcing a new blog

So, it is July 1st, and I have (yet another) blog.

You would think, what with the two I am already running (Inklingoprojects and this one), I had enough on my plate.

But no.

Maybe it is because I bore so very easily, and my present projects are all at a pretty boring stage, that I have felt the urge to actually do something I've been thinking about for a long time : Making a sampler, using Inklingo.

So, here it is : the Inklingo Sampler blog. Not very interesting - yet - but the plan is, that for as long as I've got the stamina for it, I will publish a new block every Friday.

So far, all the blocks are really simple to make, can be fully or partly machine-pieced, and the majority are 6" finished ... or smaller, so they can be log-cabined and still end up 6" unfinished.

The picture in this post, shows the blocks I've made so far. Most of them are made with Inklingo shape-collection # 2 (which is extremely good value for money, but, alas, only for Windows-users and only on CD), and more will be coming. You can, however, make many of the blocks using the free collection. The blocks will not finish at 6" then, but at varying sizes if you do that. Bottom line, however, is that it is a fun, easy and very inexpensive way to try out Inklingo.

Today's post on the Sampler blog is merely to announce that I'm here, I'm making blocks and I'm inviting you to join me. It also has links to much of the free stuff you can find that centers on Inklingo, including the free collection.