Wednesday 19 September 2012

WIP Wednesday / Yarn Along

Time is flying by don't you think, I see myself whipping through my agenda pages, making bookings well into November, where did this year go?
I have been busy this week, I have a FO for Friday this week - YEAH!! More about that on, well, Friday..... :-D
Jas is away at an Astronomy camp this week, how cool is that, why didn't we do such cool things at school? At the end of the week our fall holidays start for 3 weeks, so less stress, at least for a little while :-)
Back to my WIPs for this week.

I got some wool (Drops - Karisma) for a pullover for hubby, in the colour off-white, he didn't really like the colour so I thought I would use it to knit up some socks Fair Isle style. So far so good, am at the heel of the first sock and I must admit I am loving this project, besides the fact that I did the pattern section upsidedown LOL!! I began the sock by tying off the colours I didn't need for a while, but I ended up with so many threads to sew in at the end, I am kinda dreading the finishing process. Half way through I decided enough is enough and started to carry the threads. Strangely enough, even though there was a lot of twisting going on at the beginning of each row, the sock looks better on the outside - more seamless (does that make sense?) and seems to have a better tension than when I tied off each colour. A question to all you hard core Fair Isle knitters out there, do you continue to carry your thread all the way up, or do you tie off each colour when it is not being used for a section? What is the "Right" way to do it?
My second WIP for this week is another Fair Isle project. This time a Jumper for Jas. 
After managing to finish the pullover I made for Kayla in 8 days (more on Friday) to drop needle size and wool thickness is such a bother! Needless to say, I am still struggling to get through the 7cm of ribbing, I know it all gets easier after that but I need some motivation! It also doesn't help that it starts off in the same colour as my FO :-( Anyway, I am sure I will move forward on this project at some point during the week.
Don't forget that you only have the rest of today and tomorrow to enter into the Blog Give-Away I have going to win this "Little Shopper". 
Go here to enter. It is open internationally, Good Luck to all. Winner will be announced on Friday.
I have also opened a Marigolds' Loft Group on Facebook and hope you will come past. There will be a great Give-Away as an opening celebration for Group members happening within the next couple of days.

I will be sharing this post as always with the wonderfully talented folk over at:


56 comments:

  1. I love fair isle, its so gorgeous. I love the colours of yours!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Tanya,

      Thanks for visiting.
      Have a super Wednesday.
      x

      Delete
  2. Replies
    1. Hi Hazel,
      Thanks :-D
      Have a great day, thanks for visiting.
      x

      Delete
  3. I love the colours and design of the fair isle socks. Perfect for cold days. How amazing does astronomy sound? Thanks for sharing.
    Ali x

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    Replies
    1. Hi Ali,
      Doesn't it sound fab - Astronomy camp, I hope they are having better weather than us right now, it seems as if winter decided to start today! Cloudy and icy, oh well, better knit faster :-D
      Thanks for visiting..
      x

      Delete
  4. Your Fair Isle style socks look pretty good!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Elisabeth,

      Thank you so much :)
      Have a great Wednesday, thanks for visiting.
      xo

      Delete
  5. I love your fair-isle project, such beautifully combined colors, gorgeous!!!

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  6. Your socks look great! I have never been brave enough to do fairisle - the most I've ever done is colour work with three colours and all of the tangled yarn was a bit off-putting. However, I'd always carry the yarn, I can't imagine tying in all of the ends and especially with socks because the yarn can't really travel that far before it's being used again.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Hannah,
      Thanks for the tip, I will be carrying the yarn from now on, so I guess sock number 2 will look a little better than sock number 1 and will have a lot less finishing to do :-D
      Thanks for dropping by.
      x

      Delete
  7. The socks are beautiful! I've never done fair isle anything but it's on my knitting bucket list!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jen,
      What I like about the fair isle is that you are so busy with the pattern that you don't seem to pay attention to the knitting per se and your work grows incredibly fast without you actually realising it. I would recommend you give it a bash :D
      Thanks for visiting.
      x

      Delete
  8. That fair isle looks beautiful, I am by no means a hard core fair isle knitter but I always carry my threads, I don't like weaving in ends much.
    Those socks look like they're going to be so cosy x

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    Replies
    1. Hi Come on in,
      Thanks so much for the tips. Yes, the socks are feeling pretty cosy, today is really wintery, makes me want to hurry up and finish them :-D
      x

      Delete
  9. The socks are beautiful!

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    Replies
    1. Hi nothingbutknit2,
      Thank you kindly.
      Have a super Wednesday.
      x

      Delete
  10. Please, please don't talk about November! :) I love your fair isle - such beautiful berry colors.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Lisa,
      Ok, I will try my best not to mention it too much for the next month, but thereafter it will kinda be unavoidable ;)
      Thanks for visiting.
      x

      Delete
  11. Oh my goodness - that fair isle is beautiful! I have never had the nerve to try it; I just know I'd get all confused and it would be a disaster. I should probably screw up my courage & give it a go sometime, though, right? I love what you are doing & look forward to seeing more of that sweater! xo

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    Replies
    1. Hi bflomama,
      Thank you so much. Give it a try, it really is quite easy once you are into the pattern. You do need to be kind to yourself though, and if you are like me, who only realised at the end of the pattern bit that I had actually knitted it all upside down,(so the tip is to read the pattern from the bottom up - actually quite logical, I didn't think so at the time tho LOL!!) you need to shrug it off and adapt the work to suit you :-D
      Thanks for popping by.
      x

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  12. Loving the socks! Great fun :)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jess,
      Thanks so much.
      Have a great Wednesday.
      x

      Delete
  13. Your fair isle socks are gorgeous!! Love the color combination!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Anke,
      Thank you very much.
      Have a super rest of your day.
      x

      Delete
  14. The socks look lovely. I'm doing some fair isle at the moment and really enjoying using colour too. Wow a pullover in eight days...that's fast.

    Happy knitting.
    Deb

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    Replies
    1. Hi Debby,
      Thank you so much. Yip 8 days, :) it was pretty easy with the right wool and the right needles! Tell you more on Friday.
      Thanks for dropping in.
      x

      Delete
  15. I did fair isle years ago. It looks like I had to take it up again. :-) Very nice colours you are using! I break the yarn - lets say - if it's more then 5 cms until I use it again.

    Wish you a nice rest of the day!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Babajeza,

      That is quite a handy tip, thank you, will definitely make use of it on sock number 2.
      Have a super rest of your Wednesday.
      x

      Delete
  16. It's going to be a beautiful pair of socks :)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Hege,

      Thank you very much.
      Have a wonderful day.
      x

      Delete
  17. Love the colors and pattern of your socks. Fair Isle is on my list of things to learn. Thanks for visiting me today.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Janet,

      It was my pleasure, thank you for visiting me back :)
      x

      Delete
  18. Beautiful! I have never done color work...too intimidated, but yours is lovely!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Heather,
      It really isn't that hard, hope you give it a go, is really quite fun!
      Thanks for your visit.
      x

      Delete
  19. oh my gosh. those socks are going to be stunning. wow. i have never tried something like that. amazing

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    Replies
    1. Hi momto5,
      Thank you so much.
      Have a super rest of your Wednesday.
      x

      Delete
  20. Those are amazing socks! It is always so fun to have something like that on your toes :).

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    Replies
    1. Hi Heather,
      Thank you kindly.
      Have a great rest of your day.
      x

      Delete
  21. Your fair isle is beautiful! I use the Philosopher's Wool (http://www.philosopherswool.com/Pages/Twohandedvideo.htm)way of doing Fair Isle-no carries in the back. On my first (only, so far) fair isle socks, I did one where I didn't twist and then one where I did (philosopher's wool). I like the second one way better than the first, fitwise and lookwise.
    Just watch the whole video. I only watched the first part (I get distracted easily) and wasn't as impressed as when I watched it all!

    Also, 3 week Fall Break?! Sounds fantastic!

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    Replies
    1. Hi MariGayle,
      Thank you so much for the link, I will make my way over there right now and go and watch the video.
      Have a super Wednesday/Thursday and thanks for visitng.
      x

      Delete
  22. Ooh, love those fair-isle socks!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Stacey,
      Thank you so much for your visit.
      x

      Delete
  23. Cute socks :D i like the pattern its just like xmas

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    Replies
    1. Hi Funk to Punk,
      Thank you, my dear daughter took the photos for me :)
      Thanks for popping in.
      x

      Delete
  24. I agree, time is moving at a rapid pace this year. I can hardly believe we're midway through September. Your fair isle sock looks FANTASTIC! I would love to try a pair.... hopefully, sooner rather than later!

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    Replies
    1. Hi mkonieczki,

      Thank you so much you are very kind :-D
      I am about 3cm from finishing sock number 1 now and I think it looks great. If you have knitted socks before then this pattern is really cool, try it, I am sure you won't regret it :-D
      Feel free to contact me if you struggle, I will try to help you as good as I can.
      Have a super day
      x

      Delete
  25. Those socks are amazing! Good luck with the ends...I really don't like that part! This week I'm working on test knitting for Ginny's new sweater. :) Come by for the sneak peek if you have a moment!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Mackenzie,
      Thank you very much.
      I am on my way over there right now to check it out.
      Good luck with the test knit :)
      Have a great day
      x

      Delete
  26. I love those fair isle socks! They are just so amazing. I really hope I am a talented enough knitter one day to make something like that!

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    Replies
    1. Hi suddenexpression,
      I have visited your blog and you are wonderfully talented. You have made some amazing stuff already :-D
      Thanks for visiting
      x

      Delete
  27. Wow Fair Isle knitting! Very impressive. I can knit but I don't think I could do THAT! They are beautiful. Hope you will post the finished product.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Catarina,
      Thank you so much, you are very kind :-)
      I will definitely be posting the finished pair once they are done.
      Have a super rest of your day.
      Thanks for popping by.
      x

      Delete
  28. What fun! I've yet to tackle fair isle knitting, but it is on my knitting lift list, for sure!

    I'm going to head over and join your FB group and I'm looking forward to reading more of your blog, too. Isn't it fun when we discover kindred crafty souls through the internet?

    Best wishes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kara,

      How wonderful, look forward to sharing with you.
      Thank you so much for visiting my blog.
      x

      Delete

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