J is for...

Juicy

gin and tonic socks by yours truly
in zitron trekking (xxl) 175 (greens) and
beyond basic knits superwash sock in just call me happy

Oh yeah, baby, here's another free pattern for your delectation!  This is now available as a Ravelry download, which you can find HERE, should you feel so inclined!

After another afternoon or three with my nose in my stitch dictionaries, I came up with the idea for these babies...  Here's the blurb:

There’s nothing quite like a gin and tonic on a warm Summer’s evening.  With a slice of lime, or lemon, according to preference!  This stitch pattern reminds me just of that – slices of something citrusy in a tall glass of iced Blue Sapphire gin and Schweppes tonic!  (Sponsorship/endorsements deals welcomed with open arms!)

Basically, it's a eyelet/lace pattern with a two-cable-needle cable occurring twice in the repeat.

 ice and a slice

Instead of my usual eye-of-partridge heel, I kept the ribbing idea going down the slip-stitch ribbed heel-flap and also on the toe, as it worked well with the outlines of the lemon slices:

ribbed for your pleasure

The pattern looks great all closed-up, but it's when the socks are worn, that the true lemon (or lime, or orange or... can't think of any more suitable citrus fruits...) slice shape really catches the eye:

hmm - more watermelon on the right, really...

The yellow socks were made using size 3mm dpns for the body of the socks, and the green with 2.75mm dpns for the same and you can see the subtle difference it made to the patten repeat! Sizing suggestions are on the pdf file...

arty-farty shot!  oh yes!

I'm just about to add these to the Ravelry database!  Please feel free to check it out!


Enjoy!  ;D

You win some, you lose some...

Indeed, the orphanage (a big old-fashioned red-ridinghood-esque wicker basket) was one sock up, but soon after was one sock down again.  We had to say goodbye to our Traffic Island Sock in the Red Fraggle colourway this morning, as its sibling arrived to whisk it away.  Our little brightly-coloured stripey bebeh will be sorely missed.  Not having to wear sunglasses indoors all the time will be a blessing, however...

traffic island socks by yours truly
yarning yenta sock yarn in red fraggle colourway

Well, the pattern seems to work.  If I can successfully make two pairs of socks from it without wanting to curl into a whimpering ball of ineptitude, anyone can!

interesting shot showing off differences in stripey gauge...
meh - perfection is boring

I can still gaze for long periods of time at the eye of partridge heel stitch.  It's just so, well, mesmerising, I guess...

look into my eyes, not around my eyes, look into my eyes...

Anyway, before we could get all teary-eyed at our loss, along came a Frondes Naissantes Sock (budding leaves in French! - pretentious?  Moi?!) to keep us occupied...

'zokni socks' by mintyfresh
noro kureyon sock in colourway S188

This is a darling pattern.  I say this also because in fact the sock is knit from the pattern I worked out from a stitch dictionary and was thinking of publishing when I discovered the zokni sock was (give or take a couple of stitches) as near as dammit.  So, there may be some differences to note, but it was too close to make a totally new pattern...  Them's the breaks!  It is lovely, though, and this particular colourway of the Noro sock yarn is incredibly beautiful!

Talking of patterns - there might be something to announce in the next post...

I is for...

Irony

domenicuskerk, amsterdam

Well, colour me gobsmacked.  I have to admit that I wasn't expecting this...  My concerts with the New Mannheim Orchestra in Holland were in churches after all, but in modern ones.  This usually means some strange-shaped, plain-bricked monstrosities with weird-acoustics, and I wasn't let down in my assumption for our first concert near The Hague (a pentagonal strangeosity). But oh!  The church in Amsterdam blew me away.

holy graffiti, batman

Modern (well, neo-Gothic, late 19th century, so yes, modern!) yet architecturally breath-taking!  (Hey, I'm an appreciator of old-fashioned buildings... what can I say?) The Domenicuskerk in Amsterdam was designed by the same man who created some of the most gorgeous train stations in the Netherlands.  And churches, castles and museums.  Okay - that sounds rather bizarre, but really - check them out here.

The colourful nave was painted in the 1920's and is heavily influenced by the art movements of the time - mostly (to my eyes) art deco...  There is colour everywhere!

rainbow saints and angels

modern frescoes aplenty

And the ceiling...  The ceiling...

a thousand gold stars for effort

And I was not let down in the stained-glass department, either...

nom nom nom

A great church, a fabulous band, scrummy music and getting to make music with some old friends.  I'd say this project was full of win!  More please!

It's TWINS!

Announcement of Birth

traffic island socks by yours truly
a&e bfl sock in berries

RedScot would like to announce the arrival of two little bundles of joy.  Twins Traffic and Island came into the world on April the 19th, 2009, much to the delight and relief of their mother.  Babies and proud parent are doing very well indeed and would like to thank everyone for all their good wishes.

And their downloads!  Heh!

I'm pleased with these little mites.  Well, hardly little, considering they fit my clodhoppers, but as an example of my first foray into producing a pattern, I have to say I am pleased!

who's mummy's little angels, then?

I know, I know... my own pattern, and I haven't finished an actual matching pair until now...  But I was adamant I wanted to test the pattern with different yarns and needle sizes before I let it loose in the world, therefore I had more Traffic Island orphans than I could shake a dpn at.  (Many thanks, also, to my kind test-knitters - you know who you are, and I LOVES you, I do!) Still, one pair down, another to go. The sibling for the TI sock in the Red Fraggle colourway will probably be started (and finished) on the train journeys up to the Netherlands next week.  Well, they are a quick knit after all, and perfect for travelling!  (Notice the subtle use of own horn tooting there...)

i love angels&elephant's yarn

The Netherlands again?  Well, yep - HUZZAH!  I'm going up to sing in a couple of concerts conducted by my BFF and the music includes the very first solos I ever sang.  Way, WAY back when I was 22 and was studying piano in England... Singing was my second study - it was a choice of that, or violin, and I thought singing would be easier!  Then I changed to first-study singing and discovered The Truth...

(Ugh.  I don't like the way, WAY back thing then the 22...)

Anyway, Vivaldi's 'Gloria' - alto solos!  OH YES!  Little Miss Zwischenfach (in-between voice types) I am!  Then Handel's 'Dixit Dominus' alto solo, too!  Oh, and 2nd soprano solos, because they don't have that much money for soloists, and they know I can do it!

(Or, at least they hope I can do it!  Heh!)  Tune in next time to find out...