Sunday 30 November 2014

Bookmark Swap

This month I took part in a bookmark swap hosted by Natalie at Marigold's Loft. My swap partner was Cathy (nanacathydotcom) - and I must say it was a pleasure to swap with her.

Cathy made me a beautiful cross stitch bookmark - she designed it herself!



But the bookmark was not the only surprise I found in the box she had sent me. There also was a cute pincushion and some greeting cards.


I have thanked you before, Cathy - but just let me say thank you again!

And since a swap isn't a one-way thing, of course I made a bookmark for Cathy as well. My craft of choice for this was knitting, and I came up with this tulip design:


I added a little pincushion and a notebook...


...and sent everything over to Cathy, who received my letter just a couple of days later. I was happy to hear that she likes her swap gifts :) .







Friday 21 November 2014

FO (Knitting): Mint Chutney and Quercus Prinus

And I knit... surprise, surprise... more socks!

First up: a pair that I decided to call Mint Chutney, because a) they are so very green and b) the pattern is called Corn Mint Leaves. I knit them for the October/November Free & Funny KAL in the HiyaHiya Patterns KAL group.


These socks feature an easy-to-remember lace pattern that knits up surprisingly quickly. There was a minor issue with the charted pattern when I knit it, but I was able to work around it, and the pattern has probably been updated by now. 


Oh, the yarn I used was Regia 4-ply... no experiments this time ;).


The second pair I finished was the October/November Mystery in the Solid Socks group. The pattern is Quercus Prinus (which I have now learned is the Latin for Chestnut Oak, a tree that is native to the eastern U.S. and that I had never heard about before... just goes to show that knitting socks can be a highly educative pastime) and available for free. The socks feature an interesting cable pattern and were a bit more challenging, but still very enjoyable to knit. 


The yarn I chose for these socks is Rico Design Superba Cotton Stretch (colour: Fuchsia). It's the first time ever I have used a wool-free yarn for socks - so I am counting this as an experiment. It knits up nicely with a very clear stitch definition, it's soft, and it seems to be stretchy enough for a cotton-rich yarn. I have worn the socks once, and so far, am happy enough - they are very comfortable to wear. Now I just need to see how they'll keep up with being worn and washed more often...