Author: Alice Neal

Warm toes, warm heart. Pair 4 of 26 pairs for 2021

Posted on by Alice Neal

So, socks number 7 and 8 of my 52 socks for 2021 are now finished.

They’re knitted in the same brand of socks as that last gorgeous stripy slouchy pair (Novita 7 Veljesta) but this time, the heels and toes are worked with 7 Veljesta Pohjola, which also contains 30% Finnish wool and is DIVINE.

This pair (hence the title) will be part of my beloved husband’s Valentines present, helping keep his tootsies toasty in this crazily snowy winter we find ourselves surviving.

The pattern is the same as the slouchy ones, without the decrease before the heel, and with a rather experimental boomerang heel that doesn’t go all the way around the sock in the middle.

I think they came out rather well! Roll on 14th ❤️

Socks 5 and 6 of the 52 socks of 2021

Posted on by Alice Neal

I’m quite excited about these, for a number of reasons.

Let me list them for you:

  • They are super cosy and snuggly.
  • They are bright and cheerful.
  • They are, technically, worsted weight and therefore not quite as bulky as my other boot socks
  • THEY ARE MACHINE WASHABLE
  • They knit up really speedily.

They’re knitted in Novita 7 Veljesta Raita (self-striping) and Lappi (solid colour) on 4mm needles and one ball of self-striping, knitted as I did, does EXACTLY one pair. You’ll only use around 35g (around 70m) of the ball of solid colour.

Let me show you how much of a yarn chicken winner I was with these ones:

I’ve written up the pattern and it is available for a nominal fee of £1 for a while over here.

The Novita Raita self-striping yarn you can find here, and the Lappi solid colour is here.

Do share your pictures with me if you have a crack at them!

Happy knitting <3

Socks. Pair 2 of the 26 pairs of 2021

Posted on by Alice Neal

These ones are knitted with a sock yarn that popped up in my social media feed…

Noro Striped Hat and Scarf

Posted on by Alice Neal

Having so much left, I knitted a hat to match which, with hindsight, I would probably have knitted a little longer for a squidge more slouch, but it fits perfectly and is super SUPER warm.
So, without further ado, this is how to knit it:

In pictures, in progress… (updated with pattern links)

Posted on by Alice Neal

Last year, I designed a sweater I called the Vintage Chic sweater, in Paintbox yarns super chunky.

This year, I’ve reworked it for their 100% wool worsted range.

And I’m loving how it’s coming out.

Pattern to follow ❤️

Update:

I finished the adult version and then made a couple of little ones. The pattern is available in many sizes, from baby to adult. Here are some more pictures and links to the corresponding patterns.

You can find the adult version of the pattern, pictured below, here,

the child’s version, pictured below, here,

and the ‘Mummy and Me’ version, which includes both patterns as pictured below, here.

Happy knitting! x

Embracing my lockdown

Posted on by Alice Neal

He says, every morning, unprompted and without fail, “I love those chickens” which is in itself quite remarkable for one with such limited speech.

Dots and Stripes. Dotty Stripes.

Posted on by Alice Neal

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No. This post is not about socks.

Although, I have to confess, I could gaze upon the beauty of the beauteous boot socks in perpetuity. I enjoy looking at them almost as much as I enjoy wearing them. And this very frosty northern morning, they are peeping above the tops of my boots and keeping my toes toasty. Over tights, no less. Yes. That’s how I roll.

Oh, and I enjoy wearing them almost as much as I enjoy knitting them.

But I digress.

There is of course a limit as to the number of boot socks you can possess (although as previous posts have explained – teenaged boys + washing machine + wool socks = unmitigated disaster) and I still have quite a lot of scraps of the various yarns I used for creating them.

Added to which, my wardrobe of preloved goodness has expanded this winter, and my colours are all rather autumnal.

I  needed a hat to match.

So I made one.

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After which, beloved son number 2 requested one (he has a very chilly wait at the bus stop on his way to college in the mornings).

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And I really love the colours he chose (and banana cake. And coffee).

After which, I made another one just because I could.

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(I also made the lebkuchen because they’re my favourite and the blooming shops have stopped selling them now that Christmas is over. If you love them too, go and check out this recipe. It’s really simple and they’re bloody delicious).

If you have 100g or so of aran weight wool in a few colours and fancy a spotted, dotted, striped hat of your own, you can find the pattern here. And if you do make it, give me a tag? I do love to see it!

Happy Hump Day <3

Scraps

Posted on by Alice Neal

I never really understood scrap yarn until I started knitting socks. Anything I had left over ended up in a big bag of many-weighted mis-matched colours, which usually ended up going to a knitting group, being used for holding the sleeve stitches in top-down sweaters, or being stuffed out of sight at the back of my stash.

Until I started knitting socks. And, more specifically, until I discovered the insanely beautiful yarns available for socks. And the fact that a 100g skein would usually leave enough yarn to make a substantial contribution to another project.

Enter this oh-so-simple triangle shawl-in-the-making.

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Each stripe is identifiable as a sock that I have created, and each colour brings me deep joy. I especially love the little glittery flashes from the two Fondant Fibre glitter sock yarns, which give it a whole extra aspect of beauty. To me, that is.

It’s taking an age, but that is largely because of the (as mentioned on Insta) 48,000 other WIPs I have, incapable as I am of sticking to one at a time. I have great admiration for people who can start one, work on it, finish it, and start the next. But that’s just not how I roll.

Anyway, I can’t wait to finish it.

And as I know I have also mentioned before, in a bid to make my own small difference to the consumer overwhelm, these days I refuse to buy any new clothes, so everything (other than my smalls, obviously) that enters my wardrobe these days is either pre-loved, or created stitch by stitch by my own fair hand.

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This picture is a case in point.

I was particularly smug to discover that my new socks, and my old-favourite sweater matched my ‘new’ eBay skirt perfectly.

And on I go, with plans for more woolly delights to match my preloved wardrobe.

It feels good <3