Have You Seen This: Colouring Book for Knitters

Adult colouring books seem to be everywhere this year. They have been around for longer than you might think. A long time ago in a career far, far away, Jen had a botany colouring book while she was doing horticultural training. And I know that there are practising doctors out there who got through their anatomy courses with the aid of a colouring book.

The range of subjects has multiplied, with things like Moose Allain's Advent Calendars becoming an annual staple.

In the language of the season, "And lo, in the fortnight before Christmas Ann and Kay did publish a colouring book for knitters. Jen did see the book and squeal with excitement and did instantly order two for delivery before the final posting date. And verily, Jim rolled his eyes."

Time to break out the pencils!

Time to break out the pencils!

If you haven't come across Mason-Dixon Knitting, Kay and Ann have been corresponding on their blog for well over a decade. Set aside a good hour and wade into their take on life, the universe and knitting.

Get hold of your copy from Amazon (make sure you go to Amazon UK if you're in the UK). Then you, like me, will truly have seen it all.

Don't forget that you will get a free Coop Knits pattern when you buy two skeins of Socks Yeah! 

For the Tree

In a panic about what to get for your child's teacher? Need a bauble for your knitting group's annual decoration swap? Want something classy, but quick to make for your tree?

The mini-stockings from the For the Tree set could be your answer. Re-edited for 2015, pattern instructions for all five come together:

Choose from stranded colourwork, beaded or cabled stockings. Or even better, make all five! Because the projects are relatively small scale, these are a great opportunity to try out something new.

I've been told that I should have a go at the cabled and beaded one on the far right. The trouble is, I've never put beads onto a knitted piece before. Fortunately, Cat Bordhi's YouTube video, featuring Wayne's World stye extreme close-ups, has come to my rescue.

A bead can be are easily placed around the neck of a stitch before it is worked, using either a very fine steel crochet hook, or a floss threader (easily found in any drug store). Here I demonstrate both methods on my sock pattern, HITHER & YON, which can be found in my eBook, CAT'S SWEET TOMATO HEEL SOCKS, or as a single pattern.

The For the Tree set is available now from the Coop Knits Ravelry store. Be sure to share your progress and photos with the Coop Knits Ravelry group. If you have previously purchased the set, your Ravelry library will have an update waiting for you.

 

Festive Feet and Christmas Post!

I LOVE Christmas socks!

I'm planning on knitting myself a pair with this West Yorkshire Spinners yarn in Holly Berry and Cherry Drop:

I went looking for my Grinch project bag (The Grinch is number 3 on my favourite Christmas films list, number 1 is It's A Wonderful Life, number 2 is Santa Claus The Movie). When I found it, there was already a pair of socks in there! I had completely forgotten these Dave socks I knitted last Christmas, all they need is for me to knit the afterthought heels and they are DONE!

It's like a present I managed to give myself by virtue of my sieve-like brain! I used The Knitting Goddess Same Difference yarn, I don't think it's currently available but I know there are Christmas colours in her update tonight. I am having a little KAL in my Ravelry group so if you're planning festive feet, come on over!

If you would like to do a spot of shopping in my online shop, these are the last postage dates around the world:

Friday 4 December Africa, Middle East

Monday 7 December Asia, Cyprus, Far East, Japan, Eastern Europe (ex. Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia

Tuesday 8 December Caribbean, Central & South America

Thursday 10 December Greece, Australia, New Zealand

Monday 14 December Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Poland

Tuesday 15 December Canada, Finland, Sweden, USA

Wednesday 16 December Austria, Iceland, Ireland, Portugal, Spain

Thursday 17 December France

Friday 18 December Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Switzerland

For orders in the UK: I will be shutting my online shop on Saturday 19th December at 9am and it will reopen on 1st January.

If you going to the Pom Pom Quarterly Christmas Party next week, I will see you there!

 

Friday Favourites: Lorna's Laces

This week Beth Casey, the driving force behind Lorna's Laces gives us an insight into her world.

What is your favourite colour?

Hmmm.... That's a pretty broad question.  My favorite color to look at is orange. The orange you get in the 8 pack of Crayolas. Nothing fancy, just plain orange. Black is my favorite color for a car. Everyone should have a pair of red Chuck Taylor's. And there's nothing quite like a crisp white shirt.

What's a ball of yarn to do when it's bored? Go for a walk to Lorna's Laces! Music is licensed by Stockmusic.net

What is your current favourite yarn/fibre?

I'm always going to be a sucker for wool. I like all kinds of wool from the softest merino to the scratchiest Shetland.

All the wool in one place at once

What is your favourite season?

Without a doubt, Fall. And just for the record, you can keep summer. This girl wants nothing to do with being hot. Bleh.

So much yarn, so much potential......

So much yarn, so much potential......

What is/was your current favourite knitting/crochet project?

I've been on a long jag of small projects. Mostly shawls, although lately, sweaters are finding their way back onto my needles. Now, I need to get them off my needles. I've been suffering from startitis these days.

If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be?

My dad. He died when I was 25 and was the smartest person I've ever known. I'd like to show him how I turned out. I like to think he'd be proud.

Where do you feel most inspired or get most inspiration?

I do most of my best thinking very early in the morning. Many times I'll get great ideas during that limbo time between sleep and waking. The trick there is to remember it once I'm fully awake. Oftentimes, those eureka moments grab me and wake me right up!

Quick fire questions! What is your favourite:

Book? To Kill a Mockingbird
Film? Sabrina (The Audrey Hepburn version.)
Quote? Never let making a living prevent you from making a life. John Wooden
Cocktail/drink? Vodka martini, up.
Cake? Red Velvet. With my mom's icing. Not that cream cheese stuff.
Cheese? Any creamy blue cheese.

Every business needs a mascot like Sam.

Every business needs a mascot like Sam.

All photos ©Lornas Laces

Have You Seen All of This?

Rachel, I thought of you and your love of stationery when I looked through my pencil case for a pencil today. I have a very sorry collection of pencils I have found lying around the house, under sofas, under car seats, in coat pockets. In fact I think I've a pencil from every room in the house. As you can see, I have no brand loyalty and most of these are rather unloved.

So I thought that with Christmas on the way, it's time I actually got myself some decent pencils for work rather than these cast-offs. I fell down a bit of a rabbit hole.

The first question is one of quantity or quality. As a teacher I had visited the Pencil Museum in Keswick more times than I care to count, so I looked at Cumbrian pencils first. After a little digging, I found this:

from pencils.co.uk

from pencils.co.uk

With that box, I'll never be without a pencil again. The problem is, they just aren't special enough, so off I went on my search and discovered a new world of pencil review blogs, such as Pencil Revolution. What I learnt was that the world is slightly more interesting than I had realised and that I should check out these pencils:

from palominobrands.com

from palominobrands.com

These Blackwing pencils really are fine, but I was more amused by the homepage of the website that invites you to become a Blacking dealer. I had images of someone creeping furtively through school corridors offering unwitting students a try of this wonder pencil to draw them in.

Eventually though, it wasn't the pencils that held my attention, but the notebooks. I'm a fan of squared paper for notes, sketching and so on, but as with pencils, I seem to end up with something cheap or left over. These however are something else.

from palomino brands.com

from palomino brands.com

I can practically smell the leathered feel the thick paper between my fingers. All of a sudden I've stopped caring about pencils and think that one of these will be my next purchase.

VT 

 

Too Many Choices?

It's officially autumn and aside from repelling a soaking wet cat, who is determined that the best place to dry off is my lap, my major concern while working is how to stay warm. The simple answer is of course to put on more layers and this means knitwear. The problem I have is that my wardrobe is slightly light in that department since it is largely made up with suits from my days bellowing at teenagers. Furthermore, my favourite jumper has recently disintegrated from wear. 

The unravelling neckband is the least of my worries with this jumper

The unravelling neckband is the least of my worries with this jumper

So here's the big question: What should my priority be to stay warm in the office? Do I cast on for a new jumper, bearing in mind that I already have two unfinished baby cardigans sitting in project bags? Do I return to socks (look back a few posts to see my first effort)? Do I cast on Woolly Wormhead's MKAL hat for this year that I've been donated on the understanding that it is good for me? Or is there something else I should make?

Please help!

VT

 

Decca and Delbert KAL Round-up

The first autumn KAL came to a close a little over a week ago. The two patterns were Decca and Delbert from Coop Knits Socks Volume 2. Here's a selection of the finished socks posted to the Ravelry thread.

First are the Delberts. From left to right, the projects of agita, Rubywool and pookiebb.

Then the Deccas of aiko1122, writergirl3 and gillianrp.

As ever with knitalongs, there is a random prize draw, with two yarn prizes and three pattern download prizes.

Using a random number generator, the randomly selected yarn winners are MissFrances and jillrlambert, and the pattern winners are mandyscragg, aiko1122 and writergirl3. Congratulations to you all!

The next sock KAL has started already (Wilbert and Orville) and you can post your progress on the Ravelry thread.  Happy sock knitting!

 

Socks Yeah! in the wild

Socks Yeah! has been in yarn shops and available in my online shop for a few weeks now and before that the members of Yarnbox socks got 2 skeins in their packages for October, I am so excited to see it popping up on Ravelry and Twitter and Instagram:

Left to right: Princesstiaraknits knitting with Sphene, Sue's sock with Ammolite and Axinite and Pollyknot's sock in progress in Danburite.

One of the most interesting things is packing the orders and seeing what colour combinations people are putting together and seeing which colours are the most popular, so far every week has brought a new favourite. 

Rachel is knitting a kind of new pattern for me with Kunzite, it was a club pattern for Magpielly a while ago and it will be available soon! Jen is knitting Betula, an old favourite, in Malachite and Carol is knitting Orville in Iolite. 

I made some bunting for my studio using a pattern from Mango Tree Crafts, I love the way these crochet squares look and I feel like my crochet pattern-understanding skills are improving slowly but surely!

10 Years of Woolly Wormhead

I'm honoured to have been asked to take part in the blog tour for Woolly Wormhead's 10th Anniversary, I met Woolly a few years ago at a trade show, she is an amazing, inspiring designer and artist and a fierce friend. 

I have knitted several of her hats, here are a few: 

Left to right (top to bottom on a mobile browser): The purple hat with a beautiful crown is Ivydene, I love the relaxed fit and garter brim.

The bluebell blue hat is Limpetiole, this was a mystery KAL (this years mystery has just started here) and it was so much fun, the hat is very pretty and the crown decreases are pleasingly geometric.

The striped hat is Symetrie, the chevron stitch looks great knitted in a yarn with a long colour repeat, I used some mini skeins from The Knitting Goddess.

I knitted all these hats for me and all of these hats were stolen by my sister who has very big, curly hair and struggles to find hats to fit her (at least thats what she told me while batting her eyelashes and pouting). There is a hat for EVERYONE in Woolly's collection and she is a genius at matching hats and hat style to people, I have often seen her encouraging knitters to try on her hat samples at shows and often they are surprised at how well her suggestion suits them. 

It's so difficult to choose my favourite Woolly Wormhead hat but I'll give it my best shot:

Minikins are super SUPER cute and quick and no Christmas tree should be without at least one.

Ravine is my favourite proper hat, the construction is interesting. I love the turban like feeling of it, the cloche shape is very stylish and the seed stitch contrasting with the stocking stitch make my heart sing. 

WINNER HAS BEEN CHOSEN! Thanks for entering x

Woolly has very kindly offered a free single pattern as a giveaway so you could choose Ravine or another beautiful design, she will also send the winner a handmade project bag, if you would like to enter to win this fantastic prize, tell me your favourite Woolly Wormhead pattern (you can see them all on Ravelry here) in the comments below. Good luck!

 

 

Short Row Knits by Carol Feller

Carol Feller asked me if I would like to review a copy of her new book and I said YES PLEASE! Carol designs beautiful and wearable things and this book Short Row Knits is packed full of them, but it is much much more than that. Short Row Knits is an in-depth workshop of different short row techniques and information on how to use them.

The book is full of super clear illustrations and photographs of each stage in each different technique. Each chapter has designs using the techniques explained at the start of the chapter so you can apply what you learn to a project. The book has a range of projects, garments with a great size range and very clear schematics and beautiful accessories. 

From Left to right: (top to bottom on a mobile browser): Riyito is my favourite design from the book, I love the shape with its dipped curved hem, I love the subtle texture pattern and I love the colour! It's a light-weight sweater knitted in Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend Fino and it would fit right in to my wardrobe. It's gone right to the top of my TO KNIT list. 

Claro is a basic top down sock with a really interesting short-row heel which incorporates a gusset. I'm a big fan of trying different heels and seeing what fits you (or the lucky recipient of your hand knitted socks) best and what you like knitting best, this heel is definitely one to try! The Zauberball is a great yarn for socks and this colour way in particular makes for very happy feet!

Salto is cardigan knitted in a lovely blue DK from Hedgehog Fibres, the stitch pattern is interesting but not too complicated. I love the detail on the sleeves and the v neck. Short rows are used to shape the shoulders and sleeve caps,

 I'm really looking forward to working my way through this book and especially the section on adjusting patterns to fit me better using to short rows. The publisher has very kindly offered me a copy to give away so if you would like to enter to win just leave a comment below telling me which design is your favourite (you can see all the designs on Ravelry here)

WINNER HAS BEEN CHOSEN! Thanks for entering x

Do You Remember the First Time?

"I can't remember a worse time," as Jarvis Cocker would have it. Knitting a sock for the first time was a daunting challenge for me. For a start, I haven't yet made the leap from magic loop to the black art of DPNs. While knitting a tube made perfect sense, it took a long explanation and many, many drawings by Jen to explain to me how the heel flap and gusset joined in and shaped the heel. Furthermore, I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum from Hazel Tindall and keep trying to get a Guinness World Record for being the world's slowest knitter. They tell me it's impossible to distinguish between knitting slowly and staring blankly into space.

Anyway, this is as far as I've got. I have no idea who it is likely to fit as I cast on far too few stitches to come anywhere near fitting around my ankles.

Veuf Tricot's first sock

Veuf Tricot's first sock

If and when I do finish this sock, I will then be faced with the biggest challenge, namely making another that is exactly the same size. 

I'm not alone though. This was Jen's first effort from many years ago:

Jen's first sock

Jen's first sock

Jen's tension was a little tight to say the least and she got a little carried away when working the foot. What she ended up with was a sock that was too tight and too long to be useful. She never cast on for the second sock, but passed the first to a friend whose foot did fit the sock to make the pair herself. Since this rocky start however, Jen has become an expert sock knitter and I am hugely grateful in the winter for that fact.

I'm intrigued to know whether the majority of knitters got socks right the first time, or whether, like us, the first one is a bit of a learning process. Leave a comment and let us know! I'm sure we'd all like to know about Rachel's first sock, wouldn't we?

VT

 

Friday Favourites: Blue Moon Fiber Arts

This week, we caught up with Tina Newton from Blue Moon Fiber Arts to hear about what makes her tick.

Wouldn't you love to work here?

Wouldn't you love to work here?

What is your favourite colour?

As someone whose job is color I am asked this question a lot. So, you would think I would have a quick and easy answer. I don't! 

I love all colors and pretty much everything single thing about them. Since it is one of the key tools of my trade, my relationship with color is probably more intimate and in depth than most. 

I tend to have what I think of as hue love affairs. Some weeks it's all about the warmth of orange with the cool of aqua. Then something in me shifts and another color or color combination strikes my fancy and boom, I'm obsessed. I'm then immersed, learning and experimenting with all that my current hue-obsession has to offer. 

That all said... I do tend to wear neutrals, especially greys.

And, I have never, ever met a green that I did not love!

My longest (to date) hue love affair has been with Pond Scum Green! 

I do love the scummy colors.

What is your current favourite yarn/fibre?

I am working with a lot of Targhee right now. It's a local breed to my little corner of the world and one I have worked with for years. I have a few new yarns that I am doing swatch tests on right now to add to the Blue Moon line-up and three of them are Targhee blends. One is a DK single with a silk addition that makes me so happy I am finding it hard to contain myself. I can't wait to share this yarn!!

What is your favourite season?

You know, I love all the bright green newness of Spring and the red the hot brightness of Summer and even Winter's cool dark and here, wet days, but I have to say that Autumn really is my season. You know that moment in late summer when you realize it's a shade cooler and then you notice that there's just the barest scent of fall in the air? That is my favorite day of the year. 

As a color obsessed person of course, I love the changing of the leaves. All of those rusty oranges, golds, browns, purplish greens and on and on. Autumn is such a tapestry of earthy rich hues. What I like most of the all though, is the tall grasses and weedy changes. When the plants die back and turn all shades of brown and grey and then go to seed. Such a subtle and beautiful process.

What is/was your current favourite knitting/crochet project?

I don't really have one going. I am doing a lot of swatching right now for yarn development and testing. I am one of those strange knitters that actually likes to swatch. It's probably because of my small attention span. A swatch is just the right amount of time to hold my interest.

If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be?

Oh my goodness, so hard to choose. The fan girl in me would like to have dinner with Dr. Who, the knitter would love to sit with Elizabeth Zimmerman for a few hours and the colorist would like nothing more that to sit in Monet's garden with him and wax poetic about the nature of color over a pot of tea. Right now though in this crazy moment of time I think I would like to sit down with Michelle Obama.

Where do you feel most inspired or get most inspiration?

Pretty much anything and anywhere, but most especially out in nature. I think this is why I choose to live in the woods. No one does color like Mother Nature.

Quick fire questions! What is your favourite:

Book? Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos

Film? The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai across the 8th Dimension (Embarrassing but true)

Quote? Always be yourself, unless you can be a unicorn, then always be a unicorn. 

Cocktail/drink? Fresh hopped rye beer

Cake? I'm more of a pie person so...maybe lemon pound cake.

Cheese? River's Edge, Up in Smoke Chèvre

Tina at work

Tina at work

Find out more about Tina, her team and her amazing range of yarns, including Socks That Rock (and really they do), here.

All photos ©Blue Moon Fiber Arts

Coop Knits Sock Project Bags

In our house, knitting projects seem to get everywhere. Half-started socks appear and disappear into the ether with alarming regularity. Were it not for DPN protectors and project bags, cats, children, or a combination of both would cause the house to turn into some kind of a spiky spider's web, ready to trip, entangle and impale the unwary.

Project bags shouldn't just be functional however, and Jen has really got into statement bags to add to the pile of WIPs. These two have seen plenty of use recently:

Coop Knits Sock Bags

I'm a particular fan of "Socks Yeah!" as a slogan for the more..........assertive knitter and neither leaves any doubt as to their purpose.

If you would like one to be the envy of your knitting group, these eye-catching project bags are available for the Coop Knits shop. They are priced at £6 and will comfortably fit a couple of wound skeins of sock yarn, needles and a pattern.

VT

Friday Favourites: Fyberspates

This week's dyer to be put to the question is Jeni, the mastermind behind Fyberspates. 

What is your favourite colour?

Definitely without doubt Sunshine Yellow.

Askews Me in Vivacious DK Sunshine and Slate

Askews Me in Vivacious DK Sunshine and Slate

What is your current favourite yarn/fibre? 

Silk is my fav fibre because it makes all colours look amazing, even the horrible sludgy ones look super duper on silk! 

What is your favourite season?

Autumn, because the colours are so beautiful, rich reds, rusty oranges, and YELLOW YELLOW YELLOW! (and spring comes second because of the yellow daffs!)

Autumn inspired colours

Autumn inspired colours

What is/was your current favourite knitting/crochet project? 

Absolutely has to be Hannah Fettig's Featherweight cardigan! I’ve knitted it 3 times now, all in different yarns, and I'm about to start on my 4th. Guess what my favourite was? Yup, it was Sunshine Yellow in Nef which is baby alpaca, silk and cashmere It's my very very favourite garment to wear of all time.

Jen's favourite cardis

Jen's favourite cardis

If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be?

After mulling over many many people, I started to get anxious imagining eating a spag bol in front of Einstein or something, getting it all down my shirt and looking like a dumbass. So actually it would be my sweetie Andy, we have the best dinners together (apart from when I’m paying because I’m cursed and we always have a bad experience, but thats another story…and before you think it, no I don’t engineer it that way so I don’t have to pay…. HONEST!) 

Where do you feel most inspired or get most inspiration?

I think an easier question would be when do I NOT get inspired. I literally have ideas popping in my head 24 hours a day. If that stops I always know something’s up! In terms of a place and time, I love to sit on my sofa on a Sunday morning with a big pile of craft and cookbooks, read them in silence in my pj’s, and plan all my projects. Thats probably my favourite time and place to get inspiration.

Jeni's inspiration comes from everywhere

Jeni's inspiration comes from everywhere

Quick fire questions! What is your favourite: 

Book? Anything by Diana Henry… the cook lol (I read cookbooks from cover to cover)

Film? Brokeback Mountain

Quote? 'Be the change you wish to see’ Ghandi

Cocktail/drink? Fever Tree tonic water with the juice of a lime and torn basil.

Cake? Apple custard cake (I think I just made that up, but I NEED IT NOW)

Cheese? Oooh you can’t beat a good sharp Cheddar

You can find Fyberspates yarn, patterns and books in yarn stores worldwide, or direct from the Fyberspates website.

All photos ©Fyberspates

Friday Favourites: Skein Queen

This week Debbie Orr, the Skein Queen, shines a light on her inspirations and loves. 

What is your favourite colour?

That's a devastatingly hard question for a dyer. I truly like all colours, and each colour matches up to its own project in my head, but I think if you held a shotgun to me and MADE me choose, my current favourite would be an Eau de Nil. (But I'm already thinking what colours I'd put with it...)

 What is your current favourite yarn/fibre?

Wah! You're asking me to choose between my babies. Again, each has its role in life - if I'm in the mood for knitting a colourwork cardigan, then it would be Voluptuous (Exmoor Blue/organic merino). For a shawl, then something luxurious like Luminosity (100% silk). For a hat, something woollen and cosy like the new Swedish yarn, Ullvärme. And for detailed socks, then a nice semi-solid Crush or for plain socks, a lovely spatter-dyed yarn like Entwine.

What is your favourite season?

Truly I love them all and feel so grateful that we live in a country that has changing seasons. Right now, I'm loving autumn. Getting all cosied up on the sofa with a blanket, some knitting and a hot chocolate makes the parties and sun of summer feel somewhat faded.

 What is/was your current favourite knitting/crochet project?  

I thoroughly enjoyed knitting the Wedding Mittens by Jorid Linvik for my friend, Rachel who got married in St Catherine's Chapel, Abbotsbury - an ancient chapel on a hill overlooking Chesil Beach, which I think is one of my favourite places on Earth. They didn't want any gifts so I thought the mittens for dog-walking would be a compromise and there was a chance in the pattern to knit in their initials and the year (although I was in such a rush to finish, I forgot to work the purl braid on the second glove!)

If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be?

It would have to be someone who could keep up with the banter at our dinner parties, so I'm thinking Billy Connolly, Peter Kay or Dara O'Briain would be hilarious and keep us entertained. But as the night drew on and conversation turned to more serious issues, I'd be listening carefully to what Barack Obama would be saying. Then, for a bit of shallowness and because he seems a thoroughly nice bloke, let's throw in Jessie Pavelka. What? You only asked for one? Oops. Greedy.

Where do you feel most inspired or get most inspiration?

Always in bed, last thing at night, just before sleep. It's like all the ideas buzzing through my head, or patterns or colours I've seen through the day, amalgamate into something tangible at that time of night. But it helps if you've gone for a walk or visited a gallery or seen something interesting during the day. Apart from in bed, the place I always feel inspired is by the sea. My inland house is packed with paintings of boats, seaside houses and coastal scenes. One day I will be a painter, when I live by the sea.

 Quick fire questions! What is your favourite: 

Book? Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Film? Pulp Fiction

Quote? "My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style." Maya Angelou

Cocktail/drink? Anything with midori and/or grenadine. Recently I had a champagne cocktail in a restaurant in Soho that had distinct layers of midori, triple sec, grenadine and champagne. It was so pretty and called a Touareg Bellini.

Cake? Coconut cake - I love everything with coconut mostly because my nut allergy kindly excludes coconut

Cheese? Epoisses - if you eat some, then take a sip of white wine, it tastes like honey. Heaven!

©Alabamawhirly

©Alabamawhirly

For Skein Queen yarns and knitting accessories, visit her website. 

All photo ©Skein Queen, unless shown.

Summer of Socks 2015 Roundup

I'm coming to terms with the fact that summer truly is over and that this isn't just a blip and next week won't be gloriously hot. Also long over is the Summer of Socks 2015. The challenge to knit socks in Coop Knits pattern for the chance of winning a prize sent many into a frenzy of sock knitting. Amazingly, some enthusiastic knitters completed five and even six pairs over the three months. The gallery below shows a small selection from some of the more prolific knitters. To see the rest of the dazzling array of socks, flick through the Ravelry thread. If you fancy knitting any of these for yourself, clicking on the photo will take you to the Ravelry pattern page. 

The yarn prize winners, picked at random, were anjalovesknits, aiko1122 and dancingsaint. The digital pattern winners, again picked at random, were saralu, gaievans, mrkernan, debbie135, gillianrtp, writergirl3, papisbaby, mazknitter and zebraeule. 

If you're having sock withdrawal, there's a KAL for the Delbert and Decca patterns running through what remains of September and October in the Coop Knits group on Ravelry.