Time for cozy toes

If you're in the UK you will be well aware that we are currently the hapless victims of "Siberian snow showers", in the grips of the "Big Freeze" and experiencing "positively Arctic" weather conditions.

If you're in the rest of the world it's currently -2 degrees C and six inches of snow in London (accurately measured and documented by my sister, with a ruler, on her balcony) was enough to throw sufficient spanners in the inner workings of the train companies to make getting to work more trouble than it was worth. Today has been a quasi-snow day. Quasi-snow because I can access everything except my actual hard copy papers over the wonders of the internets so I have actually been working. Just with an uninterrupted view of snow falling. I love watching snow falling and I'm a little sad that it's dark now because it's been so much fun.

Weather being what it is, namely a force determined to frustrate the amateur photographer, the heaviest snow landed after it got dark but I did pop outside this afternoon with the camera for a little tea-break photography.

I love that it snows horizontally here, just as it rains horizontally on the coast!


H spotted these icicles forming on our shed roof - we're gathering quite a collection


All of this chilliness has called for a maximum application of knitwear, including - my latest finished socks:

Handspun socks.

Gorgeously soft and warm socks!

They started out life as 100g of Blue Faced Leicester combed top from Lime Green Jelly who are usually on Etsy although I bought this in person at the Iknit Day in September.

The first sock is toe up using barberpole three ply until the ribbing at the top, at which point I switched to the chained three ply to finish it off. I started the second in similar style and it quickly became apparent that the yarn was getting thicker, the fabric was getting thicker, and I was running out of yarn, as I knit through the second sock. I got half way up the cuff before the barberpole three ply ran out. (Eeek)

I tried knitting on with the chained three ply but either because it was made from my final bobbin of thinnest singles, or because I haven't figured out chain yarn yet, and probably a bit of both, the chain three ply was much much thinner and it really showed. (Double eeek)

My solution was to double up the chained yarn to try to create more barber pole yarn of about the right thickness so that's what I did; the yarn is doubled up until just before the ribbing starts, at which point there are a couple of rows of one strand of chained yarn to make sure that there was enough yarn left to finish the sock.

Both socks had a nice bath in some Lavender Eucalan and dried out on the sock blockers which I think helped to even out some of the slubbier bits of knitting, although when they're not on my feet you can see the lumps and bumps.



The final prognosis: I'm sat here with wonderfully warm feet - I'm a complete convert. I really like the way that the barberpole gives such gradual colour changes but I think I need to learn how to chain ply properly too! How terrible! More spinning!