Knitting for a Summer Adventure ~ Episode 62 ~ Merlot Shawl, Storm Sweater, Hiking Socks.

Hello and welcome to the channel. My name is Mel and I am a knitter and crafter living on the Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland. If you are new here then welcome and if you're a returning viewer then welcome back. I have a few finished objects for this episode. Not just knitting, I do have some crochet as well and I am wearing my first finished object now. This is what I'm wearing. This is a finished shawl that I finally finished the knitted on border of and it took some getting there. Let me just take this off a moment. This is the Merlot shawl. I'm just trying to make sure I have it the right way which I didn't. I had it on back to front so it doesn't surprise me at all. This is the Merlot shawl and this is a design by Elise Dupont and it is a fairly simple knitted shawl for most of it with a nice fancy lace border on the end. I'm really happy this is finished and I'm really happy with the finished shawl as well. It's quite, I wouldn't go so far to say jazzy but it's quite variegated for what I would normally knit a shawl in. Usually my shawls are semi-solid colours or a combination of semi-solid colours so this is quite bright for me but I really, really like it and I've used up some yarn that I had in stash for quite a few years that was specifically put aside or specifically bought rather to make a shawl with. So like I said the pattern is the Merlot shawl and this is what it looks like in the pattern and this is a fingering weight shawl and I knit this on four millimetre needles I believe. I haven't wrote it down which means probably because I usually knit my fingering weight shawls on a four millimetre needle and I used two yarns of the same base from the same dyer in obviously two different colours for this. I'm a little croaky today, apologies. So the main colour is called, I don't remember, hold on, where is the full band, is Fully Completely and the bronze colour is Midnight Owl. The yarn dyer is unfortunately no longer Dye and Yarn but it is Old Maiden Ant Yarns and it is on a 50% merino, 50% silk base. So it is very soft and just really nice and cosy. It will pill crazily, I can tell because it's got quite a bit of a halo on it already and I haven't worn it yet except for the podcast so I imagine it's going to pill but since it's a shawl it doesn't really matter. The only thing that I'm not fussed on which is the same with any crescent shawl is the cast on which tends to have this kind of lump here but I have blocked out most of it as best I can. The border took quite a while to knit because you knit the whole shawl just getting wider and wider and wider on this crescent shape and then you have all your stitches on your long cable and you cast on extra stitches for the border and then you knit back and forth across these dozen or so stitches here all the way along the shawl and it did take quite a while. Eventually I finished off the last third just by listening to a couple of audiobooks on an evening instead of watching tv or crafting some other sort of crafting that I would normally do whilst listening to audiobooks. The lace is not going to show up very well I don't think because once you get light through it oh you can see it like that that's that's coming up really nice it is a nice pretty it's almost like a cabled effect or a wave effect lace work and I really like it I'm very happy with it and I love these kind of these eyelet bands they kind of look like gold chain kind of effect through the shawl which I also really like so this is my first finished object for this episode I don't think there's anything else to say about it I think I've covered everything I am trying to get through this episode relatively quickly because I don't have much time today so that is my first finished object and I would say I would hesitate to say it's my one of this episode because I also like the next one a lot too this is a crochet blanket that I did show on the previous episode and I have now completed this is a lap blanket for my husband it is using the rainbow ripple baby blanket pattern which is a free pattern on Ravelry and the designer is Celeste Young it is quite popular and that's how it looks in the pattern I have used a different yarn I have well I've knit this knitted I've crocheted this twice before with a DK weight yarn this is a Aran weight yarn I would say it's more worsted weight to be perfectly honest it is heavier I went up a needles a hook size rather for this and it worked out fine it's come out pretty much the same size as my other ones and I used the same amount of yarn by weight as I did for the DK weight ones my DK weight ones I did one in Yarnsmith's Elvis and one in King Cole Mandala both of which were DK weight and acrylic yarns and pretty much the same yarn just different brands this time I used the Yarnsmith's Nirvana Aran and this is it actually has the shade code here which is 2P050 but I believe it's called Woodland Walk and in my other blankets I think I used a five millimeter needle and for this I used a six millimeter needle if I'm wrong I will post all the links to the project pages down below I'm pretty sure I used a six millimeter for this like I tested it with a six and I tested it with a seven and I preferred the six so I'm very happy with it and I've really liked how the colors have worked up in this yarn it has shorter color repeats than the previous ones that I had the other ones were more of a fade so they had quite big blocks of color towards the center and then towards the outer edges the half dozen rows you would get a striped effect like this because these have shorter color repeats it's completely a stripe effect all throughout and I much prefer it it looks very very nice I am very happy with it other than that what is there to say about this I don't think there is I'm looking forward to doing my next one we are coming up to the warmer weather now it doesn't get super warm in Orkney but it does get very humid so blanket making is pretty much off the cards for the next couple of months that and that and the reverse sort of like puberty you know hot flushes are kicking my butt right now and working on a blanket is not so fun so come back round to September time and maybe then I will pick up all the yarns that I have bought to make more blankets although I do have one of the yarns is a Christmas yarn so that will probably be in November December time and the other one is more of a pale pink so maybe I will hold fire on that and work that up in the new year rather than in the autumn when I will probably be wanting to do autumn and Halloween knits anyway so that is my second finished object for this episode and I think it's yes it's the only crochet object for this episode as well so I only have one more finished object and I forgot my sock blockers so we're just going to pretend this one is on a sock it is only a pair of vanilla DK weight socks so it's it's nothing fancy nothing fancy I am working my way through a bunch of DK weight sock yarns that I well I say working through I keep buying new ones so does that really count as working through I have a sock making addiction and I have a lot of finger and wit socks and I have a few DK or I had a couple of pairs of DK weight and I really like wearing them when you on an evening when you've been in a shower sort of thing so I wanted more so I bought a bunch of the Drops Fiesta DK weight sock yarn which is a standard ratio sock yarn so 75% wool 25% nylon or polyamide and but it has it as a DK weight and I'm working through them this one is in the colorway Mountain Mist which is color number 36 I did start knitting a pair of lace work DK weights lace work DK no DK weight lace I started knitting a lace pattern sock pattern in this yarn and the pattern just wasn't showing up in fact I've started in a different yarn in finger and it didn't show up in that either so I'm going to have to knit that in a completely plain color at some point down the line so I've not been able to knit the latest pattern I just switched to do in a vanilla sock and I just used my standard vanilla sock recipe I suppose um just adapted for DK weight rather than fingering weight so this is a Turkish cast on toe up sock I've knit the toe increasing up to 48 stitches around then I knit 45 rows past the toe to the gusset and then I made eight increases on each side for the gusset alternating with increase row plain knit row and then I did a plain heel turn and heel flap and 30 rows for the ankle and 15 for the rib in one by one rib with a stretch bind off that was a lot to think about today when I'm talking fingering weight I can just kind of like rattle it off because I've done so many fingering weight socks but the DK weight one I had to think a bit more about it so that is my third finished object for this episode and that is all of the finished objects so that brings us to works in progress I do have fluff in my mouth I do have another pair of socks in the same yarn base so Drops Fiesta this time in the colorway 41 and I think it's I don't even remember what this color is called it's called Enchanted or something I will just quickly check it's something along those lines it's something along those lines um where are we where are we it is Enchanted Dream I was quite close and it is a very delicate this one it is almost like a like an undyed yarn just with very light pastely colors splashed through it it's quite pretty and I'm using this to knit an actual lace pair of socks I am using the pattern Fairy Maiden by This Handmade Life which I think is one of her free ones and it has these pretty cables running up it but these are top down cuff down rather socks so I am knitting the chart in reverse I could have just knit the chart top and knit the chart as it is but the pattern would have been upside down and sometimes I do that but this particular one I thought it did look better in the orientation it's supposed to be in the pattern so I've just turned the pattern over and I'm knitting the cable work upside down basically I haven't got very fast with the first sock I have done the first couple of chart repeats or I'm at least one and a half chart repeats through and it's coming up quite well in this yarn because the the colors are so delicate it's actually showing the lace work quite well in this it does look even better in real life and once I get a few more repeats on this it will look even better I've only got so far because I'm planning this to be one of my take away on holiday with me when I'm not on the island projects I just wanted to get it set up so I didn't have to think about it and put in stitch markers and all that so although I have started this I won't be working on it for at least a couple of weeks because it's going to be at least a couple of weeks before I get to go off the island so I've set up a few projects I have a couple of other vanilla socks that I've kind of just done the tour and started the main yard on but I've done so little on them it wasn't worth bringing them to show on the podcast but they can be shown next time so these I am knitting on nine inch circulars and I'm using a 2.75 millimeter nine inch circular needle for this and I cast on with a 2.75 magic loop for these as well I will be knitting them pretty much the same as the vanilla socks just with the lace pattern on the top of the foot instead I haven't decided if I'll be knitting it completely all around the ankle or not I will see how I feel when I get to that point I don't think there's much else to say about those because I haven't got very far yet and they are basically a vanilla sock but with the pattern involved as well so what have we got left we have two more objects to show this episode I'm flying this one this is great this won't take too long to upload maybe it will only take like six hours instead of ten that would be good I'm hoping to get fast internet soon hopefully and then I will can stop complaining about it on almost every episode so I do have one other pair of socks and a garment that I am working on the socks are mostly done I am working on the heel of the second sock but the first sock which is a very long sock is complete these are some walking boot socks that I'm making for myself and these are decubit as well actually and I'm really happy with them they are lovely and woolly obviously I've not woven in the ends yet and I'm very happy with how it's come out this yarn is some that I picked up when I was visiting mum a few months ago and it is these come in 150 gram balls so that's plenty for a nice long pair of DK weight socks this is in the colorway 007 which I don't think these have a name and recommended needle size is a three to four millimeter I am knitting these on a 2.75 because socks and I'm a loose knitter but also because they are socks I have basically done the same as my other DK weight socks with a few just tweaking it slightly this yarn is not as thick as the drops fiesta the drops fiesta although it is a DK weight it's definitely on the heavier side I would say it's bordering on worsted like quite a few of the drops yarns are slightly on the heavier side this is more of a true DK weight so I have cast on the same amount of stitches around so 48 stitches but I think I knit an extra like 5 or 10 rows before the gusset and I did 12 gusset increases instead of 8 for these I also did a eye of partridge heel turn and I did a slip stitch ridge heel flap as well because these are more for wearing obviously in boots as opposed to my after shower socks which are in slippers also I made an extra long leg with this so what I did was on every 10th row I increased four stitches around the same way I would for increasing for the toe but I think I did opposite increases so I on each side like at the center imagine the center seam so I would knit one stitch and then I would make one I'm trying I'm going to do this in reverse haven't I so I would knit one stitch and then I would make one stitch left and then I would knit round to the other side other side seam I would make one increase right and then knit one stitch and then I would slip my marker and then knit one stitch increase left back to the beginning make one right knit one and then my beginning marker and I did that every 10 rows I increased well I knit 80 rows so I did eight sets of four increases and then I knit one more row before I switched to knitting two by two rib which I just stayed with 2.75 millimeter needles for the rib and I did a nice stretchy bind off as well and these fit great they fit really good either if you want them to peel up your leg if you wanted to wear them with like long boots or wellies and they push down nicely to look nice with my walking boots so I'm very happy with them and I'm looking forward to having these done I didn't think I would get so far on the second one so quickly I thought I'd be taking this one away with me but I might in fact have this finished no actually thinking about it's got a long leg on it um but they will be ready for walking when I'm away on holiday at least for part of my holiday which is good um so whether or not you'll see these again before they're worn is debatable you might not but you have seen a finished one so that's that's the main thing okay my final finished object for this episode is a garment and this one is slowly coming along it is the storm sweater by petite knit and it has been on hold for a couple of weeks um maybe not that long but it's been on hold for at least a week but now that I've kind of set up all of my holiday knitting um I will be working on this again I have finished what is well it's not really a yoke well I suppose it is but it's not finishing the yoke but I have knit past the separation or adding the sleeves I've knit past the armholes basically so I've knit the front and I've knit the back it is all joined in the round now and I don't have to do any knitting across the wrong side which is great unfortunately this is all in pattern so there are still purl stitches it's not like when you're knitting a colorwork sweater and suddenly you can just knit stockinette for miles unfortunately that's not going to happen so I have knit a couple of inches past the armhole and I definitely am going to need some more yarn for this uh it is eat I wouldn't say it's eating yarn but it is using quite a bit of yarn but that's okay it's gonna be a lovely cozy sweater and I really like this shade of gray I don't know if it's looking a little warm on on my viewfinder um but it is quite a neutral gray this one and it's just it's just a nice shade I'm really happy with it and I'm really happy with how the stiff stitch definition is coming up in this yarn so the pattern like I said is the petite is the storm sweater by petite knit rather and it's a very popular pattern in fact this is the first petite knit pattern I've actually knit so far I'm very pleased with the instructions although were a little bit confusing at times I think that was more to do with the actual way the garment is constructed as opposed to the writing of the pattern the needles that I'm using what needle size I'm using I'm using four millimeter needles which is as the pattern states and I think I must be pretty much on gauge because I haven't written otherwise on the pattern the yarn I'm using is it's another drops yarn actually a lot of drops at the moment a lot of drops yarn this is drops lemur in the color 9010 and it is this gray and it unfortunately is a discontinued shade but you can pick it up here and there which obviously I'm hoping to do and I don't think there's a lot to say at this point with it it's coming along nicely and I mean I've tried it on and it seems to fit nice but it is difficult to tell how it's going to look at this stage it will be a nice cozy sweater for the winter I think I haven't decided yet how long I'm going to make it I think I'm going to knit a little bit further on the body maybe I'll probably use up the ball of yarn I'm currently using and then work on the sleeves and that will give me a better indication of how much more yarn I'm going to need to order to finish the sweater also it'll kind of give me a better idea of the length that I want for the sweater to finish up as well often with a garment I will knit the body to something the very minimum length that I would knit to then knit the sleeves and then whatever yarn I've got left I can then make a judgment call on whether I have any more enough yarn to make it any longer or if I need to order more or if I need to make my jumper shorter than I'd originally intended or even I can get to a point on the sleeves and say maybe I'm going to so it just means that you're not going to run out of yarn when you just start the first sleeve or something like that so I think that's all the items for this episode it has gone relatively quickly which is great keeping on top of these videos really does make a difference life stuff um not a lot from last time my van is now ready for my trip away I'm just waiting for my husband's car to pass its mot so that I can leave the island otherwise he won't have a vehicle to be able to get to and from work because he'll have to use my vehicle so I'm kind of stuck in limbo currently the garden that took a little bit of a back seat over the last month um whilst we were getting the van ready the thing is being on where we are in the north of Scotland you will have a limited amount of good weather so on the days when the weather is good or dry enough to do anything outside you have to get everything done and there's always lots to do so you have to prioritize and my priority was getting the van ready to be able to go on hiking trips so now that that's done I can focus again on the garden because it has it is suddenly gone and grown everywhere everything has grown and um I'm going to have to play catch up for the next couple of weeks although I guess not being able to go away just yet means I do have a couple of extra weeks where I can get the garden worked on which is probably a good thing other than that I don't think there's much else to share there's not a lot happening it's all pretty much the same around here that always is and uh it's kind of how we like it I'd rather have planned things happening rather than things just happening around me if that makes sense um planned excursions planned projects good things sprung on you not so good not keen on that I like things to just chug along unless I choose otherwise okay I think I'm going to leave it there I'm going to just start rambling I am desperate for a cup of tea it is mid-afternoon now and I haven't had a cup of tea in hours so I'm going to leave this video for this episode and I hopefully will see you on the next one very soon thank you for watching and I shall speak to you again soon bye