Slouch Socks in the Knitted Slipper Book

My friend gave me The Knitted Slipper Book by Katie Startzman as a present and I was so excited to try out the patterns because I love me some slippers and socks. The book comes with 30 patterns and no two patterns are alike, it's great! There are felted slippers, slouchy socks, pom pom slippers, baby socks, and even these weird elf looking slippers that are strangely adorable. I was impressed with the pattern variety.

The book is really easy to follow, but it's definitely a book meant for people familiar with sock making. It has a handy reference guide for complicated stitches or maneuvers, like grafting, for reference, but there are no picture guides. The written instructions are easy to follow.

My first project from the book are these slouch socks that are really comfortable and work the heel different than what I'm used to, but I think it turned out nicely.

I can't wait to make more projects from this book. It definitely has some unique patterns and it's worth picking up if you're a sock addict like me!

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Norway 2014

I'm just back from a wonderful trip to Norway, tutoring the Northern Lights knitting cruise and I have to say that after the amazing trip its pretty tough being back at home - it appears that no one is prepared to cook breakfast lunch and dinner, no one to make my bed and hang up my towels and no one seems to want to do the washing up either! Even looking out the window to my garden I find that the view is a little disappointing in relation to what Ive got used to over the last 8 days and so I find myself in a bit of a post 'holiday' grump!

Day one of the trip, myself, 18 knitters, 3 artists, 2 added husbands, art tutor (lovely Mike Chaplin) and our tour manager Caroline set off to Bergen. We arrived at lunch time and no sooner had we arrived than some of the group managed to find one of the many yarn shops just behind the hotel. The weather was wet, but the intrepid group of yarn hunters were not deterred, many of them seeking out yarn and knit shops along the Bryggen and in back streets around the city to find an array of lovely yarns and garments. Deneen & Rosemary both bought an Oleana cardigan - something Ive been coveting for quite a while, but as yet have not saved enough pennies for. If you want to take a look at the Oleana web site then click on this link

We had a lovely meal at our hotel and an early night after our day of travelling. Day 2 was also spent in Bergen, where we were treated to a guided tour of the city, visiting all the sites around town and getting an insiders view of how things work not only in the town, but in Norway itself.

There are lots of yarn companies in Norway with many famous brands, but actually lots of the yarns are made in China or Sweden, so it was really great to find a store selling true Norwegian yarn. We managed to find a small shop specialising in local yarns and many of us felt that buying lots of hanks of it was too good an opportunity to miss! You can see more of the yarn range here and there is an image of the yarn shades I bought below:

Later on in the day we boarded our ship called NordNorge, which is one of the 11 ships that make up the Hurtigruten fleet - you can find out more about our ship's route by looking at the Hurtigruten web site here. It was really exciting setting sail later on in the evening and we all spent a bit of time getting our sea legs and exploring the ship which was to be our home for the next 6 days. We found a good knitting spot at the top of the ship and made it our daily base for our knit classes. The project I prepared was a knitted bag based on traditional Norwegian designs and included the fair isle and intarsia and the group also got to make Dorset buttons and do some beading.

We were lucky enough to have some fabulous weather - which was a huge relief as the week before had been stormy and wet. We were treated to some amazing scenery along the way and kept having to put our knitting down to gasp at the view.

We crossed into the Arctic Circle on day 5 and many of the group went on a trip to the North Cape - they rewarded themselves with apple cake, cream and hot chocolate on their return. The food on the cruise was plentiful (to say the least) and of a very high standard - huge buffet breakfasts with hot food, cheeses, smoked salmon and gorgeous fresh bread, followed by huge buffet lunches with an equally wonderful array of tempting foodie delights and a served evening meal which was beautifully cooked and presented.

Pretty much every port we called into had a knitting shop and the knitters did their best to fill their suitcases with yarn and patterns. One of the group (Pat) was incredibly prolific and not only completed the knitted bag project, but also worked on a hat and headband. There is knitwear and knitters everywhere in Norway and the choice in the yarn stores was huge. Most larger towns have a store called 'Husfliden' which sells home things like table mats and smart ceramics alongside national costumes (of which the Norwegians are extremely proud) and yarn. There is a link to the Tromso store web site here if you want to get an idea of what the stores sell.

Dale of Norway sell knitting patterns, yarn and made up garments. The garments are beautiful and the designs are just fabulous. Norway has a huge 'library' of traditional patterns, including the Marius design shown below and they also recently designed a sweater for the Sochi winter Olympics.

Arne and Carlos (those famous Norwegain designers) have also designed their own version of a Norwegian Sweater which features space invaders - not traditional at all, but great fun! 

All too soon our time on our cruise was over and we had made it all the way up the Norwegian Coast to Kirkeness and the Russian border - where we took pictures and played with this beautiful polar husky puppy. Our final day was spent on a bus tour followed by lunch at the Snow Hotel where some of us also got to go on a dog sled ride across the frozen fyord. It was totally amazing and one of the most incredibly and exhilarating experiences of my life so far. The dogs were incredible and so so fast - tearing off over the frozen ice at a terrifying speed.

I was so lucky to have the nicest group of knitters ever - including Deneen, Rosemary and Kathrin from Switzerland, Melanie from Germany and Lucy and Nancy from the US - the UK participants were a great bunch too and I don't think I have laughed so much in a very long time - thanks in particular to Mandy, Trudy, Wendy, Trixie and Fifi who managed to make everyone laugh until their sides hurt most of the time. Thank you to all of you for making it such a memorable trip and to Caroline too for looking after us so nicely.

I have my fingers crossed that the lovely guys at Arena will ask me to return to Norway again in 2015, so do keep an eye on their web site for more info. There are more trips for knitters including Shetland, Iceland and Ireland trips and I will be off to Shetland at the end of May with another group of lovely knitters. 

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Camp Out Fingerless Mitts

Especially in spring and fall, it's nice to cover up your hands but leave your fingers free. These fingerless mitts are really cozy and quick to make. I made these in one night using some old, unlabeled yarn I had sitting around in my stash. My mom and I go through gloves so quickly so I just stick to the acrylics now, though I'm sure the mitts will turn out beautifully in Noro yarn, as the pattern calls for.

Instructions:
Pattern available here.

The instructions are simple and very repetitive so they're perfect to make while watching a movie. The garter stitch cuff around your palm is worked horizontally first, then the stockinette stitch wrist is worked vertically second. It's a simple concept with a beautiful result.

I think I'll make another pair with the cuff in one color and the wrist in a different color.

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Pattern: Entrelac Seed Stitch Toe Up Socks

These entrelac toe up socks alternate using stockinette stitch and seed stitch. This pattern assumes you have a basic knowledge of how knitting entrelac works. I do not recommend you try this as your first attempt at entrelac because the heel especially can be a bit fiddly and confusing. Here is a helpful article that explains entrelac knitting with pictures.

Finished Measurements:
Comfortably fits a Size 8 women's foot, though it can easily be adapted to fit other sizes.

Materials:
2 skeins Patons Kroy Sock Yarn in Rusty Stripes
Size 1 double pointed needles
Scrap yarn

Stitches:
K - knit
P - purl
Sl - slip unworked stitch from left needle to right needle
SSK - slip unworked stitch from left needle to right needle knitwise. Slip a second unworked stitch from the left needle to the right needle knitwise. Slip those two unworked stitches separately back to the left needle purlwise. Knit those two stitches together in the back of the stitches (decrease).
K2tog - knit two stitches together (decrease).
Inc - knit into the front and back of the same stitch (increase).
St - stitch
RS - right side
WS - wrong side

Instructions:
Toe Shaping
Using provisional cast on method, cast on 16 stitches
Row 1: P across
Row 2: K across
Row 3: P across
Row 4: K across

Remove live stitches from scrap yarn and place them on a double pointed needle. K across 16 sts from the scrap yarn. Distribute 32 sts evenly along four needles, with 8 sts on each needle. Begin knitting in the round.

Rounds 5-6: K across
Round 7: Needle 1 - K2, Inc, K across needle
          Needle 2 - K across needle to last 3 sts, Inc, K2
          Needle 3 - K2, Inc, K across needle
          Needle 4 - K across needle to last 3 sts, Inc, K2

Rounds 8-9: K across
Round 10: Repeat Round 7 (40 sts total)

Entrelac
Begin working entrelac. Each triangle section is made out of 8 sts and there are 5 triangle sections in total per row (8 sts X 5 triangles = 40 sts. Yay math).

To make the foundation triangles:
Row 1: K2, turn.
Row 2: P2, turn.
Row 3: K3, turn.
Row 4: P3, turn.

Continue in this manner, adding a stitch on each K row, until you have K 8 sts total. Do not P across the 8 sts and do not turn. Rather, start with Row 1 again. Continue across until all 40 sts have been worked to make 5 triangle sections.

To make the next row of seed stitch triangles, with RS facing, pick up 8 sts along the section immediately to the left of the section just worked and work the following:
Row 5: *K1, P1.* Repeat from * to * until end, turn.
Row 6: *P1, K1.* Repeat from * to * until last st, SSK (using the last st in the row and the next st of the prior section, combining the triangles).
Repeat Rows 5-6 until all of the sts have been worked on the triangle. To make a new triangle, pick up sts from the previous row triangle to the right.
Continue in this manner until all triangles are worked.

To make the next row of stockinette stitch triangles, with WS facing, pick up and P 8 sts along the section immediately to the left of the section just worked.
Row 7: K across until the last st, SSK (using the last st in the row and the next st of the prior section, combining the triangles).
Row 8: P across.
Repeat Rows 7-8 until all of the sts have been worked on the triangle, being sure to end on a Row 7.
Continue in this manner until all triangles are worked.

Continue making rows, alternating between a garter stitch row and a stockinette stitch row. For a size 8 women's foot, work 7 rows of triangles total, not including the foundation triangles. You can adjust the rows based on your foot size.

Heel
To make the heel, work only two triangles in each row before turning and starting a new row. Be sure to end the row with either Row 6 or Row 8 (depending on whether you are working the seed stitch or stockinette stitch triangle). Also, when starting a new row, you are attaching to the triangle from a few rows ago to make the heel turn. This means you'll have a seed stitch triangle attaching to another seed stitch triangle on the turning row.

Work 4 rows of the heel.

Ankle
Once you finished the heel, continue working in the round as normal.
Work 6 rows of triangle, or until you reach approximately 2 inches less than your desired length.

To make the end foundation triangles, pick up 9 sts when starting a new triangle.
Row 9: K2tog, K across until last st, SSK (using the last st in the row and the next st of the prior section, combining the triangles).
Row 10: P across.

Repeat Rows 9 and 10 until you have 2 sts left on the current triangle and 1 st left on the triangle you're combining it with. K2tog, pass the stitch just worked back onto the left needle, SSK (using the last st in the row and the next st of the prior section, combining the triangles).

This leaves one st remaining. Use this st as the additional st and pick up 8 sts along the next triangle. 
Continue in this manner until you have worked all triangles and only have one st remaining.

Edging
Pick up 60 sts evenly across the edge of the sock to make the brim.
Round 1: *K3, P1.* Repeat from * to * until end.
Repeat Round 1 for 1 1/2 inches, or until you reach your desired length.
Bind off.

Enjoy! Feel free to let me know if any of this sounds confusing and I'll try to explain it better.

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