Colour Changes...

...and the effects thereof...

This ball of wool, which grades through pink, grey and cream...



...produced both of these pairs of socks...





...although I had to wind off some yarn to match the second one of the grey and pink pair.  After that, though, I was able to go straight on to the second pink and cream one and get a perfect matching pair.  

As you can see, there is still enough yarn left to make at least another pair, although I'm not sure how easy it will be (if at all) to get a matched pair.

More Socks Please, They're Sweet!

And the trouble with sweets is you always want more!  So here are another couple...



The pair above are from a Regia yarn which is an amazing blend of blue, turquoise, sludgy green and purple.  The pair below are made with yarn  left over from a pair I made for my daughter.  The yarn is Austermann Step Sock Yarn with Aloe Vera and Jojoba Oil and is lovely and soft to wear, she says,



I want to thank Mia Self for test knitting this pattern for me, her help has been invaluable.  THANKS MIA!

I thought of making the pattern as a tutorial, but decided it is simple enough that I can just publish the instructions.  It will be available FREE on my Ravelry page, here.

Baby Socks

Gosh - such a long time since I posted! And now I only have my latest socks to show you...



I have created the pattern for these myself, although I'm not sure it's quite right yet!  I made turquoise-blue ones first (birth to 3 months size) and did the heel I normally do on my own socks.  



However, it is not necessary to have a reinforced heel on a baby's sock as it will not be rubbing on any shoes, so the next one I made I simply did moss stitch to define the heel...



...and I think it works out quite well.  I've tried them both on little babies who just happened to be at the knitting groups I was attending at the time and they do seem to fit quite nicely.

The pink pair are in the 3 - 6 months size and I think you can see the size differences in the pictures.  

When I've worked out a couple more sizes I'll publish the pattern on Ravelry, but that might be a few weeks away yet. I used mini-balls of Regia which were £1.99 a 25g ball.

There was a little left over from the ball after the socks were finished but I'm not sure you could get a whole extra pair out of the remainder if you made 4 pairs from 1 100g ball.

Something Concrete

At the back of the house where I'm staying is a row of quirky houses, built in the 60s by Waites, called Ranch Houses.  There seems to be a fashion lately to create a basement under these houses rather than sell and move (well, this is a lovely area of London) and over the past couple of months excavations have been taking place.

Today the concrete floor slab was poured (well, I think that was what was going on) with these big-boy lorries involved just outside my window...





Good to see that people love where they live this much.

Herne Hill Sunday Market

If I had to live in London on my meagre means, I would try and find somewhere in Herne Hill. It is really a vibrant community, with a large park and a Lido with swimming pool and gymnasium (and café) and a selection of small shops and cafés.

The sense of community is really strengthened by the Sunday Market, where I had a stall today, ably (and very kindly) assisted by the lovely Janet.

The market organisers provide the stall canopies and a table per person - two people sharing a stall (or one person paying a little bit more).  I shared my canopy with Jan, a local potter, who makes exquisite bowls, Yunomi cups and so forth...



She was on the left and I was on the right...



This is a closer view of my stall, although I fear you have seen it all before...



It was a lovely day but with a chilly wind.  We were there at 8.0 am to set up and people drifted in to buy from about 9 onwards although, officially, the market is open from 10 - 4.





It soon got busy with people, bikes, pushchairs, everyone out to enjoy what is really only our second day of sun...



I did very well, and it was lovely having all the encouraging comments about my work.

Janet, a friend and neighbour, came with me for the whole day (thank you, thank you, thank you Janet) leaving her husband in bed feeling rather poorly - it's so nice having the support of friends.

Hops, Squirrels and Markets...

Another sunny day here today!  So nice to see the sun and feel the warmth.

Things in the garden are growing apace - such as the hops Giles transplanted from his allotment...



...there are two plants - you can see the other at the back of the picture.  At this rate they will have turned the garden into Sleeping Beauty's castle thicket in another month or two!

When Fi and I went to the garden centre last weekend we bought some herbs which I put in the other day...



...and a really pretty rose which I haven't put in yet as I need to dig over the place where it's going and as I was about to, the rain started!  Today, when I went out to see what needed doing, I found the squirrel had been excavating...



...you'll need to see the large size of the picture if you really want to look at the hole he's dug!  Looking for nuts - or is nuts?  He dug holes in a pot of bulbs I'd planted the other week, and I put black pepper on the surface, which seems to have discouraged him so far...

Market Stall

I have a stall at the market at Herne Hill this Sunday (21st April), and I'm in the midst of sorting out what I should take and pricing everything in pounds instead of euro!  It's amazing how long all that takes... and how boring it is.

Good Job I'm the only one here at the moment...

I have sorted out a load of things I DON'T want to sell, as well - some have been around for a while - and I'm not sure what to do with them.  

I don't want to put them on the stall at a silly price as I think it will detract from the other items.  I thought of taking them to a Charity Shop but I'm not sure that's the right place for them.  Any suggestions?

Two Free Designs

Two of my designs on Ravelry that were for sale are now FREE.  They are the Bryony Bag...

...and the Triangular Coasters...

I hope you enjoy them!