Socks with two different yarns

I knitted these socks a couple of months ago. I used one striped yarn and one in solid colour (red). This is because sometimes when I knit man sized socks if run out of yarn before I am finished. I have started weighing the sock yarn that I have bought and found that it is not uncommon that they contain less than the stated 100 grams. So to avoid having to buy extra yarn I sometimes use two colours instead. it is also a great way to use leftovers from other sock projects.

Socks - finally finished

I finally finished these socks! Man´s size. Yarn used is 105 grams of Drops Fabel, and needles 2,50 mm.

I used the Old Norwegian Cast-On ("dubbel-korsuppläggning" in Swedish) and a K1, P1 ribbing. After that I changed to a Seeded Rib (4 stitches repeat) for the all-over pattern.

The heel-flap stitches are a "Reversed Slip 1, Knit 1" pattern.

Finally a toe with decreases at the end of each of the four needles. In Swedish it is called "Strålintagning". I have never tried this before, but it is said to give a good toe both with thin and thick yarn.

I like the retro-feel of these socks.

When mending holes isn't enough ....

These holes just weren't worth mending, they were to big and the yarn was of a really bad quality (don't buy yarn without information about what kind of fibres it is made of). 

But since I have been told not to waste yarn I did as my mother often did.

I cut off the part with the useless yarn and frogged the remaining material back until I reached the point where I wanted to start the new foot.

I picked up stitches and used a yarn of better quality for the foot.

I also checked with myproject book regarding needle size, amount of stitches and other particulars regarding the sock.

After some knitting I had a pair of socks almost as good as new.

"STICKA - Egna modeller och fler detaljer" av Ulla Engquist

STICKA - Egna modeller och fler detaljer

(English summary at the bottom of this post.)
För ett par månader sedan var jag på boksläpp för Ulla Engquists bok "STICKA - Egna modeller och fler detaljer", utgiven av Hemslöjdens Förlag. Det är uppföljningen till Ulla Engquists bok "STICKA - Detaljer som gör skillnad" som kom förra året. I denna bok fortsätter Ulla att ösa kunskap över oss och behandlar områden som:

• garn (olika typer, olika fibrer, spinning och tvinning skrivet av Gunnel Axelsson)
• konstruera en tröja efter personliga mått, anpassa storlek, beräkna maskor och antal varv, garnåtgång
• kragar, sprund, ärmar
• knapphål och knapphålsslåar
• fickor
• kilar av olika slag
• mönsterstickning

STICKA - Egna modeller och fler detaljer

Liksom den förra boken är detta en lärobok i stickning. Det är en bok att rådfråga när man stöter på problem. En bok att gå till när man vill se alternativ till hur man t ex stickar fickor. För att få ut det mesta bör man nog också investera i den första boken då det ibland refereras till tekniker som finns beskrivna i den. 

STICKA - Egna modeller och fler detaljer

English Summary:
The above post is a presentation of "STICKA -  Egna modeller och fler detaljer" (a rough translation would be "KNITTING - Your own models and more details"), the second book written by Ulla Engquist. This book deals with different yarns and fibres, different kinds of collars, button holes, sleeves etc. There are also instructions on how ta make a sweater based on your own measurements. I think this is as good and as useful as her first book "STICKA - Detaljer som gör skillnad" (a rough translation would be "KNITTING - Details that make a difference"). That book, we were told at the book release this autumn, will be published in the USA in 2017.

"Tvi̕bandađir vettlingar" by Kristinu Jonsdottur Schmidhauser

"Tvi̕bandađir vettlingar" by Kristinu Jonsdottur Schmidhauser

"Tvi̕bandađir vettlingar" by Kristinu Jonsdottur Schmidhauser was published by Heimilisiđnađarfělag Íslands, 1981. When I saw this title the first time I thought it was about twined knitting, due to that the word "Tvi̕bandađir" resembled "tveband", the Norwegian word for twined knitting. Both words refer to knitting with two yarns, but in different ways. I soon discovered that the book was about Icelandic patterned mittens.

"Tvi̕bandađir vettlingar" by Kristinu Jonsdottur Schmidhauser

Many mittens in this book have a strong resemblance with mittens from northern Europe. We know that there was a lot of contact between the North Atlantic countries (in the form of commerce) and that through these contacts many things, including patterns, have spread.

"Tvi̕bandađir vettlingar" by Kristinu Jonsdottur Schmidhauser

There are also mittens with patterns that I think are not as common. Very interesting. The book is in Icelandic, but the mittens are presented with both photos and charts.

"Tvi̕bandađir vettlingar" by Kristinu Jonsdottur Schmidhauser

If you are interested in Icelandic textile pattern traditions (not only knitting) I can recommend the book "Íslensk sjónabók - Ornaments and patterns found in Iceland".

"Tvi̕bandađir vettlingar" by Kristinu Jonsdottur Schmidhauser

"Selbuvotter" by Anne Bårdsgård

Mittens from Selbu and the traditional Selbu patterns can be found almost everywhere in Norway. Anne Bårdsgård grew up in Selbu and she has now written a fantastic book about the Mittens from Selbu.

This book tells the history of the Selbu mitten tradition from 1850 until today. The oldest of these mittens were fine gifts often made for the bridegroom and his family. The mittens were examples of an advanced craft regarding the skill required for knitting them but also regarding the sorting and spinning of  the wool to get the yarn. The patterns were often elaborate and there are many examples of advanced pattern construction.

This book also has thorough and educational chapters on how to knit mittens such as these, the different groups/types of patterns (all chartered) and their variations (also all chartered) and background, the yarns used and  the stitch count. 

In short, everything you need to design your own Selbu mittens according to the Selbu tradition. If you are not fond of making your own patterns there is also an entire chapter of chartered mittens with presentations of the knitters that provided them.

It is rare to find a knitting book this well written and that provides this amount of useful information. "Selbuvotter" was  released this year and at the moment it is only available in Norwegian. But it deserves to be read also  by other knitters than the Scandinavian ones. Just under 300 pages and propped with knowledge it is one of the best books on knitting that I have read.

"Selbuvotter" by Anne Bårdsgård
© MUSEUMSFORLAGET Trondheim 2016
ISBN 9788283050370
www.museumsforlaget.no

Small socks for a small boy

I have knitted small socks for a small boy that soon will celebrate his first birthday.
The yarn is Fabel sock yarn, knitted on 2,50 mm. I was almost successful in getting matching stripes. Close enough. 30 grams of yarn was used in these socks.

 

Grey Socks in October

These are grey socks kitted in thin sock yarn Fabel on needles size 2,50 mm. I searched the internet for a nice stitch pattern and finally found this that I liked because it gave me a retro-feel.

They are knitted on a circular needle using the magic-loop technique.This is not my favourite method, since I prefer knitting socks with five needles, but I have decided to knit some socks in this way. I think that it could be useful if I want to bring some sock-knitting when travelling since it prevents dropping needles.

I added one strand of yarn and knitted the heel in twined knitting to get a stronger fabric. If you know how to do twined knitting I can recommend this.
For those of you who like the stitch pattern I have charted it.

Chart for grey socks stitch pattern - knitted in the round

Socks knitted by my mother

My mother taught me how to knit when I was about six years old. First garter stitch scarves, but quite soon after that socks on five double-pointed needles. In the beginning I did not master the heel and the toe decreases (of course) but I managed the cuff, leg and foot.

Since then most of the socks I knit is knitted the way she taught me. Teaching somebody to knit is a great gift. Knitting has given me a lot of joy.

My mother will be 88 in December, and she still knits. She finished these socks last week. They are knitted on double-pointed needles, 2,50 mm with Fabel sock yarn. Her eyesight is not very good nowadays, but I guess that a life of knitting socks helps her hands to find their way.

Blue socks in October

Blue socks

Autumn has come. A perfect time for sock knitting. In my yarn stash I found this yarn from Opal and decided to knit myself  blue socks. This is a basic sock with an Old Norwegian Cast-On, that I think is called "dubbel korsuppläggning" in Swedish. A cuff with a simple ribbing (knit 1, purl 1). When knitting the heel I added one strand of yarn and knitted it in twined knitting. This is an old way of making the heel stronger when knitting socks.

Heel in twined knitting

All in all I ended up with a nice pair of socks. And have started on a new pair.

Autumn is here

Socks for my mother

My mother has had a minor operation and just to cheer her up a bit I knitted her a pair of socks. The design is by Heléne Wallin and available as a free pattern for the members of "Sticka", a Swedish association for knitters.

I recommend this pattern. It is easy knitting and the result is a pair of nice socks.

Socks from the 1950's

Stickat Nummer 1, 1952

I stumbled over this old issue of the Swedish knitting magazine "Stickat" from 1952. Since it is very worn the price was very reasonable. These old magazines are interesting to read. Even if the patterns often have to be recalculated and sometimes also "translated" into modern knitting descriptions, they can be very inspirational.

Stickat - Pattern for men's socks knitted with nylon yarn

This issue had a pattern for men's socks knitted with nylon yarn, Very "chic" in the 1950's, I guess. Well I don't fancy knitting socks with 100 % nylon yarn, but I thought it would be fun to knit these socks with a modern sock yarn.

Finished socks

I made some changes (e.g. I used another heel turn and I reinforced the heel flap) but otherwise pretty much followed the pattern. The amount of stitches given suited my size so I didn't have to do much recalculating. I am happy with the vintage appearance and will probably use the pattern again.

Grey socks

Sock knitting continues. These are a pair of grey socks that I just finished.

I used the same pattern as for the socks I knitted in June. The yarn is Fabel from Drops, but plain grey this time. Double pins 2,50 mm.

Stickat av män / Knitted by men - The exhibition in Dala-Floda

We are back from a couple of days visit and work in Dala-Floda. The time spent was as always a very nice experience. This time we were there to build an exhibition, a new experience. We had professional help from Anna-Karin Jobs Arnberg. She was as always a fountain of knowledge and great to work with. The venue was the Studio at Dala-Floda Värdshus. The exhibition was opened by Sonja Bush from Wålstedts Textilverkstad AB, Dala-Floda.

Her are some photos of the exhibition

Midsummer is a great time to be in Dala-Floda