UK Swap Catchup - Warming your feet.

What is your favourite way of keeping your feet warm?
Handknitted socks of course!

Do you have a favourite pair of socks you reach for to keep your toes toasty?

Whichever handknit pair are a. near to hand and b. relatively clean...

No seriously, I like all my handknits, a couple of favourites are Firestarter and a Knit-to-fit toe-up pair. I also made myself a pair of grown-up booties, but unfortunately my husband threw them in the wash and they are now tiny felted booties....

Is there a pair of socks/slippers you have been wanting to make for ages but haven't got around to?

I love the Knotty or Knice socks, they remind me of Celtic knotwork patterns (as do these Viking Socks), and there are several patterns in Knitting on the Road that I've been meaning to get round to. I also intend to do Master Coriolis at some point as I have heard good things about Cat Cordhi's patterns but have never tried one. I bought myself the Snuggs pattern too as I thought they look really cozy , but I haven't done those yet either....

What is your favourite finished object that warms your feet?

Socks. I only once got round to making myself a pair of slippers (see above)

What is your favourite yarn to use for socks/slippers?

The Yarn Yard Hug for really soft squishy cozy ones, but I tend to collect lots of different artisan-dyed sock yarn pets, so I always have something new to try. A look at my stash on Ravelry can be pretty revealing....

New Studio, New Blog

Well it is finally finished - my new, shiny studio! And of course, the first item on the to-do list was to sort out The Stash and get it on display.

I spent last weekend at a beginners basket-making workshop and the resulting baskets are perfect for showing off piles of lovely yarn! So I have a HUGE log-basket (not shown) with yarns for large projects (eg 10 matching balls of polar for a sweater), a medium size basket for odd balls and partial skeins, and a vegetable rack to show off all my sock yarn and yummy single skeins of lace-weight.

(Note to self - stash is getting huge. Must spend less time on Ravelry and knit something with this stuff!)