Cute cute cute CUTE, dangnabbit!

I got these gems in the post yesterday - just absolutely adorable and to die for.





If you haven't heard of Karatstix, you probably soon will - Lime & Violet have some of her great Sock's Rule and Cuff Rules on their Daily Chum. I've been working Karen, the artistic genius behind Karatstix, to create these exclusive Socktopod's Rules. A handy dandy (cute. so cute. crazy crazy cute) needle gauge, with a very useful 1" rule at the back. Made from renewable bamboo, so nice and light, as well as earth friendly, with artwork designed and hand coloured by Karen herself, these are really the bees knees. I know I've said they're cute, but.... well, I'll say it again. Insanely cute. Coolest things ever. When I opened up her parcel, I giggled like a maniac for a good 5 minutes. Poor hubby thought I'd lost my mind. Maybe just a wee bit....



My precioussssss.....

Ahem. These will be in stock at the end of August.

And I will also be getting these -



Perfect ABCD sets for Cat Bordhi-esque sock creations. Nice and light and again super super cute. A choice of either little white sheep, or a dastardly devilish skull & cross bones.

Now I don't mean to be a total tease - showing you these and then making you wait. I actually do have Karen's great WPI tools in stock now. Spinners take note! I've got Sheep to Socks and Baa Baa sheep styles with a very useful key ring.





And if you wanted a little pouch to carry it around in, you can't go wrong with a nice clear Socktopus Knit Bits case to carry it around!

Heehee

Well, I mentioned before I was getting some needles in...my favourite needles... they are here, and up in the shop. Can you guess what they are?

If not, here is a little hint.....



Also arrived today more of the lovely Pagewood Farm Yukon, and some of their new yarns - Alyeska, a cashmere/merino blend not unlike Casbah, Willow Creek a 2 ply laceweight superwash Merino, and St Elias a BFL sock yarn. Pagewood Farm yarns will go up tomorrow.

Happy knitting!

Goodies galore

Just to let you know that all the following new goodies are up in the shop:

-Middleearthknitter Yarns
-Oceanwind Knits
-Louet Gems
-Louet MerLin
-Royal Ball winders
-Coilless safety pins small and large

I also have new Jennalou bags which will go up later today.

Diane Mulholland's Having Hope socks are up in the shop - all proceeds go straight to Cancer Research. Great cause, great sock so do get knitting!

And lastly, join the Ravelympics! We've got Team Socktopus on the Ravelry boards, so come along and join up.

Just arrived!

Gems in the following colourways in 50 gram fingering weight skeins:

Goldilocks
Bright Red
Lilac
Neptune
Shamrock
Pewter
Eggplant
Fern Green
Violet
Grape
Sage
Willow
French Blue
Burgundy
Citrus Orange
Caribou

and royal ball winders. These will be up on the site later today.

The colours are just lovely. The bright red is a perfect post box red!

Jennalou's sock bags will be delivered on Monday and up on the site shortly thereafter. Keep an eye out if you want to nab one as they go quickly.

Goodies goodies! Lots and Lots of 'em!

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I just had the shipment date confirmed - my absolutely favourite needles in the world - are coming to you know who! And no - not Voldemort, little old me. Can you guess? Nice, soft cables, pointy ends... comes in a choice of pretty wood and nickel plated metal...

Actually there are oodles of new things coming: Louet Gems fingering weight, in an assortment of colours, has been shipped, along with Royal ball winders, (should arrive in a week or so). Jennalou's popular (and PURDY!) sock bags have also been shipped and should be landing shortly. Pagewood Farm Yukon (bamboo/merino/nylon), St Elias (BFL/nylon) and Ayeska (merino/cashmer/nylon) and their new Willow Creek yarn. Oceanwindknits should be shipping shortly as well as Shelridge Farm (with some more of their lovely solids for colourwork and a few new handpainted colourways).

We've got more of Cairi's lovely Middleearthknitter BFL up in the shop, those of you in the Sock(topus)Club will know this yarn from the Mosaic socks, those who aren't I urge you to try the yarn. Lovely to knit with and super durable (I've seen year old, well used socks that still look brand new knit up in this yarn).

Fun tools - coilless safety pins, pattern tamers, Swedish umbrella swifts to come in August, along with Socktopus Knit Bits - (hee hee, another surprise...) more Dream in Color in the ever popular Smooshy, Classy and introducing their Baby Lace Weight.

Pretty as a Peacock has been crazy popular, a massive shipment is coming soon so I'll be able to fill all the preorders, as well as Jae's Bois Blanc pattern.

There are more surprises - one super scrummy yarn that will ship in September (if all is well at the lovely Canadian mill that makes it), and I'll have a sample for you to fondle at iknit day & Ally Pally (stand H21!). Keep your eyes peeled, there is still more to come.....LOTS more to come! :D

Doubled Tail Long Tail Cast On

You'll need to be familiar with the long tail cast on, aka double cast on, continental cast on, sling shot, two-strand, Y cast on, german cast on. Knittinghelp has a great video tutorial for it.

A doubled tail long tail long tail cast on basically takes the tail, doubles it, and continues as normal. I learned this from JC Briar, an absolutely amazing teacher. Lucy Neatby also refers to this in her knitting videos. The doubled tail strand, which sits like scarves around the base of the stitches on the needle, gives a lovely rolled cast on edge, and also helps give a good elasticity to the cast on. Don't pull tight on the tail strand, just pull it so that it sits cleanly under the stitches. Too tight, you'll lose your nice elastic edge, too loose and it'll look sloppy. Experiment to find just the right tension for you.

I start with yellow and blue spitpliced yarn to help you see which bit of yarn does what. Blue for the yarn that comes from the ball, and yellow for the tail end.



So take the tail end, fold it in half like so, and place over the needle.




Take your finger, and place it over the yarn and the tail end to keep it from moving around.


Then continue on your way with a normal long tail cast on, bringing your needle towards you, then under the loop on your thumb.




Then snag the ball yarn




and bring it through the tail loop towards you to create a new stitch.


Take your thumb out of the tail loop, and pull it (not too tight, just so that it sits cleanly under the new stitch on the right needle)


Stretching your thumb and finger apart, whilst holding on to the tail and ball yarns in the rest of your fingers, will help tighten up loose stitches.


Repeat process for more stitches.





By the third new cast on stitch you'll be able to take your right index finger off the tail end and first cast on loop, and it'll hang there nice and obedient until weaving in time!

Masterclasses!

We have 2 fantastic teachers lined up for classes this August.

Jane Lithgow, whose talents and fibre adventures can be found at janesprobablyknitting.blogspot.com, and Diane Mulholland, whose spinning and designing pursuits can be found at dianemulholland.com/blog.

If you have never knit a sock before, or if you just want to brush up your skills, these classes are for you!


Quick & Dirty Summertime Special with Jane Lithgow
3 hour workshop for knitters who want to try their hand at socks. You must be able to cast on, knit, purl, increase and decrease.
Held on Saturday 11am to 2pm.
Choose from two dates - Saturday 2 August or Saturday 30 August.
£35 (includes all materials needed for the class)


Midsummer Masterclass with Jane Lithgow
2 hour workshop covering advanced techniques to refine and spice up your sock knitting repertoire.
Held on Tuesday 5 August 630pm to 830pm.
£15


SuperSpin (2 part course) with Diane Mulholland
This two part 6 hour workshop covers all you need to know to go home spinning. Learn the basics on how to choose fibre, the different methods of fibre preparation (including carding and combing), and drafting. You’ll even get a chance to try out a couple different wheels.
Held over two Sundays (10 August and 31 August) from 11am to 2pm CLASS FULL

Additional class now being offered: Held over two Sundays (7 and 14 September) from 11am to 2pm <
£65 (includes all materials needed for the class, including a drop spindle, and enough fibre for you to take home & pratice with)


Toe Up Tootsies with Diane Mulholland
2 hour workshop on how to knit toe-up socks, covering short rows and toe up construction in detail. You must be able to cast on, knit, purl, increase and decrease and knit in the round, preferably familiar with basic sock construction.
Held on Thursday 14 August 630pm to 830pm.
£25 (includes all materials needed for the class)

To sign up, click here.