Cowgirl Slipper Socks ~ Finished!

These are my finished Cowgirl Slipper Socks. The pattern was originally designed to use worsted weight yarn and 4.5mm needles. Piglottie modified the pattern to use 2.75mm needles and normal sock yarn. It's a nice easy pattern and very quick to knit. I did 5 pattern repeats for this version and I chose a heel pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks. If you would like to have a go at these socks check out Piglottie's blog for details.

Pattern: Cowgirl Slipper Socks (modifield)
Yarn: Colinette Jitterbug
Colour: Marble

Needles: 2.75mm Boye Metal DPNs

I liked the pattern so much I decided to knit another pair straight away. I love the way they fit and I think they make lovely little ankle socks, so I had a rummage in my sock yarn stash and pulled out some more Colinette Jitterbug yarn. This time in a bright pink!! I decided to knit 6 pattern repeats for this pair and did the same heel design.

Pattern: Cowgirl Slipper Socks (modified)
Yarn: Colinette Jitterbug
Colour: Alizarine
Needles: 2.75mm Boye Metal DPNs

The only thing I'm disappointed with on this pair is the pooling of the colours when I was knitting the gusset shaping. I seem to have one sock with mostly pink and the other with mostly pale lilac. I also noticed that one sock has thicker lilac stripes than the other. They were knitted with one ball of yarn but they seem to look different. Oh well never mind. I really like the thickness of the Jitterbug yarn and wouldn't mind getting some more for my stash.....

Ballard Down Walk

I finally got to go out for a walk. YAY!!! I haven't been walking for a few months now and it was starting to get me down. We walked from Swanage up to Ballard Down and around and back onto the beach. We started off at 9.30am on Saturday morning and as you can see from the photo above it was a rather gloomy start to the day. Mind you it was very warm and humid which isn't so good when you're struggling up the hills!

Red Berries

It was nice to see a bit of red colour on our walk. Anyone know what these berries are called??

This photo shows our progress up the cliff path with a view back to Swanage Bay and town. It was nice to have an excuse to take a photo or two whilst I caught my breath !!

Hey look it's me and my rucksack heading down the steep steps. We stopped off for some nibbles before we tackled these steps.

Having walked all the way up to the cliff top at Ballard Down we did a circular walk and decided to walk back along the beach which was still pretty deserted.

It was a lovely walk and it only rained a little bit. My toes are hurting now because my walking boots are too small for me and my toes slip to the front when I'm walking down hill. Must get some new ones soon.

New sock in progress...

This is the sock I'm working on at the moment. It's the Cowgirl Slipper Sock pattern from Interweave Knits but it's been modified by the lovely Piglottie. Details are on her blog if you want to knit her version. I think the original pattern uses thicker yarn and bigger needles. The yarn I'm using is Colinette Jitterbug in the Marble colourway. This is a lovely yarn to knit with and is thicker than say Lorna's Laces Shepherd sock yarn.

I'm also still working on my plain socks in the yarn my Mum bought me. I'm using my Addi lace circs but I've had to stop knitting that sock for a while as I've noticed I keep poking my index fingers whilst knitting and these needles are soooo pointy that my index finger on each hand is very sore and has little holes in them where I keep poking the needles into them. Anyone else have this problem or is it just me??!!

Bordello Socks

Well, I can't quite believe I haven't blogged for nearly a month!!!! Where has the time gone??! I finished these socks a few days ago but have only just found the time to blog about them. The pattern is the Bordello sock and comes free when you buy Fleece Artist Sea Wool. It's printed on the ball band.

Pattern: Bordello (free with yarn)

Yarn: Fleece Artist Sea Wool

Colour: Sorbetto

Needles: 3mm Clover Bamboo DPNs

The close up photo shows the colours better than the other photo. It's very similar to the Jaywalker pattern and very easy to memorise. The yarn is thicker than normal sock yarn and you use 3mm needles to knit it. I found the finished sock to be a bit on the snug side but I can get them on so that's ok. The yarn is lovely and soft and knits up really nicely. I have another ball of Sea Wool in my stash and will probably knit another pair of Bordello socks but with a shorter leg length.