The Lazy Knitter podcast – episode 8

Hello everyone!

Episode 8 is one week late, as I had absolutely nothing to show you last week. This week is still light on the knitting, but I have some spinning to show you and did some shopping.

I hope you enjoy!

Where to find me?

  • Instagram: renee_kies.
  • Ravelry: Alazybeauty.
  • Youtube channel: The Lazy Knitter
  • My designs: Renée Kies

Finished objects

  • Molly weasley blanket: no real pattern, knit using fingering weight yarn scraps and minis. Knit on 2.75 mm needles (US 2).
  • Sneaker socks: own design. Yarn is Wollbutt Calgary in 6072 (green gradient). Knit on 2.25 (US 1) and 2.5 (US 1.5).
  • Sneaker socks vol 2: own design (run wild socks, currently in testing) Yarn is regia 4-fädig in white and ONline Linie 3 supersocke 100 in 61. Knit on 2.25 (US 1) and 2.5 (US 1.5).

Works in progress

  • La Flor sweater: pattern is la Flor by Alina Shneider. Yarn is Zeeman Julia in color 60. Knit on 5.5 mm (US 9) and 6.0 mm (US 10) needles. Size small. Modifications: using a heavier yarn than pattern is written for, so knitting a smaller size to get the desired size and using larger needles.

Shopping

  • Hilltop cloud
  • Wol met verve

Spinning

Weekly goals

  • Cast on something from my handspun.

The Lazy Knitter – episode 6

Hello Everyone,

I’m so sorry for being so slow in getting this episodes’s show notes up! I hope you enjoyed the episode and if you haven’t watched it yet I have linked the video here below.

Where to find me?

  • Instagram: renee_kies.
  • Ravelry: Alazybeauty.
  • Youtube channel: The Lazy Knitter
  • My designs: Renée Kies

Finished objects

  • Molly weasley blanket: no real pattern, knit using fingering weight yarn scraps and minis. Knit on 2.75 mm needles (US 2).
  • Vanilla socks: No specific pattern. Will do a traditional afterthought heel. Yarn is Regia by Arne & Carlos in colorway Star night (3653). Knit on 2.5 mm needles (US 1.5).

Works in progress

Cast on all the things.

Spinning

Knitting plans

  • all about the spinning this week due to Tour de Fleece
  • Cast on a new design
  • Finish soleado mitts?
  • Continue test for exploding lines

 

The Lazy knitter podcast – episode 4

Hello Everyone!

Here are the show notes for episode 4 of The Lazy Knitter podcast. This week we passed a 100 subscribers and I had a lot to talk about. I had a bit of technical trouble recording the podcast, but it all worked out in the end! I hope you enjoy the episode!

Where to find me?

  • Instagram: renee_kies.
  • Ravelry: Alazybeauty.
  • Youtube channel: The Lazy Knitter
  • My designs: Renée Kies

Shopping

  • Cascade Yarns Heritage paints in tonal green.
  • Several balls of Made by Me (action) “Multi” and “Twisted”.
  • Large project bag by Thimbleandthreadmake on Etsy.

Finished objects

Works in progress

  • Vanilla socks: No specific pattern. Will do a traditional afterthought heel. Yarn is Regia by Arne & Carlos in colorway Star night (3653). Knit on 2.5 mm needles (US 1.5).
  • Molly weasley blanket: no real pattern, knit using fingering weight yarn scraps and minis. Knit on 2.75 mm needles (US 2)

Knitting goals for the week

  • Get serpentine pattern finished and start testing.
  • Write up pattern for thistle sock.
  • Cast on second unnamed sock.
  • Knit on my Molly Weasley blanket.

Thanks for watching and see you next week!

Love,

Renée

 

The Lazy Knitter Podcast – episode 3

Hello everyone!

Thanks again for all the lovely comments and responses to the second episode. This week is a little shorter (it’s so close to the next episode due to the delay that I kept it a little shorter. i’ll go more into detail next episode!) and slightly delayed due to illness. I recorded with my phone and an external microphone for the first time so I’m very curious to hear what you think of it!

Here are the show notes for the third episode of The lazy Knitter podcast.

Where to find me?

  • Instagram: renee_kies.
  • Ravelry: Alazybeauty.
  • Youtube channel: The Lazy Knitter
  • My designs: Renée Kies

Finished objects

I also show off my (finally!) blocked Waiting for rain shawl.

Works in progress

  • Vanilla socks: No specific pattern. Will do a traditional afterthought heel. Yarn is Regia by Arne & Carlos in colorway Star night (3653). Knit on 2.5 mm needles (US 1.5).
  • Thistle socks: own design. Yarn is World of yarn, the knitting traveler limited edition, colourway Frozen Rainbows. Knit on 2.5 mm needles (US 1.5).
  • Unnamed socks: own design. main yarn is G-B Wolle sprint in 685 (grey). CC1: Opal for Ladies & Gentlemen in Lebendig. CC2: Rico design Superba 100 Klassik 4-fädig in 103. CC3: ONline Linie 3 Supersocke 100 in 61. CC4: Drops Fabel in 111. Knit on 2.5 mm needles (US 1.5). Looking for name suggestions. If I pick your suggestion you get a free pattern of your choice from my Ravelry store.

Knitting plans

  • Finish the second thistle sock.
  • Finish the second unnamed sock.
  • Write out charts for Serpentine pattern.
  • Take pretty project pictures (serpentine, waiting for rain, all the dishcloths).
  • Get Serpentine pattern into testing.

That’s all for this week! See you next episode!

Love,

Renée

Sockmadness 2015: Round 1 & 2

Hello everyone,

I’m participating in Sockmadness for the second time this year. I’ve just finished the second round (and made it to the third) and figured it was about time I caught you guys up.

What is sockmadness you might ask? Inspired by the March Madness in the USA some nifty knitters wanted to create a sock knitting competition. And sockmadness was born!

It consists of several rounds in which you need to knit a pair of socks as fast as you can. Patterns are supplied and since they’re usually very awesome a great motivation to sign up. Entering is free and everyone knits the exact same socks. There are certain minimum requirements each round to keep things fair. One of my favourite parts is that you have so many people knitting the same pattern and yet each pair still looks unique.

The sockmadness community is amazing and kind and the social aspect is another good reason to sign up. Even if you don’t like the speed aspect, pass the first round (you need to finish a pair of socks in 2 weeks to qualify) and you can choose to be a cheerleader. You still get all the patterns and fun, but can knit at your own leisure. The first round also helps the moderators to make teams. Teams are based on speed. You compete against your team with people dropping out every round until one remains This person will then compete against the winners from the other teams! And then eventually there is one great winner who wins a huge mountain of prizes! Not so fast and bummed you’ll never win (like me)? Not to worry! Sockmadness is awesome and awards fun prizes all thought the competition. For whatever reason! If you take a very funny picture, had heaps of bad luck, or like me in round one conquer a fear (i wrote about having to self inject every week and how i always get nervous and end up taking forever to gather some courage and just do it. I managed to get over it a bit faster this time with some encouragement from the Sockmadness round 1 chat thread).

To summarise: Sockmadness is just plain awesome. Time to show off some socks.

Round 1

Pattern: Alohomora by Malena Andersen

Yarn: Hjerte Garn Sock 4 Superwash in 1100 Grey. I used 70 grams of yarn.

Needles: Knit Pro Karbonz double point needles in 2.0 mm

Experience: I really love this pattern. It’s just simple enough to memorise without being boring. The finished socks are very comfortable. I had to use the tiny 2.0 mm needles due to the minimum size we had to knit, it would have ended up far to big for me and i wanted to keep these. I could have gifted them but… nah.

Round 2

Pattern: Cable Madness by Karen Buhr

Yarn: Crelando Nina Sock yarn in a green/blue/grey tonal. This yarn is sold at lidl and retails at 5 euros for 4 balls! I used 73 grams for these socks, so i expect to get three pairs out of these 4 balls!

Needles: Knit Pro Karbonz double point needles in 2.25 mm

Experience: I really like how well the cables pop despite the subtle variegation. The yarn has a high cotton content so has little stretch. This means that you have to knit the socks exactly to size. Mine are also hard to get over the heel, but fit perfectly once I have them on.

 

I can’t wait to see what the pattern for round 3 will be! I’ll have to be patient for a little while though as round 2 runs until april 13th!

Love, Renée

Work in progress

Hello Everyone!

Today I’m sharing some of my recent projects with you! Just 2, because these are the 2 i’ve been working on over the last week.

A pair of socks for me. Not even close to a pair yet as, as shown in the picture above, I’ve only gotten one leg done so far. It’s a very long leg, because the cables were so fun and pretty and i didn’t want to knit the heel yet. The pattern is Weathertop Socks by Claire Ellen (who is AWESOME!). I’m in the claire ellen sock club and the patterns so far have been amazing. And all lord of the rings inspired! The yarn is Lana Grossa Meilenweit Men (even though I’m most definitely not a man). The colors of the yarn just seemed perfect for a pattern based on gloomy Weathertop. The yarn is very nice to work with and the striping is a lot more subtle in reality. The photo somehow brings them out.

After the leg the heel seemed hard and confusing (which it really isn’t, but I just wasn’t feeling up to it yet) and so I cast on another pair of socks. This pair will be for my sister. She’d been wanting another pair and I really don’t mind knitting them (haha!) so she got me some yarn and told me to get knitting. And I did.

The leg looks tiny here in the picture, but the cables pull it in a lot. It does fit. As I’m typing this all that’s left on the first sock is the grafting of the toe. This sock flew by! It’s taken me less than 2 days! The pattern is House Baratheon Socks by Chrisitne Pike and the yarn is Hjerte Garn Sock 4. It’s a beautiful grey and white marled yarn and is perfectly soft. I wil be casting on the second sock either tonight or tomorrow. Depends on if I can understand the heel instructions for the Weathertop socks tonight, because I am exhausted. I’ve had a very long day at school. I didn’t get home until 8 in the evening (it’s 10 now). We visited the NIOD (Nederlands Instituut voor Oorlogs documentatie / Dutch Institute for War Documentation) for a lecture and went to the Anne Frank house for the first time.  I thought the Anne Frank house hadn’t really gotten to me, but I got pretty dizzy (probably because I was a little hungry too) and the images and videos of concentration camps are things that always manage to upset me. Especially as I will be visiting Dachau this year, which is the concentration camp where my grandfather was held captive. Apparently it’s stirred up some things.

Sorry to end on such a sombre note! The Anne Frank house and the NIOD were both equally impressive (I got to hold one of 3 facsimiles of the Anne Frank Diary, which is a very unique experience! I was terrified of somehow damaging it!).

I have been considering starting a podcast. I’ve been hooked since I started watching knitting/crafting podcasts in December and really think it would be something I’d like!

Love, Renée

Big and Tiny

Hello!

It’s high time I shared some recent FO’s with you.

Let’s start with the tiny!

We recently learned that my nephew and his wife are expecting their second baby. I knit their first baby a little cardigan so wanted to make something for baby nr 2 too! Unfortunately I don’t think the little got much use and it did take up my knitting time. I went on the hunt for something more usable and a little smaller. I ended up making some teeny tiny baby booties. I’ve always wanted to knit some because they’re perfect for scraps.

I used a special to me yarn. The leftovers of the yarn I also used for my Seeta fingerless mittens. I had bought this yarn on my trip to New York with my dad for my 21st birthday. It’s super soft and nice and warm. Baby won’t have any troubles with cold feet whilst wearing these!

Pattern: Toasty toes baby booties by Samantha Blake. The pattern is well written and very clear. It’s almost magical to see the shape of the bootie emerging as you’re knitting.The pattern has you knit the booties flat and seam up the back and bottom after you’re done knitting. Very easy and suitable for beginners.

Needles: 3.0 mm needles

Yarn: Frog Tree Pediboo in 1110 Grey. This is 80% merino and 20% bamboo. Very soft and yet sturdy. This is a sport weight and the pattern is written for a fingering weight, so my FO ended up a size bigger.

Experience: I’m pretty sure I won’t be knitting this pattern again. This is completely on me and not on the pattern as it’s very well written. I hadn’t really realised that because it was knit flat I would send up having to seam the bootie. The seam bothers me. I think next time I need some booties I’d prefer to just knit them in the round. Knitting this project really messed up my hands. I ended up with Carpal tunnel and had to stop knitting for a week. I get withdrawals if i don;t knit every day. It was horrible. Again, my fault. I was too lazy to grab my single needles so used 2 short dpn’s an squished the project on there. Bad idea. I ended up clenching them rather tightly and with stitches almost flying off every row.

The end result is more than I had hoped after my experiences whilst knitting. They’re cute and you can’t feel the seam when you’re “wearing” them (could’t try this out of course, so my hands tested them haha).

On to the big!

New socks! My second pair of plain vanilla socks. Vanilla really does seem to be something I like. It’s very calming and relaxed. No need to constantly check the pattern or count stitches.

Pattern: Afterthought heel socks by Laura Linneman. I used the pattern for the directions for the afterthought heel and the toe. I made the 64 stitch size, but it was a little roomy. Next time I’ll make the 56 stitch size again as these seem to fit better (For my painting socks I used the same pattern in the smaller size).

Needles: 2.25 karbonz double points

Yarn: Handed by MJ sokkenwol (local Indie dyer) self striping. 420 meters per 100 grams.

Experience: Heaven. The stripes made knitting on these socks very addictive and fun. I kept saying just one more row, just one more row. An hour later I’d still be knitting. As I said they’re a little roomy, but it’s not very troubling.

That’s it for today! I hope to be able to share another FO this week. It’s a project that has been in progress/hibernation for the last 1,5 years. It just needs a very rigorous blocking and then it’ll be done!

Love,

Renée

Casting on: Rainbow Pipeline Socks

Hello Everyone,

The third round of this years Sockmadness is upon is. And this new pattern has been giving me headaches. It’s super pretty, but it includes many elements with which I have zero experience. Uni has also started back up again, so it’s been a busy week. With my health acting up again, I have had to put the blog on the back burner for the week. But I’m back into the thick of things at uni and have figured out how the Sockmadness pattern works and mastered most of the new things (some still await though). So I’m going to be blogging a bit more again!

My hair is currently under a turban made with aluminum foil. I’m dyeing my hair blue again (it was long overdue for some attention to my roots and the blue had almost completely faded). To help the dye set i’m wearing tinfoil on my head. It helps to keep the warmth from my head in and that helps the dye set. I’ve used a different mix of dyes than last time, that was a little to green for me, so I’m hoping this color will be bluer and stay that way. In the future I can do a post sharing my experiences with weird colors perhaps. I really really like those dyes!

Back to my socks. The pattern is Rainbow Pipes and Linenstitch socks by Aurélie Colas. It’s gorgeous and I’m having a great time so far. These are proving a real learning experience. I’d never done linen stitch before, never done color work before and have never had a cuff that folds over. I’ve also never done i cords of have to attach buttons. So still 2 new challenges ahead!

Here’s my progress so far:

The colors I’m using. I didn’t have enough sock yarn scraps to use as the 7 (!!!) contrast colors, but a lovely other member of the challenge was kind enough to send these to me. I love them. This kind of color palette is my favorite as it includes my 2 favorite colors: blue and green.  The main color is a very very dark navy. It’s the same as the yarn i made my Shreddies with!

Knitting on the train…

Love,

Renée

Tadaa: Diamond Shreddies

Hello Everyone,

I have a finished object to share with you of which I am particularly proud. Te finished result probably won’t look all that special as I have made socks before. No, this project is special because of the process of knitting this one. It was hard. Harder than your average sock pattern. There were times when I seriously considered giving up and frogging the entire thing. This project was painful both physical and mentally.

I’m talking about my Diamond Shreddies. these were the socks we had to knit in the second round of Sock Madness (see my round 1 sock madness socks here). Because of the competition there were certain requirements your socks had to meet. You weren’t allowed to change the pattern and there was a minimum of rows you had to knit. The pattern was written with a tiny gauge of 9 stitches per inch and 15 rows per inch. To get this gauge I had to knit as tightly as possible on 2.0 mm needles. I really wanted to make gauge for these socks as I wanted them to fit me and people had said that without at least approaching gauge the socks would be too big. Mine ended up fitting perfectly, so they were worth the hard journey. I just don’t think I’ll be making another pair very soon!

The stats

Pattern: Diamond Shreddies by Carrie van Kessel. The pattern has you cast on a very large amount of stitches, but because of the tiny gauge they end up fitting. I usually wear a 56 stitch sock and these were a little tight, but i did end up with a slightly tighter gauge than suggested.

Yarn: Aldi/Hofer Sokkenwol. This is sock yarn that I bought at Aldi in a pack of 4 (2x 50 gram balls in 2 colors) for 5 euros. Considering it’s so cheap I wasn’t expecting too much. Turns out it’s pretty great! My socks ended up soft and feel like they will never wear out. They’re sturdy! The leg, due to the small gauge, could actually stand on it’s own…

Needles: 2.00 mm aluminum 4 inch/10 cm dpns by Addi. I had started with 15 cm bamboo dpns, but ended up snapping 2. I ordered the Addi’s thinking 10cm was the same size, but ended up liking the shorter size. It didn’t hurt my hands as much as the bamboo ones which were very sharp and harder to hold.

Love,

Renée

Time: I started these on March 21st and finished them on April 4th. They have been in time-out several times during this time as I needed to wait for my new needles and  because my hands were just to sore.

Experience: The finished socks are nice and pretty comfortable, but I’m not sure I enjoyed knitting them. I like the experience of knitting for sock madness and being in a team, but the socks themselves weren’t fun. The tight tension really did me in. It made my fingers hurt after just one row of knitting and I could only knit an hour at most in one sitting. My hands and right elbow are still sore and I expect it will take a while to fade completely. I usually love cables, but because these were so tight I dreaded them. But: the resulting socks are really comfortable and very soft.

Yarn along: Sock Madness round 2!

Hello Everyone,

Unfortunately my health still hasn’t been improving as much as i had hoped. The exhaustion is still quite extreme. Couple that with the usual exam stress and studying I haven’t had much time to do anything except eat, sleep and study. Thankfully I’ve now had 2 exams and I think I have passed them both. I have a little breather this afternoon. Tomorrow it’s back to my studies, but for now I have some time to blog!

When I have some time to relax for a bit I have been picking up my sock madness socks, my Diamond Shreddies. I’ve finished the first sock and am halfway through the heel flap on the second sock.

This pattern is still a bit of a challenge. i love the finished socks, but they’re so hard to make! They’re worked over 80 stitches and in a tiny gauge. My hands start hurting after only a round and I have to stop after about 15 minutes or they’ll stay painful.

The yarn I’m using is pretty decent when you consider the price (I bought a pack of 4 50 gram balls for 5 euros). I use one 50 gram ball per sock. The ball of yarn for the first sock was really good. It had one teeny tiny knot, but that’s perfectly acceptable. This second ball is a whole different story! It’s full of weird sections that you can’t use. I’ve taken to cutting them out, but there’s so many of these bits that I’m worried I might not have enough. Thankfully I have some leftovers from the  first sock just in case. But it’s seriously annoying!

I’m hoping to get some good progress in, but we’ll just have to see. there’s still twenty spots left in my team so I have a pretty decent chance to advance!

What are you working on?

Love, Renée

ps. Linking up With Tami’s Amis and Ginny!