Mam's Socks

In the wake of all the new sock making, my Mam asked if she could have a pair of socks made. (It was more a "you haven't made me anything in aggeeessssss" kind of remark.) But I really enjoy knitting socks, so I was very happy oblige.

These socks were the second ever that I had made on a circular needle, using the magic loop method. The first sock I made on a circular needle was my scrappy sock, I made it mostly to see how a 60 stitch sock would look and feel like on a 2.5 mm circular needle. The scrappy sock was only an ankle sock, but it fitted well, and seeing as Mam has the same size feet as me I thought it would be fine.

I used my trusty sock pattern I found on love knitting, which I wrote about here. I have to admit the pattern isn't great for knitting on a circular needle, it gets a little tight but it is doable. I am going to look at doing heels differently, because there are many different ways of making heels, and I have an urge to try and learn every one! Maybe just make every one once...

The socks did take me a little while, they had been on my needles for ages and I made quite a few other things before they were done. The top part of the sock I made 12 cm long, which is a little bit shorter than my other socks, but Mam is a little bit shorter, so her socks were too.

The socks were finally finished in Tywyn. The toes were kitchener stitched up whilst watching the 11:40 departure from Wharf Station on the Talyllyn Railway. Mam at the time was volunteering in the booking office, so they were made and delivered to her through the booking office window!

I did make the socks one at a time, which meant there was a small amount of second sock syndrome. One of the reasons for learning the magic loop method of making socks, is to learn how to make socks two at a time, but that might be for next time.

Mam was very very happy to get her socks, she'd been waiting a little while... oops... but she was happy, and I hope they fit her well. I did try them on, and the cuff was a little tight. So I'm going to try knitting with 64 stitches for me next time.

Holidays...

I am very sorry for the lack of posting in the past three weeks. I had got romantic ideas that when I went to Wales for two weeks I would be able to finish loads of projects, revise for my upcoming exams, and manage to fit it all in around working on the Talyllyn Railway.

Obviously none of that actually happened. I worked on the railway most days, did minimal revision and hardly any making. But we'll try and get back on top of all of that.

I did start another scarf just like the one I did before (Striped Scarf). I made this one with the left over wool I had from the one the Mr M asked me to make. Whilst I'm not a football person, it did just happen to be the colours of the Welsh Rugby Union team! The pattern for which I've now put up on Ravelry so you can download it as a free PDF pattern here, but you can always refer back to the original post on the blog here for how to do the fiddly bits.

Sadly the lovely leg warmers that I promised are still a work in progress, but they will be up soon! I did take them to wales with me, but about two rounds were knitted of them... I know I need to get a move on.

The polka dot knickers also have not made any more progress, I didn't really feel up to taking my sewing machine with me.

In other news I have started bullet journaling.  There is a lot of cool things going on with bullet journaling and it has become really really popular over in the states, but going back and looking at the original website, it is actually a really useful tool when used properly, to help people organise themselves, but also be able to become more productive by writing down thoughts, and things that need to be done. Once those things have been written down the brain isn't struggling to remember everything that needs to be done, giving you a chance to properly focus on the task in hand.
There is a really interesting post about it here, it also mentions attention deficit traits, and gives a fair bit of food for thought.

There is also a section on that website for getting started. One of the lovely things about it, is that you can be as creative or as minimal as you like. You can use whatever you have around you to get started, you just need a notebook and a pen. I've just got a notebook I picked up from the doctor who experience in Cardiff, and a load of coloured pens. What you make of the journal is completely your own, and sometimes beautiful things can come out of it.

Carriage Brake Maintenance

This weekend the factory of things had taken a break from making, and went to Wales for some fixing!

This weekend I have been fitting new break blocks and adjusting the breaks and triple valves on the Talyllyn Railway, the world's first preserved railway. This is the railway that I do the most of my volunteering on, as is well worth a visit, to ride on or watch the little trains trundle their way up the valley!