zaubernuss - witchhazel

super thick slipper socks

Last autumn my sister-in-law asked if I could make her some slipper socks so her guests wouldn't get cold feet. (She lives in an old Vienna town house apartment; those can be a little drafty and usually don't have underfloor heating.) She didn't have anything particular in mind so I suggested I make super thick ones, using two strands of 4-ply yarn held together. I've made socks like that for my grandma already and they knit up quite quickly since there are fewer stitches needed. 

She asked for two pairs EU size 42/42 and two huuge pairs EU size 46/47 (30cm/12" for the foot). The two above are the smaller ones - which were still bigger than most of the socks I usually make. I used five different yarns for each pair; all from my Opal subscription boxes and all colourways I wasn't that crazy about. 

Some of the really boring yarns where easy choices but with the ones I wasn't sure about #opalabo really helped because I could see lots of them knitted up and could decide whether or not I liked the look of them. Even the most boring yarn gets exciting when combined with another boring yarn - two negatives make a positive, right? It would be a great way to use up all the sock yarn scraps that accumulate over time. They could be worn at home, in bed, for snuggling, in wellies when gardening in tough work boots or hiking shoes, etc. And you can use any pattern you'd make in 4-ply as well; lace socks might be a little awkward with two strands though...

The little red-ish/grey ball in the above picture is the only non-Opal yarn I used, just because I wanted something darker and more neutral. 

I used 3,5mm needles for these. I started out with two strands and worked 10 rounds. Then I replaced one of the colours with a new one, keeping the other one for another 10 rounds. Then I replaced the one I had already used for 20 rounds with the next one, working another 10 rounds, and so forth. That way each yarn always blended with two others. The result is a very fun and unpredictable colour play not only because you can never know which colours will meet, especially with busy self patterning yarn, but also because one of the two strands will be the more dominant one, which one that is changes with each stitch however. So you never know if you'll end up with a red stitch with a blue undertone or a blue stitch with a red undertone. Does that make sense?

These got quite addictive but having to make eight of them - four of them huuuge - did get a bit boring after the novelty had worn off. It took me a bit over a month to get them done; I had to put them down in between and do something else, also for the sake of my hands. Apparently it's good to switch between different textures and mediums when you have recurring, knitting related hand issues: change yarn thickness and needle size, change from knitting to crochet and back, etc. And do lots of stretching and massaging... 

When they were all done I washed them and after they had dried I doodled some patterns on the soles with liquid non-slip sock latex. (My sister-in-law's floors are veeery slippery - I know...) Most yarn shops or craft stores with a yarn section stock this stuff or can order it for you, you can also find it online and it really works. 

I'm sorry, I forgot to take pictures of them when they were all finished and latexed (but my doodles weren't that great anyway). 

 

If you're wondering about the Opal subscription you can read about how it works in this post. I get them as a present from my wonderful husband, I don't get paid or free products to advertise Opal yarn. 

 

Lots of love and thick, woolen socks! xxx

socks #29

Pair #205 for R. The yarn is gründl Hot Socks "Simila" 306 which is designed to give you two identical socks. The design actually incorporates some more coloured stripes on the toes too but for R's feet I didn't need that much yarn. 

Pair #206 is a plain pair of "men socks" I gifted to my uncle - I don't know his attitude towards funky socks so I played it safe. The yarn is the last one from my December 2018 Opal box. 

This pair - #207 - was inspired by this one I found on pinterest. I couldn't find a written pattern for these so I just looked closely at the image and improvised.

I really like the long rib and half the solid heel (standard German short row heel) and half the patterned one. The yarn is Aktiv Uni 2413 and the self striping yarn is Aktiv "Funny" 4734 by supergarne. I actually "amputated" a section of orange with khaki speckles from the yarn after I had knitted it - haha! It looked good in the ball but once knitted up I decided that the orange bit didn't go with the rest at all, ripped it back, snipped the orange part off and re-joined the yarn. You'd never know...

Pairs #208 and #209 are exactly the same except for the yarn. I made these for T at the start of summer. The pattern is my junior mojo (which can be made to fit adults as well). You can find it here. The grey yarn was in my May 2020 Opal box but is part of the "Ocean" collection: Rauschende Welle 9975; the blue striped yarn came with the March 2019 box and seems to have been a subscription box exclusive. T chose both of the colourways himself. 
(Fun Fact: T came home from one day, kicked off his shoes and pulled the grey socks off his feet. Quite in 10-year-old boy style he just tossed them somewhere and I haven't seen the second sock since. He'd been wearing them for the first time...)

These two - #210 and #211 - were custom orders. They are mojo socks and I used Schoppel Crazy Zauberball in "Herbstwind" (the top one) and "Der Lenz ist da" (the bottom one) which where selected by the person who ordered the socks.
I always love working with these yarns. 

This is pair #212. I made these last September and used the caterpillar sock pattern. These were the perfect Halloween Socks - orange, purple and green (with a witchy black skirt). The yarn came with the September 2019 Opal box and I don't know why I waited two years to knit with it - I love it! I suppose I had to admire it for a while first...
This colourway is part of the "Lifestyle" collection: Die Frohnatur 9874.
Somehow they turned out a tad too big, I'll have to redo the toes eventually. Either my feet shrunk or my hand issues messed up my tension (probably both) because I've had problems with sizing the socks I make for a few months now - I can't seem to rely on a specific number of rounds for the foot fitting my/my husband's feet exactly any more. 

Pair #213 is a pair of girl socks for R. She chose the yarn which was part of the December 2020 Opal box. These were in the works since late May and I only finished them early last October. That happens...

R asked for new Christmas Socks this year since all the old ones had gotten too small. I made pair #214 using some sparkly Christmas yarn by Woll Butt - "Tannenbaum" 8227. I had used some of this yarn for another children's pair the year before so I had to finish one sock with some yarn from the same pack (lots of Woll Butt yarn comes in value packs of 3 or 4 100g balls). The colours are the same and since I hardly ever make matching socks anyway it's not immediately noticeable. I went for a simpel k2-p2 rib all the way from top to bottom and they can be worn long or folded over (which looks adorable with tights/leggings and a skirt/dress). 

The yarn for pair #215 came in my March 2021 Opal box but was released last autumn with the "Herbstmelodie" collection: Früchtetee 11122. My husband chose this yarn for another pair of mojo socks and he's been wearing them a lot since I finished them a week into December. (Partly because a few of his pairs need darning which I haven't done yet...)

Pair #216 was for T. I was a little surprised by his choice of yarn to be honest - he's 11 now and I'm finding it a bit hard these days to properly evaluate what he likes and dislikes... 
This yarn was also in the March 2021 box but is another colourway of "Herbstmelodie": Laubgeflüster 11123 - which I only noticed when I knitted it and spotted that the pattern was actually the same as the previous pair. I wouldn't have guessed that at all - balled up the two colourways looked completely different. 

 

That's it for now. 

These 12 pairs of socks look like a lot but it's taken me roughly a year to make them (not counting some super thick slipper socks you can read about here).
Sometimes I'm a bit sad: I used to be able to churn out 2-3 pairs a week in my best times and occasionally I have a hard time accepting that this is no longer possible. But it is what it is and I'm grateful that I'm still able to knit at all. There are so many things I want to create at once and I wish I had several more pairs of arms to do everything at once. As it is I have to be patient and enjoy the process...

 

If you're wondering about the Opal boxes I keep mentioning: I get these as a gift from my wonderfully indulgent husband and I explain all about this subscription and how it works in this post.
I don't get paid or free products for mentioning them here. 

 

Lots of love! xxx

Opal box September 2021

I know I'm terribly, terribly late in posting this - somehow I just didn't get to it... 

These colours are all bright and vibrant and rather cool. 

These two are definitely the same design in different colourways (and might therefore be part of an upcoming Opal collection)...

... as well as these two.
(There have been two of the same designs in previous boxes that were not in later collections though, so you never know!)

I like these, especially the left one! I wasn't too crazy about it at first but then I saw it knitted up on Instagram and decided that I love it. (#opalabo) 

I've had an odd relationship with my yarn and knitting these past months. I've been in a right mess with my picture taking, my note keeping (about the socks I made) and my general attitude towards it. I've taken some photos of long-finished socks today, updated my beloved sock journal (take a look at the top of this post if you're interested) and tidied up a little in my computer files. Now I feel like I'm back on track (at least more than I was before). 

 

If you don't know what the above pictures are about, I've explained about the Opal subscription box in this post and you can find all the posts I've written about my boxes so far in the according category. 
As always I'd like to mention that this is not a sponsored post - I don't get payed or receive free products for writing this. 

 

Lots of love and woolly socks! xxx