Knitting Squirrel

Beautiful Sock Yarn & Wool for Your Next Project

Header with squirrels
Home | Nicolette

Nicolette

When to Give Up and Frog It

By 2 Comments

When is it time to consider the worst?

When the project that you were so excited about after casting on months and months ago has been neglected. When, despite all of your good intentions it fell by the wayside.

I look at my blog post “Starting the Sky Scarf” and I just know that there isn’t going to be a finished Sky Scarf for me to be photographing, writing and posting in the near future.

Unfortunately, the words “RIB IT… RIP IT… RIP IT” are shouting in my head every time my eyes fall on the offending project box. You know the one… It’s the one that makes me feel guilty. Makes me feel like I failed.

[Read More]

Yellow Rainbow Socks

By 2 Comments

The Yellow Rainbow Socks are the fourth post in the Rainbow Sock Collection Series that began with ‘What is the Perfect Basic Sock Pattern?’

During early summer when I discovered I needed some new hand knit socks I thought of just casting on for a new pair using one of the basic patterns that I knit regularly. But then I began thinking about which of the socks I have made that felt most comfortable when I was wearing them. This lead to a scribbled out table in my journal in which I started writing different heel and toe combinations. When I had reached 7 I decided on a rainbow theme. What can I say, I really love a nice colour theme!

Yellow-Rainbow-1web[Read More]

How to Do the Jogless Jog

By 1 Comment

When knitting stripes, as for the Yellow Rainbow Socks below, you can end up with a little step up or colour jog at the colour changeover. This is because when knitting in the round, you are really knitting a spiral. There are several ways in which this can be camouflaged but the first one I read about was the Jogless Jog described by Meg Swansen in her book Knitting published by Interweave 1999. I have continued to use this one because it is just so easy to work.

Jogless-Jog-7web

The Yellow Rainbow Sock has solid areas of knitting which are joined together by a series of 3 row stripes. I used the jogless jog to hide the change over of colour in the stripes where you would otherwise have a colour jog. Using the jogless jog gives you nice even stripes when the socks are viewed from the back.[Read More]

Orange Rainbow Socks

By Leave a Comment

The Orange Rainbow Socks are the third post in the Rainbow Socks Collection Series following on from ‘What is the Perfect Basic Sock Pattern?‘. The collection came about after my search during the summer for the perfect basic sock pattern.

Do you love the colour orange?

Every so often it is good to stretch yourself and try using one of your less favourite colours. Orange isn’t one of my favourite colours Although, having said that, these socks are wonderfully autumnal!

So, what do you do to make using a colour that isn’t a favourite easier to work with?

Orange-Rainbow-1web[Read More]

Red Rainbow Socks

By 1 Comment

The Red Rainbow Socks is the second post in the Rainbow Sock Collection Series. It follows the first post ‘What is the Perfect Basic Sock Pattern?‘.

The Rainbow Sock Collection Series came about after  my search during the summer for the perfect basic sock pattern. I wanted a sock that fitted my foot snugly and was comfortable to wear.

I chose Lang Jawoll Magic in Red Stripes and knew that I wanted the self striping yarn to repeat evenly from cuff to toe so that there was no break in the pattern when the heel was being knit.

It was also important to me that the finished sock would look elegant.

Red-Rainbow-1web[Read More]

What is the Perfect Basic Sock Pattern?

By 13 Comments

Have you ever wondered what is the most comfortable basic hand knit sock?

I have.

It is a question that has often caught my imagination as I pondered it. I suspect the answer to this question may be different for each of us. Okay, I know for some of you, this may sound obsessive. But honestly, sock knitting is a little addictive to those of us who have caught the sock knitting bug.

Perfect-basic-sock-pattern-1web

I offer no excuses. I love knitting socks. I’ve knit socks for my family as Christmas presents as well as knitting socks for myself. I’ve been knitting socks for a long time.[Read More]

Diagonal Eyelet Scarf

By 3 Comments

If you are anything like me, you’re always looking for an elegant scarf pattern that will use only one skein of yarn. The perfect project for that beautiful unique hand dyed silk or cashmere concoction that caught your eye as you browsed the Etsy Stores or wandered around the yarn show.

Diagonal-Eyelet-Scarf-1web

The perfect pattern is one that shows off the special yarn, its vibrant colour and luxurious fibre.[Read More]

Entrelac Scarf

By 6 Comments

When I first saw photographs of a garment knitted using the Entrelac technique, I remember thinking, “wow, that is amazing.” My next thought was, “how do I do that” quickly followed by “I suppose, it is really really difficult to do.”

Entrelac-Scarf-1web

Entrelac was a technique that I’d wanted to try for a long time. And as I was to find out, it’s much easier than it looks while successfully achieving the “wow” factor when you are wearing the finished scarf.[Read More]

Colony of Gonks Spotted in the Glens

By 4 Comments

At the weekend we went for a drive along the Coast Road. We parked the car and walked up the steep stony lane towards the lost village. We were looking for a good setting to photograph a new project that I have finished knitting.

It was a sunny summer day with a cool breeze blowing in from the Ocean.

Gonkland-1web

I paused and looked across the mountainside. The wild rugged landscape was amazing. Tiny windswept hawthorns were growing between the rocks.[Read More]