Jen Arnall-Culliford Knitwear

FO: Budleigh Socks

I've said it many times, but I think it bears repeating, that socks are the perfect portable knitting project. When I want to make something, but have little time and little energy, I can always pull out some socks to work on. I've churned out a couple of pairs of simple socks over the last few months, but just one beautiful pair...

These are the Budleigh socks from Rachel Coopey's Coop Knits Socks - a book I worked on earlier in the year, and fell in love with. I worked on them at the soft play centre, at the park, and in the car. I had just enough brain power to keep the cables on track. And I even remembered to knit the second sock to the second sock instructions (and didn't make two first socks!).

The two socks are mirror images of each other - a touch that I ADORE! And the patterning is pretty but intuitive. I really enjoyed the Fyberspates Vivacious 4ply. It has the perfect bounce for socks with cables, and it wasn't too hard on the hands with all the twisted stitches. A perfect yarn and pattern combination.

Perfect for the turn in the weather - these will be one of those pairs of socks that is either on my feet or in the wash!

I'll be back soon with more knitting and at some point... drum roll please... some new designs!

The Cat in the Hat and some dinosaurs

We have gone back to school, and I'm hoping that this will give me a little time to pick up some of the strings of my life pre-children (a little bit of knitting, some sewing and a few blog posts perhaps). We have had an amazing and completely life-changing experience over the last 5 months, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the old and new will work together.

First up is a new quilt. This is a very, very simple design. Just fat quarters cut into 4 squares, and then joined together again. The fabric was chosen and the arrangement of the blocks was decided on by its recipient. The finished quilt has so far proved to be too exciting to be used in a bedroom, but gets lots of wear in front of the TV downstairs.

The backing is a very pleasing superhero print - one that gets pulled off the shelf every single time we go into Millie Moon (our favourite local fabric shop).

Next up will be some knitting, so keep your eyes out later in the week!