Tuesday 24 November 2009

This is a pair of Hockey socks and matching wrist warmers which I made for my friend Leandra after she helped a group of us students with a particularly harrowing physics assessment preparation. Many thanks Leandra - Hope the socks fit OK!

Thursday 22 October 2009

Web site up and running - after a fashion!!

My long-awaited web site is now up and running. Still in its infancy, I've yet to put up most of the 'products', but I do have a selection of sock yarns on there if nothing else. It will be making a series of rapid changes as I get more familiar with the software, and get more time to add things on, so do keep popping back!

Forthcoming Craft Fair

I will be at a craft fair organised by Ayrshire Hearing Support on Saturday 24th October, doors open to the public at 11.00 am, at Carrick Buildings in Henrietta Street, Girvan. I'm hoping to take along a sock machine, and will be able to demonstrate it during the day. I'll also have a selection of finished socks, sock wool, knitting kits and felting kits available for sale. If you get the chance, do pop in and say hello. Look forward to seeing you there.

Wednesday 14 October 2009

Web site

I've got a lot further with the new web site, now I've got the 'corporate identity' out of the way!!! Hopefully in less than 2 weeks, I should be live, with a full range of the latest commercial sock yarns, knitted socks and wrist warmers, hand dyed yarns, etc.

Watch this space ......

Saturday 10 October 2009

New Identity!!

I have just finished creating my new banner. For someone who has literally no artistic inclinations, I don't think I've done too bad a job!!! Any of you design experts care to comment?

Sunday 4 October 2009




This is another picture of the Imperia machine used to make these particular socks, and also a picture of the other machines I've currently got set up in this workshop. There's a Harrison, and two AKMCs in this picture.












Well, as promised, here's a pic of the Alpaca sox I made the other day. I've also taken a pic of the machine they were made on, together with a 'string of sox' still on it!! I hand dyed this Alpaca yarn just before the Fibrefest exhibition. This is the first time I've had chance to use it. It knitted up absolutely beautifully.

Wednesday 30 September 2009

Here are a few old pictures I've got stored ...

These are some of the different yarns I've used in the past. The combination of the modern self patterning yarns is a complete contrast to the use of the 100 year old machine! These yarns are usually dyed by printing them as a running thread rather than the conventional type of dye bath. Similar results can be achieved at home by skeining the yarn onto very long hanks and hand painting it. The machine pictured below is a Golden Fleece I was working on. It wasn't my own machine, and sadly, I still don't have a Golden Fleece amongst my collection!

Now, this is one of my own machines!! This is an Imperia, and is the one I use most for making my socks. In this particular picture, the needles are raised out of work whilst I do an e-wrap cast on. The e-wrap cast on is far more time consuming than the normal 'ribber lever out' type cast on, but I think it makes a far neater job, so I stick with it.


This is a cosmetically restored machine I bought very early in my CSM days. It was actually a Victoria restored as a Griswold!!


Here are some more samples of some socks I have made on my machines.







The Start ....

This is the first - of what I hope will be many - entries on this blog. I have almost finished using my current stock of hand dyed alpaca yarn, and have a nice little pile of socks to show for it. I will hunt the camera out so I can take some pictures!

Knitting on the CSM is great. You end up with a long, long string of socks with just waste knitting separating them. Then comes the boring part where you have to sit down and hand graft them all to finish the totally seamless sock!

I'll get some pictures of my CSMs on here shortly, too. Tomorrow's another day ....