Monday 20 March 2017

Mountain climbing with Foothold socks


Last summer when Stylecraft launched their range of sock yarns, Head over Heels, I spent a blissful few weeks in August playing around with stitch patterns. I even took the new yarns for a holiday to Greece with me and worked on some designs in the sunshine! 




I was just at the point of publishing one of these patterns last October when Mr JK died and everything got put on the back burner. Fast forward to December when I was asked by Stylecraft if I had a sock pattern that they could use to launch two new colours in the range! Oh my word, what an emotional day that was! I was delighted to have had a pattern commissioned but also sad because I so wanted to share the news with Mr JK. He would have been very, very proud of me, I know it. Yarn arrived in the post and I spent the Christmas holidays knitting feverishly and working out the stitch counts for different sock sizes. The end result is my Foothold socks.






I love the little ridges on the leg and foot; they remind me of those ledges and shelves that climbers use to get a foothold when climbing. That's how the sock got its name. These photos (taken by Mr JK back in September) show the original sock design. The ribbing on the cuff has changed to a 1 by 1 ribbed cuff as I jiggled around with stitch counts for the various sizes, but I wanted to share these pictures of the very first design off the needles!




There are now eight colourways in the Head over Heels yarn range - all named after mountains. I love the happy yarny smile they're making in this photo, don't you? The yarn is super to knit with and washes really well. The socks I've knitted using the yarn are lovely and soft too. I'm not just saying that, it's true! I've knitted over a hundred  pairs of socks and believe me, life is too short to be knitting with nasty yarn! The two new additions to the range are in the middle - Sugar Loaf (the pastel coloured ball) and Etna (the deep bluey/pink ball.) Let's have a bit of a closer look at the colours...







So how do they look in the socks? Rather nice, if I do say so myself! My photos are not brilliant as I was frantically finishing off the socks when I went up to the last Stylecraft Blogstars meet up, so I had to take a few quick pics with the socks laid out on the bed in my hotel room! (I didn't manage to finish the third pair until I was back home in Norfolk!)






The photo above shows the three sizes, from left to right - small (in Everest), medium (in Etna) and large (in Eiger.) The pattern is a 12 row repeat and is simple enough for new sock knitters to have a go. Keep your eyes peeled as I'm planning to have a Foothold KAL in the coming months. It would be great if you were able to join me! 

I was sent some of the pattern leaflets last week - squee!! So exciting! 




I believe that the leaflet will be available at Stylecraft stockists, along with others for a cute baby cardigan and a shawl, and you can also download a copy free here

Here are a couple more photos of the ridged pattern - can you tell that I'm rather pleased with it?!






So, how would you like to win some yarn vouchers and other Stylecraft goodies to be able to knit your own pair of Foothold socks? Silly question! Yes, of course you would! I'm offering three prizes of 2 x £5 Stylecraft vouchers (which  can only be redeemed in a bricks and mortar yarn shop in the UK) along with an assortment of Stylecraft goodies. If you enter from overseas and are a winner, I don't mind going to my LYS and redeeming the vouchers on your behalf and mailing you the yarn. To enter, please take a look at all the colours in the Head over Heels range here and tell me which is your favourite. Make sure that you leave me your Ravelry name/Instagram name/some other way of getting in touch with you if you're a winner. The giveaway will run until midnight on April 2nd and then I'll use a random number generator to pick the winners. I'll be in touch with the winners soon afterwards and if I haven't heard back within a week, I'll pick more winners at random. Hope that's answered any questions you might have so I now declare this giveaway open! Good luck everyone! xxx




PS This is not a sponsored post.

42 comments:

Ellen said...

What lovely socks. Well done. :-)
My favourite colour in the Head over Heels collection is 3103 Eiger.
My Ravelry name is SistieMoose.

Jane Winter said...

Hi
I think that 3105 Sugarloaf is my favourite, although it is a hard one to call. I love your sock pattern.
I am Spinthrift on Ravelry.

Clicky Needles said...

Ooo, Everest for me. Love the pattern.CN x

Jackie Dean said...

Kilimanjaro is my favourite. jadean80@gmail.com

Suzanne said...

I like Olympus. Ravelry name is suziknits.

Trish Rapley Giles said...

I like the Eiger. Ravelry name is trishrapleygiles.

VeggieMummy said...

Congratulations Helen! You're right, Mr. JK would have been very proud of you and rightly so. The socks are gorgeous and the colour choice really tricky - I love them all. I think my favourite though would have to be 'Fuji'. I'm VeggieMummy on Ravelry too. xx

Sarah Knits said...

I love the new pattern and will definitely be giving it a go soon! I have to say that I have a special affinity for the new colour 'sugarloaf' - when I was a little girl my Granny used to get off the bus at sugarloaf corner and it immediately brought back memories of her shopping trips on the bus to town! Happy childhood days 😃 I'm sarah35 on Ravelry btw.

Unknown said...

I can't choose just one! So my favourites are Etna and Eiger. I'm craftymummy on Ravelry x

Jo said...

Congratulations, it's a lovely sock pattern and I'm definitely interested in joining a KAL so I'll hang fire with trying it out just yet. My favourite colourways are Sugar Loaf and Everest. My Ravelry name is Jo9919.

Claire said...

What a lovely pattern! Personally I love the soft colours of Eiger! My Ravelry name is JCH17.

Foxymitts said...

Sugar loaf for me, and not just because it sounds good to have with a cup of tea! Hmm, having tea whilst wearing socks made in sugar loaf, that sounds good! Ravelry name is Foxymitts.

Unknown said...

3103 eiger for me! I just love blues and greens! And I love new socks (especially on Christmas, and especially handmade with love! )
Instagram is k.m_a21

Anna Ridley said...

Gorgeous socks! I think my favourite shade is Etna; I love the vibrant colours against the black.

My Ravelry name is PeanutPip :)

CrochetCaro said...

I like Sugar loaf :)
I'm learning how to knit socks at the moment,looking forward to your KAL.
My Ravelry name is Carolinecolwell

BridgetHL said...

Difficult to choose as all the colours are appealing but I think my favourite has to be Kilimanjaro.
My ravelry name is Bridgethl.

Lovely blog, and lovely sock pattern too.

Claire said...

Very difficult to pick a favourite, I'd love socks in all of the colours, but if pushed I would say Kilimanjaro is my favourite. I love your sock pattern, it must be so thrilling to have your own work published like this and I am willing to bet that Mr JK is as proud as punch of you, wherever he is.

My ravelry name is FallenMadonna

Pixel Atlantis said...

Congratulations! Your pattern is gorgeous :) I really love Sugar Loaf! I think it is unusual but so pretty :)
My ravelry username is pixelatlantis

Unknown said...

Congrats on your pattern I'm now working on First Tracks which is so much fun. I love the color Etna.
My rav name is SeeKathyKnit

Natalieha77 said...

I love Eiger. Can't wait to try your pattern. IG is Natalieha77 xxx

Gabimommy said...

Thank you for this opportunity, especially nice of you to let us overseas people enter and would even get the yarn for us if one of us won. That is really so nice. I can't knit too well, I would love to try those socks... one day. BUT, when I saw the new colourway, Etna, I knew I needed a shawl in that colourway. That is my favourite, though I like them all. My Ravelry name is Gabimommy.

Claire H said...

So hard to choose - such a lovely range of colours. I'm really taken with Etna - so dramatic with the dark pops! My Instagram name is claire.holmes4 .

Jennifer said...

Lovely sock pattern. I would love to win the prize. Revelry jen2406. ☺

Mags said...

Fuji is lovely but my new favourite is Etna. Loving your pattern. thisMwalks on ravelry. Thanks.

PixieMum said...

As I knit socks for my DH I asked him to choose a colour, he selected Etna, quite appropriate as we we've been there.

I am Knellergal in Ravelry.

Poerava said...

Eiger is my favourite
Poerava on ravelry

tink said...

Thank you very much for sharing your beautiful pattern, the colours are beautiful too, i think my favourite is Etna, the red just boils over!!
I am tink82x on ravelry

Charlotte said...

Olympus for me :) love the sock design. I'm cp233 on Ravelry x

Heather said...

Eiger is my favourite. I'm knittingowltoo on Ravelry.

Jennyff said...

Eiger for me, love the colours but the name reminds me of a wonderful holiday gazing in wonder onto the north face from our hotel and thinking of that film The Eiger Sanction with Clint Eastwood. Love the pattern too, you are a star and we are all proud of you.

Anonymous said...

My fav is the pinks and greys of Olympus. I'm @pallypoodle on instagram

Unknown said...

its got to be eiger but as a fellow norfolk lover even the names of the mountains are enough to induce vertigo!
paulz66

Unknown said...

I love sugar loaf,beautiful pattern... rav name is heydaycrochet

SarahK said...

I think Kilimanjaro has to be my favourite. I'm Winkywonky on ravelry.

Unknown said...

I love them all, but I think I'd like Everest for starters! I would love to join in a KAL. One of my goals this year is to learn to knit. I just had baby #3 3 weeks ago, so a project that can be stuffed in the nappy bag to take around with me would be perfect! X
annabeljung@gmail.com

Unknown said...

Ohh I'd love Sugar Loaf!! I've never attempted knitting socks before because I'm always intimated by the idea that they'll not fit well or be really big and look awful - but your pattern brings up a perfect fit so I'm hopeful now! It's heading toward Winter in Australia, slowly but surely it'll get colder in the next couple of months... just the right time to try my hand at some fluffy socks :)

Evey

evelyn.rooke@uqconnect.edu.au

KirstenM said...

Hi, Everest for me.... dare I try knitting socks? I think I dare! Ravid kirstenisabella

Joy said...

Hi, I think Etna is my favourite. I'm Masoup on Ravelry.

alice said...

Hi, My favourite colour is Olympus and I have knit a great pair of socks in this. My mum really likes Everest and has now got my ball of yarn too. So, I need to restock soon. Then I can knit up your new pattern����
Alice (maamaaknits on Instagram and ravelry)

Anonymous said...

I love the Everest colourway, although they all look pretty gorgeous.
Kim (kimsara on ravelry)

Christi said...

Congratulations on creating such a lovely sock pattern, it's now on my To Be Knit list :) Always thinking of you and sending hugs.

Kim from Canada

Unknown said...


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