Fleur
Texture knitting is my 'comfort' knitting. The patterns develop ever so subtly and changes ever so slightly in different light. I cast on Fleur on Friday and was chugging along so well that I brought it along for the Darlington trip. I discovered (rather rudely) that I was making very little progress and only managed to do a few inches. So, I picked it up yesterday and finished the back and one of the front. See, how pretty the flowers are?
Fleur is from the Louise Harding Miss Bea's Colours. It's a fab book. The patterns are relatively easy and also interesting to knit.
Darlington
Speaking of Darlington, I did have a photo of Kerrie.
We had a fabulous time in Darlington and were treated to the most spectacular northern hospitality by the Chris (Rowan Consultant) and Steven (Binns Store Manager). It was fabulous to finally meet Emma, Sissel, Chris, Geraldine and Kerrie.
And they say, women can't keep secrets
The Liberty Rowanettes decided to spring a little surprise on Emma, Sissel and Chris. In the guise of, Polly is coming to Darlington alone, I secretly conspired to coordinate the trip with several of the Liberty Rowanettes. This involved, digging around trying to locate email address, etc. since the event could not be posted to the Rowan Forum. After finally getting together a preliminary list, we tried to get tickets... which proved a bigger challenge than originally thought, since the cheap tickets were listed but not available. Finally, after a spate of email we were finally sorted ... and tickets were distributed.
The morning
Who could sleep? The excitement of a rail trip, the thought of yarn, meeting other Rowanettes, fear of missing the train? Need I say more?
We met up in Kings Cross, bright-eyed and bushy tailed. Bags filled with all the knitting we were going to do (d'oh! why did I bring charted knitting with me? Like I was going to gab, read a chart and knit on a moving train?) To add excitment to the trip, GNER allocated our seats in 2 carriages (what! on a block booking?) I had to suddenly become very New York and send a lady scurrying away so that Jacinta did not have to go to the other carriage. Sam added a bit of excitment to the journey, by flinging herself into the train, about 2 seconds before it started moving.
'Are you a knitting circle?', asked one of the stewards on the train. Sarah politely, replied, 'Yes, we are travelling up to meet some other knitters'. I was thinking (rather mischeviously, 'No of course not, you mean you don't usually see 7 or 8 young women knitting on your trains?)'.
Finally we arrived. Here's the proof.
I wanted to claim credit for this photo opportunity, but it wasn't my bright idea to take this photo, it was Jacinta's. Hey, credit where credit is due.
Girl Guides
Good thing Sarah and Amelia were there to sort us out...left to my own devices, I would had either stumbled around lost in Darlington, or gone and got myself a taxi (see last week's trip to Caterham). Clutching a copy of a streemap.co.uk printout, they led us straight to Binns.
Darlington & Binns
I wasn't sure what to expect when I got to Darlington. I mentioned that I was going to Darlington to a few colleagues at work, who immediately replied with rather rude comments about the visiting 'rust belt' and sucking of air through teeth, about how dangerous it is out there at night and the lager lads. Of course, I didn't tell them that I was going up with a bunch of knitters to meet another bunch of knitters that we knew from the internet... there just isn't enough hours in a day to get them to understand this...and really, I wouldn't want them to hurt themselves when they fell out of their chairs.
There was a lovely market outside of Binns and the girls found a used book stand and got a copy of Kaffe Fassett's Glorious Knitting and an Edina Ronay hardback knitting book at bargain prices.
Binns has a lovely wool department. The shelves are immaculate, well displayed and the lighting is fabulous. There was ample supply of Rowan, Jaeger and Patons...lovely knitted samples and wonderfully knowledgable staff. We were also treated to a lovely tea in the Gold Card Lounge and visited by the charming Steven, who was very surprised to hear about the raid from the London Knitters and even more flattered to be visited by a Norwegian knitter.
Kerrie actually found me in Binns. Left to my own devices, I might not have found Binns at all. It's hard to find anything, when you're floating on a cloud.
The Knitting
Sissel is an extremely skilled knitter. I can only aspire to fair isle as she does. You can always tell a knitter from a non knitter. Hand a non knitter a garment and they would look admire and hand it back to you. Hand it to a knitter and they would look, admire and then turn it inside out to check out the steeks, whether you weave or carry your yarn, knot or splice and check out the stitching. So, we all poked and prodded the lovely traditional fair isle that Sissel made Oliver. It was really beautiful.
We also passed around Emma's shawl. She spun the cashmere and merino yarns herself. It's wonderfully soft in a heathery taupe. The spinning is very consistent and I couldn't find a single point where the yarn might had been joined.
I got my hands on Geraldine's Alfie bag. She got the same shades as I did last year, a browny colour and peach. I thought they looked horrible together and gave the wool away. In actual fact, the colours went together very well. So maybe next time, I'm going to trust Rowan in their colour choices.
Chris also showed us some lovely bags that she made using Paton's 4 ply. I'm inspired to try out some of her ideas, since I love doing little bags. She also reworked a Louise Harding design from the colours book. Her colour sense and knitting skills and no-nonsense attitude is just want you want from a knitting consultant.
Here's a shot of most of the knitters. I wasn't bossy enough and certainly didn't have the foresight to take a photo whilst everyone was there... but before we all melted into the night ....
The time just flew and before we knew it, it was time to go home. So the morale of the story is.... don't invite me to join you for an afternoon of knitting, I might just bring 10 or 20 people with me :-0
The week has crawled by. Tomorrow is the big day. I finally go to Darlington to meet Emma, Sissel, Chris, Kerrie and all the other knitters that are bound to turn up, because who can resist a Sit and Knit with such talented knitters?. I hope Binns has enough wool in stock to satisfy our yarn cravings.
I've been very, very bad. Not only is birch not finished and I cast on Minnie. I also started a pair of socks and I'm casting on a Louise Harding Design, called Fleur from her Miss Bea Booklets (Miss Bea's Coulours). I mean, it's not possible to *intarse* on a moving train, right?
I've wrote up a few of the things in my gallery, mostly out of guilt.
You see... too much nervous energy.
It was a very productive knitting weekend, since I really buckled down and finished the Johnnies.
It's so hard to be discipline, especially in the face of so much temptation! I can't say how happy I was when I finally kitchenered the toes together. It was fun when I started but after a while it just got tedious... That's the problem with knitting socks, especially for men with big feet. I understand entirely this references made regarding Man socks by Theresa . It's a challenge to find interesting patterns that look good in dark colours that the men in my life would wear (did I say, and not too stylish either?).
Surprisingly, there's still plenty of wool left, at least 15grams and I did these on 2.25m needles and got 8.5 stitches to the inch. Anyway, no luck over the weekend with getting the rivets for the calinectes bag, so I'm going to try again this weekend.
I'm really itching to start something bigger... and birch? All I need to do is string on 60 beads and cast on 291 stitches, 1 row stocking stitch, 5 rows moss stitch and kitchener 291 stitches and we will be ready for a block. This virtuous feeling, can't last for long... and of course, I broke.
To get my intarsia in shape for Daisy, I cast on Minnie from Rowan 33.
Yup, I started and finished another bag this weekend. Actually, I started it on Friday night and I finished it enroute to the Yarn House. I was stringing the beads onto the strap on the train. There was a very tenuous moment, when the beads nearly scattered across the carriage. Please remind me to NOT do this again. With my luck, I would not only have to go on my hands and knees retrieving beads, I would also get fined for littering on the train!
Here's a close-up of the star. Uniquely for me, I knitted this on straights and mattress stitched together. I was in a hurry to do this and just blindly followed the instructions.
Here's a close-up of the edging. Don't you think that it'll look lovely on as an edging for a baby sweater?
...to Caterham. It's not every day, that a fellow Rowanette opens a real live yarn shop. Of course, I had to visit it for myself and do a bit of nosing around. Sheelagh's shop, The Yarn House is located within Craft Works
The Yarn House is fairly innovative by UK standards in that it is an independent yarn store, selling high end yarns (Rowan and Debbie Bliss for now). There really aren't that many left in the UK and most people buy their yarns from department stored like Binns, Liberty or the John Lewis Partnership. Sheelagh runs the Yarnhouse, and I know her from the Rowan International Knitting Circle, which has spawned the Liberty's knitting nights (every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month in the Art Bar Cafe from 5:00 until closing).
What's innovative about this shop? Well, it has many things that people in American yarnstores take for granted.
(1) Sheelagh puts out the yarns and needles and encourages you to try the yarn before buying.
The shop is roomy and well lit. I took lots of pictures so that if you were thinking to visit and wondered if it would be worth it, you can see, it is. Just click on the image. Anyway, how can you not like a shop that has a pig in the display cabinet?
So after the first false start, I've finished knitting the callinectes bag and after correcting the speling, so that my father-in-law will not feel obliged to rename his boat to save me further embarassment. Roll on weekend, so that I can go get me some metal rivets, or as I've read from Ann, grommets. I've even put in buttonholes for the rivets.
I can't wait to finish this present because I have so many other things that I want to start knitting...and I'm also going up to Darlington on the 27th of September, to meet Emma , Sissel and Kerrie. It's all so exciting.. fever pitch really... how will I survive work for the next week? It's the same feeling as having a big secret and no one to tell it to ;-).
Thanks
.. to everyone for their many suggestions on the 4ply raglan sweater. I did notice the really lovely one that Becky made her husband, but unfortunately that is far to *fashionable* for my husband, who prefers a much more vintage look. I think my friend Sam might have found exactly what I'm looking for today in John Lewis... so I just might be saved.
I was feeling ever so smug with my callinectes bag (and we all know that with pride, comes Very smugly, I showed the results of my labour to my husband. Check out the tension..
to wrap the Johnny socks in, for my father-in-law. I even thought to personalise it by charting out the name of his boat and fair isling onto his bag.
Very gently, he inquired, where is the 'i'. D'oh! I mispelled it. So tonight, was a ripping session. I knew I shouldn't had stayed up late to finish the lettering
but I'm joining in on the knit-along hosted by the curly headed NY Knitter, Lis. I won't be doing elfin though, I might do the Zoe Mellor daisy cardigan from Rowan 25. Elfin is a lovely design, very elegant, but I'm not entirely sure about that all the fluffy bit around my hands and neck...and I do have a few things that I would like to finish for Christmas. That fluffy bit might make be itchy and people would refuse to come near me if they see me scratching myself!
Speaking of Christmas, I'm on the hunt for a man's 4ply sweater with raglan sleeves in stocking stitch, or simple stitchwork. If you know of any interesting patterns that fits the bill let me know. It's really a case of bone-idleness, because, I should sit down and work out the math, but my confidance has wavered as tonight I discovered, counting to 6 is not without hazards!
... but I feel guilty because I didn't finish Johnny or birch and I sort of cast on for something new and I'm designing it as I go along (head hanging in shame). Put it down to a *bad* day, beseiged by technology problems... and a weekend spent with putty (no, I wasn't doing DIY).
Anyway, I thought you might like to take a peek at this.
I'm still working on my gallery of finshed objects for this year. It's like a stroll down memory lane. I've been digging through pictures cursing myself for not documenting my work better, typing the details from my notes then suddenly, I broke the backspace key on my computer.
Now, I know that no one will ever use my computer, as not only are several of the letters scratched off the keypad, there's no longer a backspace keycap!
Since it's been a sock-y kind of week here are a few past sock projects that I've finished documenting. It's going slowly but step by step, I get closer to finishing.
I'm going to try to fix all broken links by the end of the week.. (fat chance, but then again you know what an optimist I am.)
..down and one to go. Sock knitting is so satisfying. Check out Johnny!
I've even blocked it to get a better image of the pattern, but it's dark blue and short of a major miracle, impossible to really see the stitchwork.
If I'm very good, I'll have a pair of Johnnies to show you on Monday. For the moment, the best that I can do is a virtual pair.
Birch is still powering along, but time has been a bit precious this week, as I try to put together my gallery to prove that I don't spend all my time using 2.00mm needles. (Hear that Kristine?) I really have a lot of broken links to fix.
Every sock knitter knows that magic moment, when you turn the heel. It means that you've past the midpoint and are into the the home-stretch. I've made a bit more progress with the Johnny sock. I've even finished the gusset decreases.
I've modified the pattern slightly, by :
1. carrying the pattern down into the foot instead of doing a stocking stitch foot. It a personal thing, I find patterned leg + stocking stitch foot to be a bit disjointed, so unless it's a bumpy cable, I usually carry the pattern down. It's more effort, but I think worth it, especially, as handknitted socks do last a long time.
2. The cuff is a quarter of an inch shorter than the pattern states and the pattern repeat is slightly longer (instead of 48 rows in the pattern stitch, I did 56 rows) I'm making this sock to fit a UK 11 foot (approx. US 12), so I wanted the leg slightly longer so that the sock looks balanced with not worn. By balanced, I mean if you fold the socks are the heel turning, the length of the foot should be roughly equal to the length of the leg. That's alledgedly the proper length for a crew sock.
3. I've reduced the number of stiches on the foot by 4 to accommodate a snugger fit. I hate wearing baggy socks.
Ten Reason to Knit Socks
1. Very portable project, easily fits into you bag and if you knit on your commute, using short or circular needles, you are far less likely to stab someone other than yourself.
2. Most sock projects require a minimum of finishing, it's really cast-on, knit, and kitchener. If you've got a good ball of yarn, you may only have to sew in the cast on length and the kitchenered length of yarn
3. You can inject a bit of colour into your life. and you're absolutely spoiled for choice. There are so many interesting and fun yarns to try. Half the fun is watching the pattern develop.
self-patterning : Regia, Opal, Socka, Fortissima, Lang
varigated: Lorna's laces, Mountain Colours, Cherry Tree Hill, koigu
as well as the more mundane tweeds, greys, blacks, browns and blues
you might even want to pick up a few ounces of 'glow in the dark' yarn to make your socks more intersting on a camping trip.
4. Loads of free pattens on the web and once you 'get it' you'll be able to do the basics without a pattern.
5. It's a very useful garment, especially if you live in a cold climate, and handmade socks are thicker and more cushiony than the store bought ones. Perfect for outdoor activities.
6. Even with the basic top-down socks, there are quite a few technique involved (which can make it more difficult for the newer knitter). These techniques include short row shaping, long-tail cast-on, joining circular knitting, kitchener stitch, picking up stitches, and knitting in the round. Not to mention using double pointed or circular needles.
7. You will get a lot of attention from strangers. People always seem amazed that I am knitting with cocktail sticks. Older people are amazed that anyone under 70 knows how to knit socks and children are fascinated by the process. If you are gregarious, you can smile back knowingly and talk about you're knitting. If you've had a foul day, you can wield those double pointed needles threateningly at them and if they have any sense, they will back off.
8. Depending on the yarn and the pattern you pick, the knitting can be quick (if you need a quick win) or take weeks (if you are trying to eek out your yarn budget).
9. You can show off your socks in those clear Regia boots.
10. It makes a great gift, and people don't get self-conscious if they are asked what size shoe that they wear.
Interesting Tidbit
It's endearing for you to call your significant *mon chou* in French. Do that in English and well, does anyone's significant other want be be endearingly referred to as a vegetable?
The Johnny Sock
I left birch alone last night and focused on making some progress my the Johnny Sock. It's not a difficult pattern to knit, but it's not going as fast as I would had imagined. The pattern stitch is all purls and K tbl. I must admit though that the ribbing using ktbl is much neater looking. If I don't let the yarn get consumed by the District Line, it'll be done in about 2 weeks time.
The most difficult thing about this sock is the colour. Knitting in navy blue is about as stimulating as watching paint dry... that is if you can see the brush strokes without sitting under a bright light.
Elves in the attic
Some people seem to have an army of elves inhabiting their attics, churning out the most fabulous things, while others struggle to complete the second sock or to sew on the last sleeve. I cheat by knitting small things along with big things so that I always feel that I am getting something done. Posting about what I'm knitting also spurs me on. (I admit, birch isn't all that interesting and I'm about to break into the 4th ball). I hope that the new knitters don't get discouraged, especially when they try things like birch. It's all part of the learning process... which is why I have so much stash. No shame in giving up and no shame in not finishing something. Just think of your UFOs as unravelled stash.
One of these days, I might get finishitis, but that's not likely to be soon...and finally a sneak preview of the blocked Lizzie.
My husband calls it the 'Cosmo Syndrome', the desire to take all these quizes to see where you 'fit' into the realm of humanity .. (spoil sport). On the other hand, I am totally addicted to quizes. So, spurred by Kristine, (no arm twisting required), I dashed over and did the quiz.
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I'm not sure how accurate it is though, I certainly don't see myself that way, it sounds like a college professor and I can't ever imagine myself in that kind of a role. Not that I have anything against academia, but professors are really smart people, that are just slightly out of touch with the rest of world... forgoing the corporate ladder for the good of future generations. I wish I could be so noble, but I really do have a lot of yarn shops to support.
On-going Projects
The Lizzie scarf is finished (phew!) and is blocking away. I did another pattern repeat of Birch and cast-on for my father-in-law's birthday present. I'm making him a pair of socks using some Regia that I had in stash and following the Johnny Socks pattern by Jackie E-S. It's very dangerous visiting Elann. What starts out a a quick peek of the offers on the week, turns out to be a minor shopping expedition. The more you buy the more you save in postage, so I ended up buying 4 patterns instead of 2, because the postage was the same... am I a seller's dream or what?
Thought I would share what my next project list is currently composed of:
Teddy Bear Coat from Debbie Bliss Book 6 (for Ben)
Double knitted child's Coat from Debbie Bliss Tweed Collection (for Alex)
Ribbon Trimmed Jacked from Debbie Bliss Tweed Collection (for me)
Eriskay by Jean Moss from Knitters #60 (for me)
Daisy Cardigan by Zoe Mellor from Rowan #25 (for Catherine)
Chevron Sweater (not the scarf) from Debbie Bliss Book 6 (for me)
Olive by Amanda Griffiths from Jaeger Albany Booklet (for me)
Hearten by Kim Hargreaves from Rowan's Calmer Collection (for me)
Merlanna by Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton from Noro (for me)
Now the scary part, I have the yarns for most of these projects. So, I best get knitting. :-)
A Quick Win
After the setback with birch, I really needed a quick win to restore my confidence. So the Lizzie Scarf from Jaeger Book 1 (JM01) was cast on. The original pattern called for alpaca, but I decided to break out a ball of Jaeger 4 ply silk that I had in my stash. I really must get over *saving yarns for the right project*.
The silk is lovely and soft and the meterage is incredible. The scarf doesn't look like much, but the pattern really opens up after blocking. I'm actually looking forward to doing a wet block.
Anyway, I'm a real sucker for scalloped edges, and this little project is just zipping along. Here's a picture from Wednesday night, when I first cast on and here's another one from Thursday night. It goes fast and I reckon that I will finish it this weekend and go back to birch. One of the Rowanettes was mentioning that it looked like something that should purr... what an apt description...too bad mine looks like it lost the fight with the one that's purring right now.
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Lizzie is a 15 x6 repeat (15 stitches by 6 rows) with eyelet at both edges. On the right side of the scarf. The pattern calls for K2, yfwd, pattern x 3 and the yfwd K2. If you're like me, you'll find that the last yfwd, K2 to be much looser that than the first. I got around this by just doing the K2 (omitting the yfwd) and when I came around for the WS, I did a K2, picked up the yarn between the 2nd and 3rd stitch and purled it.. and voila, edges are both evenly tensioned. Don't you just love a cheat?
Here's a picture of the scarf from Jaeger Book 1
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Happy Friday everyone
It feels so like Friday, I even whipped out my knitting for the tube journey home :-).
Are we having fun?
The Great Dane (Thos) and The Yarnivore (Jen) both posted their answers to my questions.
I really had fun thinking up things to ask...and honest I wasn't trying to psychologise anyone, well not much anyway.
Tip of the Day
Never put unsheathed scissors in your knitting bag with your project. Bad things can happen. Now that the herringbone sweater is done, I'm going to go do a swatch. Birch is on ice today. I only have to tear back 7 rows. It could had been much worst. Some people are born, so that *things* can happen to them.
Interviewee responds
Kristine has posted her answers . I grilled and she rose to the challenge, even including a photo from high school. Go have a peek. I promise you won't regret it.
Debbie Bliss Herringbone Sweater
Here are the details on the Debbie Bliss Herringbone Sweater. It's a summary from my projects notebook and previous blog entries. I was looking for a basic pull-over, suitable for a boy, more interesting than stocking stitch, knitted in DK weight wool for every day wear.
Debbie Bliss Herringbone Sweater
Pattern Source: Family Knits by Debbie Bliss
Yarn: Original Yarn Rowan Denim 20sts x 28 rows
substituted with Rowan Wool Cotton 22-24sts x 30-32 rows
# of balls: 6 and a half
Needles: 3.25mm, 4mm
Meterage: 113m
Yarn Source: Stash from Liberty January Sale 2003
Colour: Moonshine (a dusky blue) Dye Lot 17E1
Size: n/a, to fit a 4 year old child
Started: 8th August 2003
Finished: 31 August 2003
Resting Period: 15 - 27th August
Recipient : TBA
Project Notes
1. The pattern sizes available were from 2-4, 4-6 year old. The child that I'm knitting for is 4 yo. Knitting in the smaller size would be outgrown too quickly, while the larger size would probably be too big. So I took this into consideration when resizing the pattern.
2. Wool Cotton knits to a different tension than Rowan Denim. I adjusted the pattern for this and I also adjusted the finished size using the size provided as a guideline. I took the knitted (pre-shrunk) size of the larger garnent and adjusted all the lengths by 15%. (Denim loses 20% of the length after a hot wash and dry) So I was knitting the width in the larger size and the 15% less on the length. (Debbie Bliss pull-overs for children tend to be generously sized, this is not true for the 'neat' garments. Since you need more stitches to get the same width, I was able to use the horizontal instructions from the larger size.)
3. I added 5 extra rows on the collar in stocking stitch so that I would have a roll in the collar, which is easier to pull over the head than ribbing. The roll also does a better job at hiding the cast-off.
4. This herringbone stitch looks deceptively easy to knit, as you are knitting and purling on both sides of the fabric, it can get a bit fiddly and tricky, since the pattern is difficult to read from the pattern. You might find it easier to put the chart into a plastic page protector, and safety pin the chart to the fabric, until you are used to the pattern. (It's the 3rd row of the 4 row pattern that is the one most likely to go wrong).
5. The body was knit in the round and only back and forth from the armholes. The shoulders are short-row shaped and then joined using 3 needle bind-off. The sleeves were cast-on and knitted together. I find that this is the easiest thing to do when doing stocking stitch and I can't be bothered to use a stitch counter.
6. I blocked it using the steam jet on my iron (the iron never touched the knitted fabric). .. just squirted the steam until the stitches evened out.
Photo Shoot
On 30th August, I have 2 sleeves done and have just started the herringbone. I'm using my addis as a stitch-holder.
Ta-da! It's done. Here's how the front looks laying flat on the floor. I think knitwear never looks good unless it's worn.
Here's a shot of it hanging up. I was worried that the herringbone might be too 'heavy' for the stocking stitch body. That happened with Raewyn, another Debbie Bliss design that I was never happy with because the sweater looked top-heavy.
Anyway, I hope to get a photo of the recipient wearing it, as it's in the post and on the way.
Are you still awake? ... if you ever want to do this design, or need a little Wool Cotton in moonshine (lot 17E1) or want some help to convert a denim pattern to wool cotton... it's all here for future prosperity.
There never seems to be enough time in the day to do everything that I want to do. So, I burned the midnight oil to finish this last night.
The Interview
Thanks to Thos, Kristine, and Jen for being brave enough to be interviewed by me. I can't wait to see your answers. Anyone else brave enough to put themselves at my mercy? You can always blame Rene for winding me up! ;-)