Hello, it's Me Again

I have had the strangest weekend ever. Okay, maybe not ever ever, but it was strange. We went up to Aberdeenshire and strangeness ensured. I'm home now, thank heavens. My partner, Dave, is away at Dr. Sketchy's and it's quiet here. I have ripe plums waiting for me and I am enjoying having bare feet. It's the small things, you see. Two things, though, before a brief spiel about another Finished Object (pictured left):

1) Yes, I speak excellent English. This is not the result of me having met David and lived in Scotland for a few years. You do not need to compliment me on how fast I've picked up English. And do take note when I talk about having lived in the UK on and off since the mid-90s and having a degree in English. This means I'm not an illiterate foreigner who moved here because Scotland is flowing with milk and honey. Yes, really, I get that my English is surprisingly good for a non-native speaker. I KNOW THIS. I DO NOT NEED YOU TO KEEP TELLING ME.

(wow, that felt good)

2) We travelled from Aberdeen to Glasgow on a bus filled with tipsy Aberdonian mums-off-the-leash going to see Take That in concert at Glasgow's Hampden Park. That was slightly .. unsettling. I tried to doze to shut out the painful conversations behind me, but to no avail.

Finished object, then.

I was making a cardigan out of two different colourways of Kauni yarn. The idea was to make a crocheted top-down yoked cardigan (these words make sense if you are a knitter or crocheter, believe me). I finished the main bit of the cardigan, crocheted buttonbands and .. it looked frumpy. No, it looked more than just frumpy: it looked like something taken from What the Hell Is This? modelled by Monica Lewinsky. So, scissors came out and fiddled around with the fabric until it dawned on me that I was holding a rather cool top. I just needed to crochet it together and leave enough room for my big head to pop through.

Thus the Kauni top (also known as Sun Ray) came into existence. I'm rather fond of it as it warms my always-cold backside whilst leaving my arms free to do whatever my arms do. I am already planning a few more - possibly in Kauni, but definitely crocheted in the round. The photo is rather arty and doesn't show the top well, but I was having an awkward photo day and this one is at least semi-presentable.

Next: another crazily busy week interspersed with knitting and hopefully some relaxation. Ha.

FO: Laminaria

"See," Personal Photographer said, "you totally look like Naomi Watts". It's not that I don't appreciate the sentiment; it's more that I think Personal Photographer might need glasses. Or maybe he just thinks that my red Laminaria is glam and I agree with him on that. I'm not tiny, blonde or Australian - but I am feeling very glam when I wear my shawl. Lamniaria, oh, Laminaria. Where to begin?

I had no problems with the pattern: it was extremely well-written, the charts were crystal-clear and the designer has made some very helpful Ravelry notes regarding yardage. In fact, I zipped through most of the charts without a hitch (even the much-fabled Transition chart - you just need to count your increases). If only all patterns could be as well-written as this.

My main concern was the 1-ply kidmohair/merino yarn I was using. It had fallen apart on me during the first chart - literally, fell apart rather than snapped - and I was anxious that it might fall apart again or break during blocking. As KV suggested, I knit a test swatch and blocked it before blocking the shawl itself. Surprisingly the yarn really came into its own during blocking and I had no qualms about subjecting the shawl to some pin action.

I will knit this shawl again - possibly in some Old Maiden Aunt merino/silk I have in my stash.

More photos at the Ravelry project page (and I do not look like Naomi Watts in any of those either).

Cast-On Frenzy

Laminaria is done. Tomorrow we are heading out for a proper photo shoot, my Personal Photographer and I, so this little sneak peak will have to suffice for now. As you can see, the shawl survived the blocking. When I finished the shawl I cast way more projects than I usually have on the needles at any one time. Perhaps it was because I had been so focused on Laminaria - monogamous knitting and all; perhaps it was because I wanted to do so much things all at once; perhaps my head's just full of ideas and I needed an outlet?

Don't snicker at back, please, but I have cast on for another Ishbel shawlette. I know, I know.. I didn't like knitting it first time around, and I've even cast on in Kidsilk Haze in a really, really drab grey-brown colour. My best explanation is that I wanted something completely different from Laminaria. Something to cleanse my palette.

I've cast on for the Topstykke tunic which I bought as a kit in Denmark. It's a top-down tunic with puff-sleeves, an interesting decorative feature on the front .. and it's knitted in light fingering wool on 3.5mm (US size 5) needles. So far I'm struggling to get my knitting brain to read Danish (my native language too!). I'm predicting this'll be a long-term knitting project that I'll knit when I'm watching TV or the like. Did I mention that the light-fingering wool is .. grey?

Third project, then. It is the most immediately interesting project of the three. It is a crocheted top-down cardigan made from two different colourways of Kauni 8/2. Yes, stripes! Inspiration comes from a Danish blogger, Liselotte Weller, who made a stripey top-down crocheted cardigan in Kauni - but I'm not exactly following her sketchy pattern. I have a very, very relaxed attitude towards crochet (it used to be my craft of choice for years) and I'm pretty much making it up as I go along. Crochet is so very forgiving.

Finally, some months ago I made up a crochet pattern for a cowl. I've been asked for the pattern and thankfully I made a few notes. I have a test crocheter all ready to get going, so watch this space.

Knitters' Picnic - Worldwide Knitting in Public

This year's Worldwide Knitting in Public event in Glasgow is going to take place on Saturday the 13th of June in the Kelvingrove Rockery, Kelvingrove Park at 1pm. We'll be having a picnic, so bring blankets, water, sunscreen(!), knitting/crocheting projects and something to nibble on.  In case of rain, the tentative backup plan is to meet in the main hall of Kelvingrove museum. Non-knitters are encouraged to show up and be assimilated.

Facebook Event link

(The other week I remembered Glasgow knitters idly chatting about a picnic months and months ago. I revived the topic on Ravelry and, yes, I've somehow ended up "hosting" this event. Let that be a lesson to you all)

Alpaca Punch

There she is, that Ishbel. The shawl blocked out beautifully and post-blocking I only had it in the house for about an hour before sending it across the Atlantic to a friend who needs a big hug.

So, yes, I was very pleased with the finished object - it looks lovely, works out larger than you think and has an interesting Faroese-like shape - but I did not enjoy knitting it. Overall, I must have knitted this shawl twice over with all my tinkering and re-knitting - and, honestly, I would rather have spent that knitting time on something else because the project just wasn't interesting enough to warrant that amount of effort.

But Ishbel does make for a warm, knitted hug which is the really important bit.

Now I'm working on a different shawl and it is really interesting to note the differences between the two projects (and the two patterns).

I have been admiring Laminaria ever since I got bitten by the lace bug. It is an insanely beautiful shawl made out of complicated Estonian stitches I had never seen anywhere before. Instead of "knit", "yarn over" or "purl", the pattern tells you to knit "2-into-9" and "3-into-3". Furthermore, the pattern notes tells you it is a modular shawl, so you can shift the blocking blocks around. The designer has even posted a huge yardage chart, so you can track how much yarn you need for the sections (which is important if you decide to mix things up).

Thing is, I'm finding Laminaria an absolute joy to knit. So far it has even been a really straightforward knit: charts are crystal clear, the stitch definitions easy to understand and it works up very quickly. I cast on Monday night and I'm through the first three charts without with nary a hitch. Even the fabled Transition chart which has its own thread of heartbreak on Ravelry .. I got through it first time with no mistakes. What gives?

If Laminaria continues to be this much fun, I foresee a lot of 'em in my future.

However, one thing does have me worried. The yarn. I'm using a 1-ply kidmohair/merino which I bought in Denmark. Stunning shade of red. Plenty of yardage (I think). And in the middle of knitting the second chart, the yarn literally fell apart in my hands. I am not a tight knitter and I'm knitting the shawl at a loose gauge - and the ply just came apart as I was knitting. It has me worried about how it'll hold up to blocking, I tell you, and I'm also terrified about putting too much stress on it as I'm knitting (which those 3-into-9 stitches will invariably do).

Finally: Alpaca Punch? Alpaca Punch? Well, Other Half and I were talking about the perfect name for a Glaswegian yarn shop and there you have it. Wool, violence and a bad pun all rolled into one. That's very Glaswegian. I'm going to use the name for a pattern I'm going to write up (I've had a request, what can I say?) and hopefully that pun will stick to me like a big sticky stick.

Oh, the Yarn Fumes..

As I am finally getting to the last Ishbel chart, let me round up some of my yarn purchases. First, though, a few comments on knitting Ishbel. It seems every time people are touting a pattern as "really easy" and "you'll knit this up in a few days", I struggle with said pattern. Ishbel was no exception and I cannot for the life of me understand why as I'm used to knitting lace.

My first yarn choice was a brown merino and I was constantly two stitches short or had three stitches too many. I frogged this attempt and began over again using a 2-ply lambswool in beautiful teal. I took the project with me on holiday and disaster struck: during the first Eurovision semi-finale I dropped a stitch and it took me five days to unknit back to the point where I could start again. So, nearly two weeks from when I began this "weekend project" I can finally see the end of this little shawlette. I have no idea why it has taken me so long.

Yarn purchases then.

I must admit that I have a real weakness for laceweight and light fingering yarns and while my laceweight/fingering stash is already bursting at its seams, I indulged myself. I really indulged myself. I bought three different colours of SuperSoft, a light fingering lambswool with a tweedy look (pictured). I also bought some 1-ply Icelandic lace (black) and some discontinued 1-ply kidmohair/merino (red and teal). The kit for the Topstykke tunic also found its way into my suitcase (and, yes, it's knitted in 2-ply lambswool). Finally, 2 modest balls of my beloved Drops Alpaca in an amazing orange-yellow-red fell into my basket. I predict plenty of shawls in my future.

On the heavier side of things, I got hold of enough Létt-Lopi to make myself a cosy sweater, I bought a skein of "homegrown" Gotland wool from a sheep farm I visited and I could not resist some balls of Drops Silke-Tweed in that shade of green-yellow which I love so much. Uhm, then maybe I also bought two skeins of  BC Lucca (one grey, one pink tweed) because I already have four skeins and I didn't know if it were enough for a pullover. And maybe also some yellow Fritidsgarn and some Kauni. And some KnitPro needles and some patterns and stuff.

Uhm.

I'll probably not buy more yarn this decade. Really. Honestly. Honestly, honestly.

So .. anyone for a lace shawl?