Performance Review

From left to right and top to bottom: 1. Red Redux, 2. Grey FLS, 3. St. James, 4. Noro , 5. Snorri, 6. Liesl, 7. Paprika, 8. Handspun Yoke Cardigan, 9. Forecast, 10. Sun Ray, 11. St. Theresa, 12. Dragonfly (click on mosaic for full-sized picture)

Twelve cardigans, pullovers and tops.

Red Redux (1) and Dragonfly (12) are variations upon the February Lady Sweater. I wear the former more than the latter due to yarn choices. New Lanark Aran is studier than Patons Jet, even if it is nowhere as soft. Red Redux also has full-length sleeves. The original February Lady Sweater (2) is also knitted from New Lanark Aran. This is a versatile, comfortable and well-fitting cardigan. I wore it constantly throughout 2008 and most of 2009 and it wears beautifully.

I do not wear St. James (3) all that often due to its short sleeves and the itchiness of the yarn. I do not wear Liesl (6) all that often either, but that is because winter moved in just as I had finished it. It is more versatile than St. James and makes for a great layering piece. Sun Ray (10) should be a great layering piece too, but the neckline is too high and the waist-shaping not quite right. I wish I had had enough yarn for sleeves as I think that would have worked better.

The Noro pullover (4) is destined for the frog pond. I was so proud of it when I had finished it but it does not fit me at all. The neck opening is too wide, the body's waist shaping hits me at the worst place possible, the sleeves are the wrong length and all the edgings poke out no matter what I do. I love the yarn, fortunately, and will reknit this into something usable. As it is, I've worn it three times. On the other hand, I have worn Snorri (5) practically every other day since I finished it. Perfect fit, really warm and I'm superhappy with it. I also wear my Forecast (9) a lot. While I am not sure about the buttons, I love the fit and the snug sleeves. The colour makes me really happy too.

The handspun garter yoke cardigan (8) is beautiful and never fails to get comments whenever I wear it. I just think it's a surprisingly difficult cardigan to wear. I don't like it buttoned up and I am not quite sure what to wear underneath. It has stretched a bit since I knit it (I blame the alpaca content of the commercial yarn) and it pills ever so slightly. Mainly I just look at it rather than wear it.

Paprika (7) is worn a lot by contrast .. but only at home. On weekends, I throw it on top of my jammies and lounge about in it. I rarely wear it outside the house, though. It's warm and snuggly, but there is something a little "not in public, darling" about it.

Finally, St. Theresa (11) is the worst knitted top in my wardrobe. It is lumpy, unshapely and adds several stones to my frame. The colour does not suit me - I have been thinking about re-purposing the yarn in a striped pullover or cardigan, but I just cannot face the thought right now. Not pleasant.

Lessons learned: I like casual cardigans in hard-wearing yarn (that doesn't sound like it's going to be fun to knit). And I need to convince myself to knit full-length sleeves because otherwise I will not wear whatever I'm knitting. Oh, and I like reds and greens..

Thinking About Ravelympics

I have cast on my first new project of the year: The Fan Shawl and I'm using three balls of King Cole Mirage in the "Kiev" colourway. I hope the shawl will be a bit more blanket-like than shawl-like. So far the yarn + 4mm needles combo is producing a nice firm fabric. I'd like to have a warm, washable pseudo-shawl to wrap around me in the living room sofa. Here's hoping the wool/acrylic blend will actually block well (I like to live life dangerously sometimes). I have previously worked with the yarn and liked it then, but as soon you move away from doing plain garterstitch and into decreases/picking up stitches, Mirage becomes horribly splitty. The colours are great, though, and they cheer me up on a grey winter's day.

Speaking of winter, the Winter Olympics are upon us very soon. For certain knitters, that signals the start of the Ravelympics (basically knitters join an online group, decide on a project to cast on during the Winter Olympics opening ceremony and have finished by the end of the closing ceremony). I chose not to participate in the Beijing Ravelympics for personal reasons, but I am going to participate this year. Thing is, Mid-February is going to be a busy time for me and I already know I will have a big project on the needles by then. So, I've decided against a cardigan or a pullover for the Ravelympics. What then?

The obvious answer is either a Revontuli shawl (I have a brand new ball of Kauni in my stash!) or a hat/mittens combo. I finished 2009 feeling like I hadn't knit enough accessories and that my head and fingers were always cold, so that might be a good idea. I will be reorganising my stash tomorrow, so I might uncover the perfect yarn for a perfect Ravelympics project. I'm thinking colourwork rather than lacy texture simply because Glasgow continues to be freezing cold and I'd rather knit something super-warm that I can use until warm weather arrives (July? August? Never?) than something really pretty and delicate. Having said that, I like the looks of the Gosai beret and mittens.. Must. Resist.

First, though, back to modular knitting. So much for being a process knitter - I just want that shawl wrapped around me pronto.

With Sleeves - FO: Coupland

And the day before we left for Denmark? I finished the last sleeve on David's pullover. Here he is, that dear man, posing in a snow-clad Danish forest. Coupland Factoids: just a smidgen over 5 balls of New Lanark Aran in the "Bramble" colour way (I joined the sixth ball to do the ribbing on the second sleeve) and maybe 15-20 g of some Noro Kureyon leftovers (col. 124). Needles: 3.5mm for the ribbing, 5mm for the body and 4.5mm for the yoke/sleeves. And own design, of course. I continue to be head over heels with the slip stitch pattern I used.

So, in 2009 I knitted the following: 10 tops, 3 baby garments, 6 hats (my project page doesn't have the red beanie, for some reason), 8 shawls, 2 scarves, 2 pair of mitts and 1 "other" project. 32 projects?! Bloody hell.. I feel faint just looking at those numbers. I'll have less knitting time in 2010, though, so I don't expect I'll be able to match my 2009 output.

I do know one thing (okay, two things) about my knitting in 2010. One is that I will not be buying yarn for myself because The Christmas Elves (and myself) gave me a lot of new yarn. Two is that I will be getting more yarn because I am getting more professionally involved with knitting than I have been before (I cannot and will not say more on this, though), so the deal is to knit down my personal stash and keep the professional stash balanced. Exciting times ahead, it is fair to say.

What yarn did I get when I was in Denmark? Ahhh, this is the fun/scary bit. My gran gave me a sweater's worth of Hjertegarn Lima (rav link - this goes for all yarns mentioned) in a pretty grey-green colour, a sweater's worth of Løve Garn Iceland in a heathered grey (I'm thinking Manu, because the drape is really nice), 2 balls of Navia Uno in a gorgeous dark grey and a ball of Kauni in a purple/fuchsia concoction certain to make certain mortals swoon. David and I made our merry way to Copenhagen and things got a bit out of hand. 2 balls of Drops Delight, a ball of Fame Trend because I had been coveting socherry's haul earlier this year, some grey Drops Alpaca, and I found two hanks of the discontinued yarn I used for my Laminaria at a ridiculously low price. And then things got really bad/good when I unpacked my present from Bestest Friend: enough angora yarn to make a fluffy shawl, enough yak(!) yarn to make a gorgeous shawl (Bitterroot?) and, get this, 700 yards of laceweight cashmere yarn. My friend had raided this Swedish webshop for me and, gosh, I'm bowled over.

I meant to write about books because I have been reading a bit too and wanted to make an End of Year post about my year in books, but that shall have to wait.

Happy New Year, or as we say in Scotland, Happy Hogmanay everyone!

Lines

Like so many Danes I like straight lines, orderly things and being in control. I incorporate this slightly manic trait in my crafting in a myriad of ways. Occasionally a project flies under the radar and I only mention it when it becomes a Finished Object on Ravelry. This little project was in danger of becoming one of those stealthy projects, but I could not resist shooting a photo this morning.

David likes his crocheted hats and I'm making him his third. The first was a bit too small (and the peak of the cap very wonky) but he wears the second version quite frequently. The third incarnation is made from a woolblend yarn (machine-washable!) and I'm playing quite a bit with the structural elements. Using UK crochet terminology, I have turned the half-treble crochets at the edge of the hat into single crochets crocheting into the back loop only. The firm fabric is a very pleasing result, but I really, really like how the resulting horizontal lines break up the vertical lines of the half-treble rows making up the hat itself.  I won't have a chance to crochet the peak this weekend, but I'm pondering how to make it as pleasing to the eye as the rest of the hat.

And now for yet another instalment in my songs-of-the-decade rundown. Madrugada and their haunting song, "Majesty" . The Kids Are On the High Street is equally good.

More songs: Kylie Minogue: Can't Get You Out Of My Head. I suspect we'll still be singing along to this one in 2030. Lady Gaga: Bad Romance. Yes, it has just been released, but I cannot stop listening to it. Brilliant pure pop. Les Fatals Picards: L'Amour a la Francaise. France's 2007 Eurovision entry. Costumes by Jean-Paul Gautier. Song in the grand Plastic Bertrand tradition. It is a beautiful thing. And to round off this rather poppy segment, who better than Madonna and her fabulous Hung Up?

Making Plans For Knitting

In preparation for the new year, I have been going through my knitting queue and my stash. I know these things are subject to change, but I have made a few plans.

1. I have long wanted to make a pullover out of Rowan Kid Silk Haze. After contemplating several contenders, I have decided on Peaceful from the forthcoming Rowan 47. Colour undecided as of yet (but not pastel pink).
2. For my (mumble, mumble)th birthday, I was given the kit for Flyte. My fingers are itching to do a fair-isle project and i want to get this started before my (mumble, mumble, mumble)th birthday.
3. Shawl-wise, I want to make Aeolian from Knitty Spring 2009 and Bitterroot from Knitty Winter 2009. I have not assigned any yarns yet, but seeing I'm continuing my laceweight knit-down in 2010, the yarns will be straight from stash.
4. Seeing as I did not get around to making the Christmas Yule Pigs pot-holders this holiday season, they will be a good summer time project in 2010 (you know, if we get a warm summer, wool will be way too sticky..).

I think my knitting plans are fairly modest and very achievable.

Five more songs from the decade-almost-past: First, it's Guillemots with "Trains to Brazil". After Elbow (see yesterday's post), this marks the second politically aware song on this rundown. It's also incredibly, amazingly upbeat and a cracking pop song. One of my absolute favourites.

Also: Grandaddy: He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot. Their album, The Sophtware Slump, is one of my favourite albums and this is the lead track. Yes, it is nine minutes long, but it is also deeply affecting. I recommend listening to the entire album and discovering just where this song fits into the story.. Hawksley Workman: You, Me & the Weather. It feels very unfair that Hawksley Workman isn't an international superstar. An astounding voice and a gifted songwriter. Maybe the world can only handle one Canadian male diva singing super-dramatic songs about wanting to be a girl..  I Am Kloot: Twist. Overlooked British band that makes songs for those 3am nights. "There is blood on your legs .. I love you." Interpol: Slow Hands. One of the best singles this decade. Fact.

(and the title's a play on this ace song)

The Queen Susan Shawl

I was rummaging around various knitting sites for an unrelated reason, when I came across the story of the Queen Susan Shawl. The Queen Susan Shawl is a collaborative project on the Heirloom Knitting forum on Ravelry. Several knitters had noted an old photo of a lace shawl in the Shetland Museum photo archives and together more than thirty knitters have recreated the pattern based solely upon the photo. The Queen Susan shawl pattern will be released early 2010 - and it will be free.

Meanwhile, the Shetland Museum has been very enthusiastic about the project and even has included the Ravelry group in their Call For Papers for a forthcoming knitting conference in the Shetlands.

I always get slightly misty-eyed whenever I come across stories like that. Am I going to knit the shawl? Probably not right away as the scale of the project is quite daunting, but someday I would like to try my hand at a proper heirloom-quality Shetland shawl.

Right now, though, I've realised that we are off to Denmark NEXT WEEK and David's sweater is still not done.