Knitting In Public: True Stories

The couple approached me as I sat knitting. The woman told me that she had recently begun knitting again and that it was so nice to see a young woman knitting in public (I'm now the age when I appreciate being called a young woman). She then moved away to look at some flowers; her husband sat down on the bench next to me. "So, do you have a special man in your life?" he wondered. I do have a very special man in my life, yes.

"Do you ever KNIT FOR HIM?" His voice grew a bit louder. I admitted that I do occasionally make something for my man.

"Do you KNIT HIM JUMPERS?" Yes, I knit my special one jumpers.

"I bet he LOVES your HANDKNITTED JUMPERS!" The man shot his wife a significant glance. "What a LUCKY MAN!"

Pause. Then his voice grew even louder.

"What about socks? Do you knit socks? Do you ever KNIT SOCKS FOR YOUR MAN?! Ach, NOTHING SAYS LOVE LIKE HANDKNITTED SOCKS!"

And that was when the woman decided she needed to go look at flowers far away from me and my knitting needles.

Millbrook

Last year I began knitting Pine, a cardigan I had long coveted from afar and was excited to knit. The excitement turned a bit sour as I am a process knitter at heart and I did not enjoy the process one bit. So, Pine has been languishing in my knitting bag since early autumn just needing one sleeve, a yoke and a button-band. Deep down I knew I was not going to finish it. This week I decided to cast on a cardigan as an inter-rim project until summer knitting kicks in. I had eyed an unlikely cardigan pattern some time ago. Granted, the original version leaves a lot to be desired - an unappealing contrast trim, no shaping and strange styling - but look closer and the appeal becomes evident. The cardigan has a simple, vintage feel to it with a discreet lace pattern and interesting garter-stitch edgings. It is feminine without hitting you over the head with frou-frou.

I first cast on using a beautiful mustard yellow wool/silk mix, but it felt wrong. The yarn seemed to call for cables and texture - not lace. Then just before midnight I realised I had the perfect yarn waiting for me in the old knitting bag. Pine is no more and has been replaced by Millbrook, my classy vintage-y cardigan. I love how it is knitting up so far: the fabric is lightweight and yet substantial; the colour is sublime (i.e. a lovely heathered olive green).

Millbrook? Since seeing Rufus Wainwright in concert last week, I have been revisiting his first three albums. He played "Millbrook" off his first album at the concert and it has stayed my head ever since. It is also a better name for a cardigan than "Between My Legs", "Vibrate" or "I Don't Know What It Is".

Off-topic: I'll be appearing as a Eurovision pundit(!) on Ewan Spence's podcast later this spring. I am not sure if this marks the last blow to any credibility I may have possessed at some point or if it is my first step towards media super-stardom. I will let you be the judge of that.

Knitterly Woes (& Some Joy)

I finished the Snapdragon Tam this week and am generally pleased with the result. I was terrified I would run out of yarn (I had 2g leftover after leaving out one row and sending prayers to the knitting gnomes) and one of the as-written-in-pattern cables irritates me, but overall I like the end result. It is very pretty and very knitterly. But most of my knitting energy is focused on finishing a shawl (ravlink) I am making for a friend. I have been torn on whether or not I should write about the pattern here, because, well, the pattern is very poorly put-together.

As written the actual pattern makes no sense:  the pattern tells you to repeat rows 1-37? No. You need to repeat rows 23-37, except you finish on row 34 before starting edge chart (and do not do a double-YO on row 33 but use a single-YO), but do not start on row 1 of this chart but on row 5 despite what the pattern tells you. See what I mean? The shawl would actually be a very easy knit if instructions had been correct and the charts properly set-up. Instead I have trawled online fora trying to find errata - unsurprisingly several people have posted errata - with added frustration as the designer can be seen throwing attitude into the mix ("Re-writing, re-charting, and/or any other adaptations (..) will not be allowed" is one of the mild instances). Also, an updated version of the pattern including the errata would be a nice touch.

I am about to start the edging (using one of those contraband re-written charts) but I shan't be knitting this pattern again nor will I be seeking out any of the designer's other pattern - particularly not the pay-pattens she has begun releasing. If you were planning on knitting this shawl, maybe you would be better off knitting Tree of Light which is, ahem, quite similar. I'd call this a cautionary tale of how online behaviour might affect a small business because I am very sure I am not the first nor will be the last knitter to be put off.

I'm currently trying match a stashed yarn to a possible cardigan pattern. I had plans to make Peace or Carrie from the new Kim Hargreaves book, but the book is yet to arrive in Glasgow (and I have good reasons for not buying it online). So, a contingency cardigan is being planned .. let us see if I can decide on one, let alone knit one, before I start the KH cardigan.

The Treasury Project & Thank-Yous

Maybe I am just too geeky for words, but I recently found a very awesome knitting resource: The Walker Treasury Project.

Every knitter knows that Barbara Walker’s Treasuries are indispensable. We use them constantly for designing, for help with a difficult pattern, and for pure inspiration. Sometimes, though, the mostly black-and-white and small pictures keep us from seeing the full potential of a pattern. That’s where the Walker Treasury Project comes in.

We are gathering high-quality, color photos of all the patterns in all the Treasury books (including Mosaic Knitting) and putting them on the internet as a visual aide to this wonderful collection. Help your fellow knitters by choosing a pattern from a particular book, working up a nice big swatch in a light-colored yarn, and posting it to our blog. We can help you label and categorize everything. Also, keep in mind that we’re not posting the pattern, just the picture!

I do not own any of the Treasuries (although I plan on buying them once that big lottery win becomes reality. Hmm, maybe I should start by actually entering..) but I find the entries absorbing. Imagine this lace pattern forming the main part of a stole, this twisted-stitch pattern cries out to be used on socks or maybe sleeves, and this cable-swatch is just beautiful. I could, and I have, spend hours looking through the pictures.

Thank you to everyone who left me a blog comment, a Rav message or even a Facebook thumbs up for my Echo Flowers Shawl. I am currently struggling with a head-cold (damn sinuses) and am not much online, so I'm sorry if I have not gotten back to you. I really appreciate all the kind words and I promise to write a quick introduction to how I overdye/dye those shawls of mine once I get back to my usual self. Dyeing is not difficult and the end results are lovely. Thank you once again.

Finally, I have cast on a secret birthday project. In fact, it is so secret that you can find it on my Ravelry project page (ha!). It is working up so quickly that I have spent a few hours this weekend poring over my next project. Famous last words..

FO: Echo Flowers Shawl

I began blocking my Echo Flowers shawl last night and when I had pinned it out, I looked down and felt a strange punch to the gut. Had I really made that? As it turns out, yes, I have made this and it feels so bewildering to me. This shawl is so incredibly beautiful and so intricate - and it is all my doing. Knitters are their own worst critics, I think. We all shrug and laugh when others compliment us. This little thing? Oh, I just followed a pattern... but we need to give ourselves more credit. We do not just follow a pattern. We interpret and decipher patterns written in often quite technical terms. We choose yarns, colours and textures. Yes, sometimes us 'just following a pattern' leaves us feeling unhappy with the end product, but I think we need to take more credit than we often allow ourselves.

And so with this shawl, I am so very happy to say yes, I made this.

I started knitting this back in November but it went into hibernation due to Christmas knitting and other, more pressing, knitting projects. I pulled it out about a week ago and finished knitting the edging. It was actually a relatively easy knit - just one motif you keep repeating until you decide to start the edging - but I say that with a couple of Estonian-stitch shawls behind me.

I used Fyberspates Nef Lace and I must admit I did not like it. It felt quite synthetic compared to Malabrigo and Old Maiden Aunt merino/silk, and I really did not like the variegated colours. And so I decided to overdye it using cake paste dye (as you do). The yarn did block out beautifully and the colour is super-intense.

I'm very, very, very happy with the end result. I bet you can tell.

The pattern is free (PDF) and while I was using a cobweb yarn, I have seen some lovely versions using as heavy a yarn as double knitting. If I were to make this again - okay, I absolutely will - I'd try a fingering weight just to add a bit of weight to the fabric. And use a semi-solid or a solid colour.

As of right now, all I have on my needles is a Snapdragon Tam which is one-third done. I feel another shawl coming on..

FO: Serenity

O hai. Official Photographer has suddenly decided that knitters worldwide would rather look at my face than at my FINISHED OBJECT. I do not know if this is because Official Photographer dislikes my new summer cardigan or if he just finds me more interesting than the cardigan. Regardless, this is probably the best shoot from our foray into the Botanics glasshouses. In the photo I'm trying to look fascinated by cacti, in case you are wondering.

The cardigan, then.

Pattern: Serenity from Rowan Studio 15 by Sarah Hatton. Yarn: Rowan Summer Tweed, sh. 537 (Summerberry). Needles: Clover Bamboo Circs, 4mm & 5mm. They're actually my favourite circs for knitting garments. Sturdy, flexible and not too pointy.

I opted for size L, but the cardigan feels very roomy on me, so I should probably have gone a size down (not often I get to say that!). I made a few mods (adding an inch of length to both body & sleeves) and picked up fewer stitches for the neckband. My main modification was probably pinning the frill to the body and picking up stitches for the neckband through both frill and body, rather than sew the frill in place and then pick up stitches. My method reduces the amount of bulk you get.

My favourite parts of this project? Probably being able to finish a sleeve in an evening (because I loathe knitting sleeves) and I also really enjoyed how the frill was constructed. Knitting this rekindled my knitting mojo and I liked the slightly fiddly construction (I mean, this could totally be a top-down cardigan, but the designer had other ideas and I learned a lot about garment construction from knitting this).

Currently I'm eight rows away from finishing a shawl I began back in November, so I foresee plenty, PLENTY, of new projects in the forthcoming weeks. The new Kim Hargreaves book is published tomorrow (and I seriously hope the postie has a delivery for me) and I have my beady eye on Peace which is a shaped cardigan with moss stitch details knitted in Handknit Cotton. Which shade, which shade? I'm thinking a neutral colour might be an interesting challenge.. However, before I begin plotting Kim Hargreaves designs, I have a long list of things I want to knit. Small, fun things. Maybe even a shawl or two..