With A Slice of Cake & Heaven

I could not resist showing you a proper photo of how my Harmony cardigan is progressing. I finished the last bit of lace today, so it is all stocking stitch (and sleeve shaping) now. I have trawled Etsy and eBay for some suitable buttons - I know I am only halfway through the first of five pieces, but I have my eye firmly on the end result. I am thinking along the lines of these buttons or possibly these - I will start rummaging through my button boxes(! - it is true. I now have more than one big button box) once I have an idea of just how ornate the cardigan itself will look. Oh, I love planning.

I think Harmony might be keeping me company during the World Cup in football (i.e. soccer for you non-Europeans). I really liked the Olympics knit-along earlier this year, and Harmony, being both a labour-intensive project and a relatively straightforward knit, would do me just fine as a World Cup project as I cheer for the Danish football team and weep bitterly into my cold buttermilk soup when they lose.

A brief, brief interlude into Eurovision-land: I am going out on a limp here but I think Armenia might be marching towards glory. It is a tentative prediction as this year's contest is really too close to call, so call this "my gut feeling" prediction more than anything. I would also watch out for Albania (a great slice of electro-pop), Turkey, Georgia, and this year's surprise contender from Cyprus. Other pundits are leaning towards Israel, but I'm really not getting it,  while the early frontrunner Azerbaijan has come across limp and forced, so surely that is out of the running..?

Finally, there is nothing quite like being pigeon-holed with sweeping generalisations.

Also, this On the Rocks cover is one of the best Lady Gaga cover versions I've heard alongside that Paparazzi cover version (stay tuned all the way through the video - it gets better and better). Speaking of Gaga, have you read the Caitlin Moran interview? I had my own heroes when I was seventeen, living in Nowheresville and feeling completely Other, but my heroes were males writing songs from a male perspective (though Otherness arguably did play a part as core members of the band were gay). Later I discovered Polly Jean, of course, but I would have loved to have a prominent woman in pop culture playing hard and fast with mainstream gender perceptions (no, Madonna doesn't count for several reasons).

Now, excuse me, I have a date with a slice of carrot cake from Auntie M's Cake Lounge, my new home away from home.

World Where You Live

This week I cast on for my Harmony cardigan for the sixth time. Let me run down the other five attempts: 1) cast on during Doctor Who, 2) cast on during knitting group, 3) cast on long-tail and ended up out of yarn 13 stitches from end, 4) cast on wrong size, and 5) cast on with seriously wonky tension. Cast-on number 6 worked, thankfully. I have had to adjust the needle size, so I am now knitting a 4-ply cardigan on size 3mm  (US 2) needles. Wish me luck. One thing is certain: Rowan Fine Milk Cotton is a quality yarn. Remember, I used the same length of yarn to cast-on (and rip-out). While the actual yarn looks a bit crinkly, the knitted fabric looks as fresh as a daisy. Just look at the photograph and think of the abuse .. I knew that FMC would be a good yarn to work with - after all, it is a staple Rowan yarn - but I'm still impressed. I am now pondering other potential FMC summer knits (Geno from Rowan 43 and Arielle from Kim Hargreaves' Misty spring to mind), but let us see how the 4-ply on 3mm needles work out for me and my sanity..

Yes, my hand is better while I still cannot knit as much as I usually do. Actually, my hand is just peachy, but the arm gets pretty painful when I've worked/knitted/typed for a few hours. I try to rest it as much as possible, but I'm also notoriously bad at "just sitting around". I need to do something!

A few links for you:

• Your Life is An Open Book. If you have a Facebook profile, you might want to reconsider how you are using Facebook. You will definitely want to check your privacy settings, and I also recommend using the ReclaimYourPrivacy widget. As an expat I find Facebook incredibly useful for keeping in touch with overseas friends and family members, so I cannot bring myself to quit Facebook, but I have locked down my profile as much as I possibly can.
• This Cate Blanchett/Alexander McQueen outfit is the most stunning thing I have seen in a very, very long time.
• This DNA/RNA necklace is pretty nice too. And more attainable.

And the rest of the day will be spent on paperwork before I suddenly become eighteen years old once more and will be screaming/singing at the top of my lungs (YT link). You never really get over your first love, do you?

Everything You Made by Hand

Last night I sat up finishing this little girly thing - a corsage made in Rowan Kidsilk Haze and adorned by red beads. I first tried combining old vintage white buttons and red beads, but it did not look quite right. I did like the effect of the vintage buttons in the centre of the corsage and may well use the buttons when I make another corsage. The pattern I used came from Rowan Magazine 47 and I really liked how easy it came together.

I have a few other Rowan corsage patterns kicking about and will try them out too, but this pattern can be endlessly modified, adorned and, if made slightly bigger, be turned into a fascinator. Friends have begun talking about weddings, and I really fancy making my own fascinator (because I'm slightly mad and/or refuse paying good money for something I can make myself).

(This reminds me of the recent discussion on Cargo Cult Craft about the Homemade Vs the Handmade look, by the way. How are out aesthetic tastes shaped by Ready-To-Wear goods? I remember seeing some haute couture dresses in an exhibition and being fascinated by handstitched hems. Would my imaginary handmade fascinator with its handstitched adornments look out of place at a wedding? I do not think so - and not only because my social circle in Scotland consists predominately of crafters, artists and makers)

Everything that you made by hand Everything that you know by heart

I am about to cast on for Harmony for the third time. First time I cast on during Doctor Who which was a huge mistake, because Doctor Who is incredibly awesome at the moment. Second time I cast on whilst at knitting group which is presumably why I cast on for the size two sizes up from me. Third time lucky, I hope.

(song lyrics by guesswho - YT link)

FO: Millbrook

Ever had an idea for a garment that you really, really wanted and you cast on for it hoping that it would turn out exactly how it looked in your head? I'm happy to say that Millbrook turned out exactly the way I wanted. It is wearable, feminine (not girly) and has a strong vintage-vibe.

Of course I do not have the same body as I have in my head - I have a peasant-girl body with wide hips, short torso and big bust instead - but I still think Millbrook looks awesome on me (the buttonband does not actually gape). That is a very good thing, she says thinking of body-image issues and self-criticism.

Pattern: 115-25 Jacket with Lace Pattern by Drops Design (it is free!) Yarn: JC Rennie Supersoft in "Olive Grove". Coned and oiled for machine knitting. Used doubled. Needles: 5mm

Modifications: As previously mentioned, I did not like the original pattern as styled and presented by Drops design. So I altered a few things: I did not do YOs but M1L+M1R for the raglan increases; I shorted the sleeves to just-below-elbow-length; I crocheted loops around the neckline instead of on all edges (the neckline was too bare if I had omitted the crocheted edge entirely) and used the same yarn as for the rest of the cardigan.

The yarn is stunning. I bought it last year thanks to a tip-off from Swesser (and a huge thank you to her!). I was not too impressed whilst I was knitting as it was a coned, oiled yarn intended for machine-knitting - but once washed I just could not believe how tactile the Rennie yarn becomes. Very soft, beautifully heathered and the handle is phenomenal. I promptly ordered another cone (in an unusual colour for me) despite my best stashdown intentions. I cannot praise Rennie enough - particularly as my cardigan feels so very lightweight despite the 4ply being doubled-up.

If I were to criticise the pattern just a tiny bit, it would be the neckline. I started the garterstitch buttonband several rounds before the pattern said I should - otherwise you would end up with an odd stocking stitch section around the fronts. I have also added a few rounds of single crochets before the crochet loops and the neckline still feels a bit bare. Some might want to consider an actual collar or to start with a size smaller for the neckline to avoid the bareness.

My next project is likely to be another cardigan with a vintage feel - Harmony from Rowan 47. I like the Organic Cotton, but the shades wash me out, so I decided on Fine Milk Cotton in Water Bomb, a nice duck's-egg-blue. I'm planning on tiny red buttons and for the corsage to be teal/cream with red accents. Now to find my 2.75mm circs ..

PS. The Glasgow World Wide Knitting in Public Day has just been announced but, alas, I am working. Anyone up for a Sunday WWKIP?

Knitting Millbrook

My Millbrook cardigan is technically done. I have finished knitting it, in other words, but there will be quite some finishing to do. 1. I have knitted with oiled yarn, so I am yet to see what the actual fabric will look like once the oil has been washed out (note. I did knit a swatch and washed it - but that was with another colourway one year ago). This cloud of unknowing feels quite exciting and a bit whatwasIthinking.. Right now the knitted fabric has a flimsy feel to it, but I expect/hope for the fabric to bloom.

2. I am thinking of reverting to the picot-edging used in the original pattern. The neckline feels quite bare. Last night I tried knitting a little collar and it did not look quite right. Then I crocheted an edge around the neckline which stabilised it, but still looks too bare.

3. I still have not decided on buttons (this will have to wait until I have washed the cardigan and figure out just how stable/unstable the buttonsholes are - cf. flimsy material). Currently pondering whether to crochet buttons myself.

4. And, finally, the usual flurry of finishing: weaving in ends, tightening buttonholes, blocking (as it is a lacy cardigan) etc.

I have tried Millbrook on and it is a seriously cute, vintage-looking cardigan which is perfect for spring/summer-wear. I need to think more about what I need to have in my wardrobe and Millbrook fulfills a need I did not even realise that I had: a light woolly cardigan to wear underneath my spring/summer jacket.

This sudden realisation that I need to knit wearable pieces stems partially from the Millbrook epiphany, but also from reading Cargo Cult Craft. Essentially a sewing blog rooted in a love of social history, Cargo Cult Craft is a thought-provoking blog with eye-candy. I am quite intrigued by its Fashion on the Ration! project:

I’ve allotted myself 66 clothing “coupons” — the 1941 ration for each man, woman and child in Britain. Like the original, my ration will have to last me one year — from January 23, 2010 to January 22, 2011. Armed with my ration, my stash and period tips and techniques, I will maintain my everyday wardrobe while sewing a wartime wardrobe from vintage patterns and style sources.

So far Fashion on the Ration has been a bit of an eye-opener for me, despite my initial misgivings ("gimmicky" and "bit precious"). By thinking very hard about her choice of material and what basic needs her clothes have to fulfil, the blogger is engaging with her clothes-making in a very interesting way. My favourite part? She jots down notes on what she has learned from every project. And I'm learning from her despite my craft of choice being different from hers.

PS. I have finished reading Sarah Waters' "The Little Stranger". More on that soon.

Day Seven: Something About Yarn

Fourth Edition is taking part in the Knitting & Crocheting Blog Week, and you can read more about that blog project here. I often get asked which is the best yarn I have ever used. I never know how to answer because, for me, the quality of yarn is wholly dependent upon what project I am doing. When I think about yarn, which I admittedly do all the time, I just try to think about it in context. What type of project am I making and who am I making it for? How will the object be treated, how will it be used and how often will it be used? Do I need to think about maintenance? In other words, every yarn has a purpose.

Many knitters shudder at the thought of acrylic yarns, but I maintain they have their place in the knitting world. Knitting for young children? Acrylic yarns (or woolblends) will seem like a god-send because they can be thrown into the washing machine with nary a thought. Acrylic yarns also have a better range of colours, they will not pill as readily and certain brands will arguably withstand nuclear holocaust (or toddlers).

I do not tend to knit for children, though, so I mostly use natural fibres. Since I live in chilly Scotland I also tend to use mostly woolly yarns.

New Lanark Aran is one of my favourite yarns. It is locally produced, is available in some truly beautiful colours and, best of all, it knits up like a dream whilst still being affordable. Old Maiden Aunt is another guilty pleasure - she dyes beautiful sock- and lace-yarns. I adore Rowan Kidsilk Haze which has a beautiful halo and yearn for a project in Rowan Lima, a soft and complex merino/alpaca-blend.  Drops Alpaca is one of my desert island yarns. I'd happily roll around in Noro Cashmere Island.  Also, I hoard Dansk Naturfiber 1-ply kidmohair/merino because I think it may be discontinued, it is absolutely divine, and I rarely get a chance to get my clammy hands on it (I used it for my Laminaria shawl). I dream of making something out of Garthenor 1-ply. And let us not forget handspun wool - I am lucky to count some hand-spinners among friends.

Meet the glittering star in my yarn stash firmament, though.

This is Färgkraft SoftBlend, a 2-ply laceweight Gotland-wool handdyed using organic dyes by textile artist Margrét Kållberg for the Färgkraft co-op in Sweden. 765 yards of utter perfection.It ticks all my boxes: rustic, organic, laceweight, Scandinavian, and dyed in my favourite colour in the entire world.

A Swedish friend of mine gave it to me last year as a birthday present. I am still trying to decide what to make from it. I feel tempted to pair it with my favourite shawl pattern, but on the other hand I also feel tempted to pair it with a traditional Scandinavian (or Nordic) shawl pattern.

I have many, many lovely yarns in my stash thanks to friends and family, but the Färgkraft 1-ply just stands out for me. I may never actually use it, you know..