Reds & Greens

November is never a great time to take photos, blue-tinted light and all, so excuse the slight bluriness and blueness of these photos. I have been working on this Kim Hargreaves cardigan ever since Touching Elegance was published. It should not have taken me this long but a lot of things have conspired against me: other projects, a sudden lack of knitting mojo, stressful time at work, injury-prone hands..

Luckily I was able to devote some proper time to the cardigan during my holiday and the second front knitted up in less than four days. I found my homemade spreadsheet absolutely invaluable: all the increase and decreases which make for a slightly biased fabric and create a gently sloped front edge were just too much to keep straight in my head. I'm a visual learner and I think I'll make these spreadsheets a lot in the future unless I'm dealing with extremely basic shapes.

Whilst I was in Copenhagen, I decided to search for suitable buttons. The original pattern just calls for five buttons, but I had decided to incorporate a sixth buttonhole to help stabilise the fronts as I've knitted this cardigan with negative ease. I found the perfect buttons in a fabric shop and I'm very pleased by how I managed to find some in the same shade of red (it's not an easy shade of red to match - it is a coral-ish, slightly cool red). My original plan was to find some navy and white buttons to give the cardigan a nautical feel, but these buttons make it a much more versatile garment. Score!

Incidentally, this is the best piece of knitting advice I have ever been given (thanks Gran): Use the most expensive buttons you can afford. Cheap buttons will make even the most luxurious garment feel cheap whilst expensive buttons will make a simple garment look like a million.

I have also been knitting socks. Well, mini-socks to be precise.

I'm running a Christmas workshop later this week and have been playing around with scrap yarn in preparation. The grey sock is knitted in 4ply yarn and the red sock in aran-weight yarn. I plan on adding embellishments (beads, buttons, glittery yarn) and see where that takes me. I also need to tweak the 'heel' as I'm not very happy with how it looks.

I'm doing yet another Christmas workshop next week - that one is about crocheting Christmas ornaments and we'll be using a pattern which has been handed down my family. I have already done a few swatches for that one whilst in Denmark (we called it 'mother-daughter bonding over Christmas crafting') but I might do a few more. Just for kicks.

Finally, thank you so much for all your comments and Rav messages lately. I'm running way behind schedule in answering all of you but I will get there!

Squee

Knitting. I may be grumpy about it at times, but there is no denying that I love it. This year I have been participating in the 10 Shawls in 2010 group on Ravelry (though I have not been social at all) and I'm currently knitting my tenth shawl. It has been a blast and also incredibly self-indulgent: I love knitting lace, I love knitting shawls and nowadays I really have very little knitting time left for personal projects so these shawls have all felt very special. I was pondering what I could do in 2011? I want to do something which feels just as good as these shawls and which can be spaced out throughout 2011. I hit upon my idea when I read Ms Mooncalf's post about hats. For a knitter, I have very few hats. This is strange because I love wearing hats. I love matching them with my outfits, love having warm ears and love using up random odd balls of wool.

2011 will be my Year of The Hat.

It's official. I'll knit eleven hats and my head will never be cold ever again.

Now to a bit about Recent Stash Enhancement of the Scandinavian kind. My purchases run completely counter to my Year of the Hat because, well, I am helpless in the face of North-Atlantic laceweight. Quite apart from the sweater's worth of bulky pure wool which I found in my gran's supermarket, I succumbed to a slew of gorgeous laceweights from an assortment of places: the Faroe Islands, Iceland and, well, Sweden. I also found some cheap preyarn/unspun yarn which I'm looking forward to trying as well as some double-knitting yarn in a very pretty green/teal combo.

Two other delightful things happened whilst I was in Copenhagen:

Firstly, my Bestest Friend Ever decided to give crocheting a go. Now she is on Ravelry and is talking about needing more yarn. I cannot be held responsible for this (cough) but it makes me very happy to see her employ all her cunning and skill in a crafty manner. She could rule the world if she put her mind to it. Next we'll be exchanging placemat sets and toilet roll covers. Just wait and see.

Secondly, I was taught how to use a lucet as previously mentioned. A friend sent me a peculiarly looking instrument this spring and I had no idea what it was, what it did or why she had sent it to me. I had some inkling it might have to do with textile history as I'm a big geek and, well, she is into historical re-enactment (and thus costume history). She brought a friend along for afternoon tea and this person taught me how to use my strange little gadget. It makes me very happy to know people who just happen to know what a lucet is and how to use one. It is so freaking cool.

So, anyway, yes: tell me about the hats you like, the hats you have queued, and the hats of your dreams. I need to plan my hat extravaganza a bit but going through 81 pages of hat patterns on Rav is a bit daunting.

Interlude

Just a brief blog post about knitting. Most of my current knitting projects are things I cannot show you nor tell you much about as they are either earmarked for future publication (not mine) or future publication (mine).. which reminds me: are you a photogenic 20-something living in Glasgow who has always wanted to be a knitwear model and who is happy to get paid in tea/cake - then get in touch! I'm also looking for a test-knitter or two, but I will get back to this post-holiday.

My hands are playing up again, sadly, so I cannot knit for long stretches of time. I'm back to icing my thumbs(!) and wearing wrist supports. Knitting is not fully to blame for my problems but it is certainly not helping my hands recover.

I'm still going to pack a couple of projects for my holiday but I'm hoping that a little break from obsessive knitting will work wonders.

Cross fingers.

Here Be Knitting

The last few months I have struggled with my knitting mojo. I had a list of things I needed to knit and somehow my love of the craft just withered as I soldiered on with my long list. Fortunately I came to my senses and my long list of need-to-knit projects has been put aside. I still have things I need to knit, but I have realised the best way will be to mix my need projects with want projects. Funnily enough it was one of my need projects which got me back on track. I was knitting a hot water bottle cosy out of Rowan Purelife British Sheep Breeds DK - and the combination of soothing garterstitch and beautiful, soft rustic yarn reminded me just why I love knitting so much. I finished the project quickly (so quickly I did not manage any photos or even a Ravelry entry) and saw my knitting mojo return. Phew.

So I have cast on for a new project. So far it does not look like much but it is the type of project which I seriously love. I am knitting the Dew Drops Shawl (rav link) in Navia Uno, a Faroese 2-ply yarn.

The yarn is a mix of Faroese wool, Shetland wool and Australian lambswool and I'm really enjoying working with it. I got it for Christmas last year and I think I'll put it on my wish list again. The yarn has a wonderful complexity to it: it is stringy and rustic but makes an amazingly soft and light fabric. I still prefer the Snældan 1-ply, mainly because it is less blended (and I'm looking forward to trying Sirri which I know that I can find in Copenhagen) but knitting with Navia Uno is such a pleasure.

Speaking of knitting pleasure, I wonder how I will ever go back to other alpaca yarns after using RYC Baby Alpaca. It makes me sigh with pleasure every time I use it and my knitting is often interrupted by me needing to touch the knitted fabric.

Yes, I am still knitting my Lumley.

It is working up beautifully and as I have noted earlier, I'm full of admiration for Kim Hargreaves. She understands shaping, knows how to manipulate knitted fabric, and adds tiny, immaculate flourishes. It has just been a bumpy ride for me and I have had to set up a spreadsheet in order to navigate her ..and at the same time .. instructions. The back was straightforward, but the fronts have been a lesson in keeping notes, setting up a five-page spreadsheet and knowing your place in the pattern. There is a reason for the madness and I have grown as a knitter. The end result is a delicately sloped front with a slightly biased fabric and pretty picots.

One back and one front down - but at least now I have a spreadsheet so I can quickly knit the other front. Then I face the sleeves, but I think they are so straightforward I might be able to knit them both at the same time. Huzzah!

Idle thoughts on future projects: + I am now seriously considering a knitted dress following a conversation with Lilith. I am still trying to decide if I have gone mad or not. + I am itching to start Inga, a crocheted cardigan, but I'm waiting for three of the colours to get back into stock at my local yarn pusher. I had considered doing Inga in a grey-white colour scheme, but I've now decided to stick with the original colours. I hardly ever use the original yarn or colours for a project, so that will be interesting. + Finally, I need gloves to match my Idunn hat. I have 75% percent of one ball left in the colourway used, so I think I'll need to poke about my stash in order to see if I can come up with a suitable colour combination.

Yay! Knitting mojo is back.

Finished Objects &c

If you are in the UK, you can do much worse than watch Rosie Boycott, John Mullan, Germaine Greer and China Mieville thrash it out over the Booker Shortlist on The Review Show. I chortled. Loudly. Several times. But, you are probably not here to hear my own thoughts on literary novels. You are probably here because I have a few finished objects to show off.

First up, Idunn. I knitted it out of some lovingly hoarded Rowan Scottish Tweed in "Apple". I used the February Beret I have used before and used the same moderation I had also used before: instead of an i-cord cast-on, I cast on 98 stitches, knitted k1p1 rib for a few inches and then followed pattern from there. It looks neat, fits my head and is less fiddly. I am a big fan of 'less fiddly'.

When blocked, Idunn grew. I am still pondering whether to rip back and do the decreases more sharply, but right now I'm too lazy. The beret is just a bit slouchier than I would have liked, but it still looks nice.

And it has certainly earned its keep over the last few weeks. The autumn weather has really kicked in and my head/ears appreciate being warm.

Secondly, a small project I just started/finished yesterday. I have a lot of work-related projects on the go at the moment, and I feel a tiny bit burned out. So, it was nice to sneak in an absolutely frivolous project which has to please nobody but me.

I have a thing about knitted and crocheted jewellery. I really like it, but find it difficult to find something unusual. My A Little Ruffle necklace is pretty unusual and I love wearing it.

The original pattern makes it more of a statement in substantial cotton - but I thought it'd be interesting to work it up in some tweed and toy with the contrast between "traditional" tweed and something quite fashiony. I whipped it up in just over an hour and I can see myself making a couple more necklaces in various textures, fibres and colours.

Specifications: 1/3rd of a ball of Rowan Felted Tweed (colour: "Bilberry"). Size 5mm (H) crochet hook. An old necklace I tore apart to get the chains.

I will probably not be wearing it with a black tee again, though - it dulls the necklace just a tiny bit.

Other necklaces I like: The Statement Necklace and the Crochet Braid necklace.

I've also looked at brooch patterns and hairband patterns, but I'm slightly underwhelmed. Any suggestions for slightly unusual jewellery projects (or even unusual scarves)? I feel the need to churn out accessories.

Sufjan Is Just Like You & Me

After his experiences of recent years, I’m almost afraid to ask what’s next. Well, bizarrely, and quite endearingly, [Sufjan] Stevens likes to spend his downtime knitting.“Yes, I still knit,” he says, laughing. “I’m part of a knitting group of mostly women, but there are a couple of guys who crochet. It’s pretty casual, but I like to do hats and scarves. Occasionally I’ll try something harder, like a sweater.”

Sufjan Stevens talks about his new album and, yes, knitting with The Irish Times' Sinéad Gleeson.

Old Skool Sufjan video below.