Third

I have not mentioned my red Kim Hargreaves cardigan recently, have I? It has turned out to be one of those curious projects where I work obsessively on it for three days and then it lingers for about a month before I return to it. I have no idea why I do not just keep working on it. Once the pattern has been 'spread-sheeted', it is actually a really relaxing knit and the yarn is beautiful. Yesterday I cast off the first sleeve and I cast on for the second sleeve. Things are zipping along really well - except once I cast off the second sleeve, I need to unzip the provisional cast-on on both sleeves and start the k2p2 ribbing. Still, the end is in sight and I cannot wait to sew up(!) this beauty. I'm really looking forward to wearing it. Let's hope it fits as well as I think it will..

As the light at the end of the tunnel becomes increasingly brighter, my thoughts have obviously begun to turn to the next big project. I have another big project on the needles which I need to finish quite soon, but as it's not a jumper or cardigan I have been roaming the Ravelry database in search of patterns.

• I'm totally in love with Balance from the forthcoming Rowan Studio 22. It looks like a combo of Kidsilk Haze and Kid Classic. I'm thinking Jelly (KSH) and Spruce (KC) although wilder colour combinations also appeal (orange, anyone?)
• Recently I've begun looking closely at Bliss, an old Sarah Hatton pattern. I bought some Rowan Calmer last year in order to make a Kim Hargreaves jumper, but I'm beginning to wonder if I wouldn't get more wear out of a short-sleeved cardigan?
• Speaking of cute cardigans, Miette recently jumped into my (carefully curated) queue. No, I'm not going to knit another red cardigan. Probably not.

Another thing I'll be knitting is an inside layer of my Twee Winter hat. I finished it well in advance of Christmas but it has turned out very big (when rav comments all say 'this hat is huge', believe the comments). Paula came up with quite a few solutions and we decided that knitting an extra inside layer would a) make the hat smaller and b) make the hat winter-proof (felting was not an option, incidentally). I still need photos taken of the matching mitts - they are goddamn adorable and I've been wearing them constantly.

A few links, finally:

• Pete Postlethwaite has passed away. He was easily the best actor in most of his films and it was a joy to see him in even small parts.
• And the Danish contestant in Eurovision 1980 has passed away too (skip the 1st minute). His was the very first concert I ever saw.
• I really, really want a puppy and I think Maddie is just about the most adorable thing in the world.
• I've bought fabric with this quilt in mind. I'm crazy.
• Best line ever line from a trashy book? Don't know, but "Yum. Johnny Hulk tasted like fresh gorilla" is up there. Or down there depending upon your perspective.

2010: The Year In Knitting

In 2009 I completed 32 knitting projects. On the surface of things, I have not been nearly as prolific in 2010 but I have been busy doing other knitterly things: I have been teaching a great deal, written up various patterns and have generally enjoyed working within the knitting and crochet industry. I have met some fabulous designers, teachers, vendors, spinners, farmers, and knitters along the way. I would not want to change all of these things for the world - but I would like to finish more than 2 and 3/4 jumpers within a year! My two most used knits of the year? My Art Deco shawl  and my Haemitite shawl.

I have previously waxed lyrically about the Art Deco shawl but I am happy to wax lyrically again:

I used a free pattern and an inexpensive acrylic/wool yarn to make myself a big, toasty shawl. It was a modular knit, my first, and I certainly became very adept at picking up stitches (I reckon more than 2500 stitches were picked up during this project). The shawl quickly earned its keep during the big freeze of January 2010: I used it as a lap blanket in the flat, as a shawl when sitting by the computer, as a scarf when out and about , and as a headscarf during blizzards. Throughout it kept me warm and its warm, spicy colours cheered me up. A year later it has been machine-washed and tumble-dried with no discernible damage nor has it shown any wear'n'tear from being used so often.

My Haemitite shawl was a very quick knit, but the quickness of the project belies just how much use I have gotten out of it. I knitted a Kim Hargreaves pattern in some Rowan Kidsilk Aura in a neutral colour - and I practically live with this scarf around my neck 24/7. Its neutral colour means I can wear it with most of my wardrobe, it also packs lightly and - best of all - it is the warmest scarf I own. It is now looking a bit worse for wear, so I think I shall have to give it a good soak .. and maybe knit myself a second one? Here in Britain Kidsilk Aura has just gone on sale in the John Lewis department stores, so I think I might succumb..

2010 was the year I participated in "10 Shawls for 2010" on Ravelry (well, I joined the group and knitted 10 shawls - I actually did not participate in the group activities) so it is unsurprising that my two favourite objects turned out to be shawls. 2011 will be my year of hats and I'm really looking forward to that. I recently lost my Intuitive hat whilst on my way to Aberdeenshire so I will be wanting to replace that asap. A Karie with cold ears is not a happy Karie!

Apart from hats, my only knitting resolution for 2011 is to knit from stash as often as possible. 2010 saw my stash grow quite rapidly thanks to lovely gifts and work-related stash enhancements. I hope to keep the stash somewhat under control, get the masses of yarn organised, and to knit up some of my many odd balls. Modest hopes, eh?

Winter Wonderland

The view from the living room is usually quite nice. We have no neighbours living opposite us - just a patch of woodland - and we live on a quiet street. Today has been even more quiet than usual. A heavy snowfall has pretty much blocked the street and none of the car owners have seemingly bothered to dig out their cars for the morning commute. I do not blame them; our street doubles as a nice little hill and the idea of driving up the hill in these conditions .. no, not an appealing thought. Today the view from our living room is still quite nice - except at some point I shall have to put on a lot of layers and climb the aforementioned little hill. Brrr...

(Yes, the photo is a bit large but I found I lost all the "lovely" snowy details if I made it any smaller)

And the star? It's a traditional Danish Christmas star and you can make it yourself.

Inspired by the wintery conditions, I have begun making some wintery mitts. You may remember a previous attempt which I pulled out after some thought. I loved both yarns I used but I did not like them together. I rummaged through the stash (still unsorted and unorganised. I need to get my act together) and found some yarn I thought might work better.

This time I'm combining Noro Kureyon with some Rowan Purelife Organic Wool DK (I have plenty in my stash - I picked it up during the John Lewis clearance sale at a tres favourable price). I'm loving working with both yarns but..

..I cannot decide if this looks completely twee in the worst sense of the word (sentimental, sugary sweet, affectedly quaint) OR if this looks twee in a totally adorable 1950s way. It is a fine line, you must agree. I mean, the pattern has me knitting hearts for heaven’s sake!

I shall, of course, be making a matching beret.

Apropos of nothing, my winter coat is close to giving up the ghost. It remains warm and cosy, but the loosely woven tweed is beginning to get worn to the point of holes. Just one hole so far (which I shall mend) but it does make me ponder whether it would be an idea for the future to sew my own winter coat. Last time I had problems finding a winter coat which was both warm, practical (ack) and not butt-ugly.

Budget fashionistas (and sewers), share your thoughts and experiences with winter coats.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kbookish/5238007176/" title="Twee? by kBookish, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5002/5238007176_6034536556.jpg" width="225" height="300" alt="Twee?" /></a>

The Start of Something

This is an experiment. Last year I knitted a fair-isle beret which turned out to be really warm and I had been meaning to knit matching mitts. Sadly the beret was not just super-warm, it was also super-itchy, and so I never made the mitts.

I decided I was going to re-knit the beret (and knit the mitts) this winter, and I uncovered yarn in my stash. Some aran-weight yarn from Blacker Designs (Norfolk Horn - not currently available) and some Noro Kureyon to go with it.

I don't think the experiment is working. The two yarns are beautiful but they are not beautiful together. The Norfolk Horn yarn is too marled to show off the Kureyon and the Kureyon is too strong to show off the Norfolk Horn.The colourwork gets lost.

Rip, rip, rip.. or what do you think?

It is currently snowing outside and I'm about to start decorating for Christmas, so it feels wrong to say this .. but the first summer collections are beginning to show up around the interwebs.

First up, Rowan. They have gone more lacy with this collection which is nice for a lacehead like me. My favourite is probably Daydream from the main magazine's Illusion story - it looks almost Victorian with its high lace collar and long sleeves. Knitted in my beloved Kidsilk Haze I'm currently trying to persuade myself that I need a Victorian-esque lace jumper in my wardrobe. Fancy, another KSH jumper, looks a bit more practical. Summers in Scotland can be quite cool, I'm telling myself..

I'm really starting catching the sewing bug too. I've discovered a couple of great sewing blogs - my current favourite is probably The Snug Bug because Patty sews up Colette patterns, models them, and looks amazing. She makes me feel like I too could look great in a Colette garment although I am not a stick-insect-thin twenty-something living in an impossibly trendy New York apartment (not to slight Colette patterns at all but some of the sewing bloggers modelling them makes me feel woefully inadequate and lumpy - it is odd that I never feel that way about knitters?).

Another cup of hot chocolate beckons me, then it's time to put on some music (Sam Cooke? Voxtrot?) and then start uncovering Christmas decorations. Happy first of December..

FOs: Nev & Intuitive

I have been on a crazy knitting spree lately. This week I finished three things and am well on my way on finishing another two. Strange, but lovely. The first finished object is Nev, a huge shawl  - the biggest I have ever made, I think. The pattern is Bex Hopkins' Dew Drops Shawl, a free pattern and I used Navia Uno, a Faroese yarn. I had a few issues with both pattern and yarn, but as I really like the finished object it was worth the effort.

You can find my modifications/shortcuts on the project's Rav entry so suffice to say that I thought the pattern had been written in an overly-complicated manner and that there are easier ways of getting the same result. The yarn was very odd: it had a core of lovely wool but also had a cotton-like thread wrapped around the core. It made for an odd knitting experience - a yarn which was partly pliable and partly very inelastic. The thread occasionally bundled up and the two plies frequently caught on my needles. As I said, I really like Nev and I am inordinately fond of the actual fabric, so I would probably use the yarn again, but it does makes for an odd knitting experience. Snældan remains my favourite North Atlantic lace yarn, in other words.

I took Nev out for a trial run this afternoon. It blocked out huge (2.2m across and 80 cm deep, fact fans) which made for a very cosy shawl on a snowy afternoon. Today is my Other Half's birthday so despite heavy snowfall we made the effort to go out for the best cake in the West End (which included sparkles today!) and a lovely meal. Pardon the chubbiness - I wore five layers underneath my coat!

(Incidentally, I felt totally Parisian as we were frolicking in the snow round Merchant City's fab late 19th C architecture and I wore super-cool knitwear. Eat your heart out, fashionistas everywhere)

I also wore the other finished object: my brand-new winter hat. Remember when knitting was a totally utilitarian exercise? Remember when you whipped up a hat because you were cold - and not because you had stashed a handdyed yarn from Ireland or found this totally must-knit pattern on Ravelry? Yeah, I went Old Skool this week. I knitted a hat because winter was upon us.

I found the perfect quick, warm knit in seconds. Danish knit blogger, Julia Zahle, published a hat pattern about a year ago and I had sort-of always kind-of meant to knit it. Intiutive was a practical, quick, easy, and warm hat. I knitted it in less than a day and have worn it ever since.

I used less than a skein of Cascade 220. C220 is heavier than the recommended yarn, so I CO 100 stitches and then followed the pattern from there. The lace pattern is an easy 2-row repeat and although it is a lacy pattern, the fabric becomes so dense that it actually allows for extra warmth. Black is quite a boring colour, but it is also a practical colour.. For the very same reason I am now knitting a pair of black fingerless gloves.

Ah, and as yarn leaves the stash more enters the stash: my gran has a big heart and delights in giving presents to birthday celebrants' partners. This meant that I got a huge bag of assorted yarn - all very nice stuff - today. I'm slightly overwhelmed - as is my yarn 'closet' (a small walk-in closet just off the living room, to be precise. We also store a double bed in there.). One of my to-do things for the week ahead? Sorting out my yarn stash, so I can actually shut the door. Ulp.

Finally, one of my favourite blog posts of the week month: Wearable foods. The bubblegum outfits are achingly beautiful.

ADDENDUM:

Checking In

Thank you all for your valuable advice on sewing machines. I have asked many knowledgeable people and perused the net in search of good advice. (Admittedly I gave up on the net bit after finding a blog which detailed how the blogger spent $1200 on a sewing machine that would give her slightly more perfect straight 1/4" seams when quilting than her old $1000 machine. I am not that much of a perfectionist. Although I admit to being tempted by jelly rolls, so I might cave in to quilting some day soon)

I am now considering a mechanical Elna machine (hopefully getting to do a trial run soon) which is roughly the same price as the electronic Janome I had previously been eyeing. I am a bit cautious about getting a machine I cannot quite poke around in with a screwdriver (which is also why I prefer my computers to be desktops built from various spare parts rather than going out to buy a fully-formed laptop) and I think the Elna might fit the bill better than the Janome. I have a few more months before I need to make a decision. I am also planning on doing a few intermediate sewing classes at The Life Craft which will hopefully give me enough confidence to do a Colette pattern (I want to do both a Crepe and a Ceylon).

Knitting-wise.. phew, I have a slew of finished objects lately. I have been listening to a lot of dreadful audiobooks and these have helped me focus on my knitting rather than anything else. I have finished a self-designed garment (I will need to write this out as a pattern - let me know if you want to test-knit something for me 'soonish'), a big shawl, and a hat. Weather permitting, I will get some photos on this blog this week. Now I only have the sleeves for my red alpaca cardigan to do and I have a complete blank slate*

* obvious lie: I have so much I should be knitting that I feel faint just thinking about it

Finally, hey, a public service announcement for friends and family trying to think of a present for me. This year I've been a tad more organised! I know, I know .. wonders never cease..