Worldwide Knit In Public Day, Glasgow Edition

A big thank you to everybody who showed up for the Worldwide Knitting in Public Day in Glasgow.

We had a lovely picnic at the Kelvingrove rockery (you can even see Lord Kelvin in the background looking at us - we thought about knitting him a beanie). It turned out to be so much fun that we are thinking about having another knitters' picnic later this summer. It was great to see so many people from various knitting groups and places (New York! New York!!).

Thank you to everyone who brought cake, fruit, homebaked bread and sunscreen. A special thank you to the amazing Jen who had devised a knitting game with fabulous prizes (handspun yarn! spinning fibre! dyeing kit! handdyed yarn!).

And now to apply copious amounts of aftersun lotion..

One Small Step or One Giant Leap?

Yesterday marked the first time I could vote in Scotland. I clutched my polling card, brought ID with me and walked down to the polling place fully expecting to queue for maybe five or ten minutes.  I was the only voter, of course, and in no need of  ID either. I told the poll official that this was my first Scottish election and that I was very excited. She laughed and asked if I had brought my camera as she'd be happy to take my photo. Then I walked into the wrong room through sheer excitement, but finally managed to vote.

Excitement? Quite apart from the joy I always get from seeing democracy at work, I think that yesterday marked the day when I felt I finally have a voice here in Scotland. I'm that tiny bit more Scottish now. A bit more 'home'.

And then I visited a handknitting pirate who showed me how to needle-felt. The technique involves sharp, barbed needles  and obviously I stabbed my thigh a couple of times. I ended up with a little pin cushion which looks quite like a Microsoft icon circa 1996, but I don't really think needle-felting is my thing.

However, then the Pirate showed me how to use a drop-spindle and - holy caramel - I was instantly hooked. I was so hooked that I immediately found a good deal on eBay UK for a drop-spindle kit complete with fibre. It'll arrive tomorrow with any luck. Again, as with knitting, I think it is the feeling of connecting with tradition and history which hooks me.

Knitters' Picnic - Worldwide Knitting in Public

This year's Worldwide Knitting in Public event in Glasgow is going to take place on Saturday the 13th of June in the Kelvingrove Rockery, Kelvingrove Park at 1pm. We'll be having a picnic, so bring blankets, water, sunscreen(!), knitting/crocheting projects and something to nibble on.  In case of rain, the tentative backup plan is to meet in the main hall of Kelvingrove museum. Non-knitters are encouraged to show up and be assimilated.

Facebook Event link

(The other week I remembered Glasgow knitters idly chatting about a picnic months and months ago. I revived the topic on Ravelry and, yes, I've somehow ended up "hosting" this event. Let that be a lesson to you all)

Alpaca Punch

There she is, that Ishbel. The shawl blocked out beautifully and post-blocking I only had it in the house for about an hour before sending it across the Atlantic to a friend who needs a big hug.

So, yes, I was very pleased with the finished object - it looks lovely, works out larger than you think and has an interesting Faroese-like shape - but I did not enjoy knitting it. Overall, I must have knitted this shawl twice over with all my tinkering and re-knitting - and, honestly, I would rather have spent that knitting time on something else because the project just wasn't interesting enough to warrant that amount of effort.

But Ishbel does make for a warm, knitted hug which is the really important bit.

Now I'm working on a different shawl and it is really interesting to note the differences between the two projects (and the two patterns).

I have been admiring Laminaria ever since I got bitten by the lace bug. It is an insanely beautiful shawl made out of complicated Estonian stitches I had never seen anywhere before. Instead of "knit", "yarn over" or "purl", the pattern tells you to knit "2-into-9" and "3-into-3". Furthermore, the pattern notes tells you it is a modular shawl, so you can shift the blocking blocks around. The designer has even posted a huge yardage chart, so you can track how much yarn you need for the sections (which is important if you decide to mix things up).

Thing is, I'm finding Laminaria an absolute joy to knit. So far it has even been a really straightforward knit: charts are crystal clear, the stitch definitions easy to understand and it works up very quickly. I cast on Monday night and I'm through the first three charts without with nary a hitch. Even the fabled Transition chart which has its own thread of heartbreak on Ravelry .. I got through it first time with no mistakes. What gives?

If Laminaria continues to be this much fun, I foresee a lot of 'em in my future.

However, one thing does have me worried. The yarn. I'm using a 1-ply kidmohair/merino which I bought in Denmark. Stunning shade of red. Plenty of yardage (I think). And in the middle of knitting the second chart, the yarn literally fell apart in my hands. I am not a tight knitter and I'm knitting the shawl at a loose gauge - and the ply just came apart as I was knitting. It has me worried about how it'll hold up to blocking, I tell you, and I'm also terrified about putting too much stress on it as I'm knitting (which those 3-into-9 stitches will invariably do).

Finally: Alpaca Punch? Alpaca Punch? Well, Other Half and I were talking about the perfect name for a Glaswegian yarn shop and there you have it. Wool, violence and a bad pun all rolled into one. That's very Glaswegian. I'm going to use the name for a pattern I'm going to write up (I've had a request, what can I say?) and hopefully that pun will stick to me like a big sticky stick.

Oh, the Yarn Fumes..

As I am finally getting to the last Ishbel chart, let me round up some of my yarn purchases. First, though, a few comments on knitting Ishbel. It seems every time people are touting a pattern as "really easy" and "you'll knit this up in a few days", I struggle with said pattern. Ishbel was no exception and I cannot for the life of me understand why as I'm used to knitting lace.

My first yarn choice was a brown merino and I was constantly two stitches short or had three stitches too many. I frogged this attempt and began over again using a 2-ply lambswool in beautiful teal. I took the project with me on holiday and disaster struck: during the first Eurovision semi-finale I dropped a stitch and it took me five days to unknit back to the point where I could start again. So, nearly two weeks from when I began this "weekend project" I can finally see the end of this little shawlette. I have no idea why it has taken me so long.

Yarn purchases then.

I must admit that I have a real weakness for laceweight and light fingering yarns and while my laceweight/fingering stash is already bursting at its seams, I indulged myself. I really indulged myself. I bought three different colours of SuperSoft, a light fingering lambswool with a tweedy look (pictured). I also bought some 1-ply Icelandic lace (black) and some discontinued 1-ply kidmohair/merino (red and teal). The kit for the Topstykke tunic also found its way into my suitcase (and, yes, it's knitted in 2-ply lambswool). Finally, 2 modest balls of my beloved Drops Alpaca in an amazing orange-yellow-red fell into my basket. I predict plenty of shawls in my future.

On the heavier side of things, I got hold of enough Létt-Lopi to make myself a cosy sweater, I bought a skein of "homegrown" Gotland wool from a sheep farm I visited and I could not resist some balls of Drops Silke-Tweed in that shade of green-yellow which I love so much. Uhm, then maybe I also bought two skeins of  BC Lucca (one grey, one pink tweed) because I already have four skeins and I didn't know if it were enough for a pullover. And maybe also some yellow Fritidsgarn and some Kauni. And some KnitPro needles and some patterns and stuff.

Uhm.

I'll probably not buy more yarn this decade. Really. Honestly. Honestly, honestly.

So .. anyone for a lace shawl?

Why It's Bad To Know Other Knitters

I blame Bells. I was sitting here enjoying a cup of coffee, having a spot of lunch and then I began reading Bells' love letter to Ishbel (a shawl pattern by everybody's favourite Scottish knitting pixie, Ysolda Teague). Bells' paen to Ishbel wore away at me and before I knew it I too had purchased the pattern. Shock, horror.

I'm totally justifying the purchase to myself by saying "Well, I need a portable project to take with me to Denmark" and the project would also be a stash-busting exercise, as I am the proud owner of a great deal of laceweight and fingering weight yarns. I have singled out two different yarns which would work perfectly in each their own way.

The top cake is Fyberspates Faery Lace in a one-off colour way purchased at a Fyberspates trunk show last year. 1200 yrds of soft turquoise, sea green and cream. The bottom cake is is 2ply merino which I bought in Copenhagen last year. 440 yrds of rich chocolate brown softness. At the moment I'm leaning towards the latter, although the Faery Lace continues to haunt my imagination.. Every time I open the storage box, I look down at it and think "Oh, turquoisey cobweb .. whatever am I going to do with you?".

I have completely omitted to talk about what is currently on my needles. Geno is no more: it was a case of the right yarn and the right pattern in the wrong colour being knitted up at the wrong time.

I'm knitting up the Cafe au Lait mittens in Rowan Wool Cotton to match a beret I made from the same yarn. Not only am I deeply in love with twisted rib - it looks so elegant! so crisp! - but I'm also in love with Wool Cotton - the stitch definition! its softness! the marled grey!

I'm also working on my handspun yoke cardigan. I'm almost done with the first sleeve, which means I only have one sleeve and the button band to go. I'm thinking I should be able to finish that before my fabled trip to Viking Land.

My fellow knitter-in-crime and good friend, Kathleen, is churning out one inspirational project after another at the moment. She recently finished a stunning, stunning hap shawl in plant-dyed cashmere/wool from a indie dyer on the Isle of Skye. A few weeks ago I tried on the hap shawl and I had to fight my urge to just run away with it. I have been taking a long, hard look at my stash and I think I can make myself a hap shawl out of my amassed collection of New Lanark (I might have to order an additional skein or two - what hardship!). I have also been eyeing Kathleen's striped shoulder shawl (rav link) and her Girasole. Seriously inspirational stuff, I tell you.

Why it's bad to know other knitters? Too many ideas, too little time.