Yarn in my Pocket

Doodles in air

I've been holding out on you. Well, sort of. A little bit, perhaps. When I was planning to weave my latests scarf (warp shown here; I really must do a post about the finished scarf sometime...) I orignally intended to use Bunnylace as the weft. So soft! So fluffy! So warm!! So I dyed some this soft latte colour - only it looked dreadful with the warp. It was too light, and had too much of a greying effect on the whole thing. So I pulled it out, and found a different weft. Since then, I've been doodling with the failed weft yarn - after all, it's already wound into a ball. So easy to pick up a pair of needles and play...

I think I'm finally getting something I like from my doodles. The overriding theme so far has been 'feathers'; the colour of the yarn reminds me of the collared doves who are currently raising two chicks in the nest they have built behind our satellite dish...

I'm maybe a quarter of the way through the design I have roughly sketched out in my head - and already the shawl is too big to pin out on the needles for a proper view. This is where things start to make me nervous. What if it won't block out properly when I'm done? What if the motifs don't flow into each other as they should?!

Well... How wrong could it go? At any rate, this yarn is lovely to knit with; soft as feathers and light as air.

Wolfram unveiled

The weather was not too cooperative over the weekend, but J and I did manage to get a few photographs taken. I had quite the line-up of knits needing their camera time, but in the end only Wolfram got a chance to shine.

Given that the weather was windy and quite chilly - when it wasn't actually raining, too! - this was the ideal accessory choice. Two layers of wool and silk, wound around your neck and chest, turn out to be remarkably cozy. In fact, I've worn it pretty much every day since I finished seaming it up - inside the house as well as out.

We tried taking some shots of the cowl worn 'long', like a circular scarf, but it looked odd and (if I'm being honest) felt a bit pointless. All that lovely warm fabric just hanging loose in a loop down to my waist, and completely missing the upper part of my chest?! I know I've seen cowls worn like this, but I don't think it's for me. See?

But when I was looping it back up again, J suddenly had a Genius Moment and told me to, "Stop! Leave it where it is!".

What, like this?? If you say so!

OK! It turns out that the cowl is exactly the right length to go once round my neck and once round my head, and it stays put, even on my very slippery hair. I honestly never envisaged wearing it like this, but I definitely would do so. It's not as warm as a full hat or hood - after all, the back of your head isn't covered - but it's a lot toastier than no hat at all. My photographer is great... ♥

(I might have to find a new hair stylist, though...)

Fun with triangles

One of the things that I know I need for shows and fairs is samples. SAMPLES. The great thing about sample knits is that they give people the opportunity to see and feel the way the yarn knits up, not just the way it looks in the skein. You can see the colour distribution, the stitch size, the drape of the fabric at various gauges. The trouble with sample knits is that it takes a very long time to knit them. So I'm knitting bunting. Lots of yarn samples, lots of different colours. Decoration and samples all in one!

I plan to mount them on white cotton twill tape, and write the yarn name, colour and possibly needle size on the back. Yay laundry marker!

I should be able to whip up one or two of these per day between now and Wonderwool - enough for a 'starter pack' on the stall. And the beauty is - I can keep expanding the bunting as needed! (I'm quite pleased with this idea, can you tell?!)

Wolfram

I've finally finished something!

This is the cowl I mentioned swatching for way back here, and the stitch pattern I talked about here. Those playing along at home might like to know that it's also the yarn I blogged here, which was spun from fibre I bought at Rampton's Christmas Party, last December. Slightly shamefully, these blocking photos were taken mid-March, which means it's taken almost three weeks for me to graft the ends closed. I have to say, I'm delighted with the way the stitch pattern has worked up; I love the contrast between the knit and purl shapes, and the fact that the fabric is *completely* reversible. Want a close-up?

Also, the waving lines of eyelets provide fold lines so that the fabric collapses into warm folds around your neck. Snuggly! I don't have any proper FO pics yet - but here's a teaser:

(Oh- and the name of the post? The cowl just seems to have named itself Wolfram. Not sure why, but it seems to be sticking...)

That was not the weekend I was looking for...

Long story short:

1. My relaxing weekend wasn't.
2. The winner of *last* week's Saturday Giveaway is announced at the bottom of this post.

I've been looking forwards to this last weekend for quite some time. Life has been unusually hectic recently, and this weekend was designed to be relaxing, family-filled and fun. The plan was:

• Drive to hotel Friday evening; nice dinner with parents, early night.
• Spend Saturday in hotel lounge with knitting and laptop. Blog updates and pattern writing. Perhaps a walk around lunchtime.
• Meet up with brother late afternoon; head off to evening shindig for the wedding my parents were attending during the day.
• Relaxed extended family lunch on Sunday
• Drive home.

What I actually got:

• Friday went as planned, ackshully.
• Saturday morning, immediately after breakfast: hear that my parent’s home has been burgled overnight.
• Spend half an hour calming them down to the point where plans can be made. During this time, I heard my Dad use the F-word for the first, second and third times in my life.
• Find out that my parents have neither buildings nor contents insurance for their home. Repeat calming exercises for my mother.
• Dispatch Dad to drive 4 hours to assess damage, make secure and stay home overnight. Cancel Dad’s lunch orders for Sunday.
• Drive Mum to wedding, where I fill my Dad’s place during the ceremony, sitting around phase and ‘lunch’ (which starts at 16:30. I do not do well when hungry). Note that I have only brought relaxed clothes and evening clothes for the whole trip; I feel quite sparkly. I also miss my lunchtime rest (as mandated by occupational therapist) and have to make small talk with total strangers.
• Lunch is excellent, including the wine (which I cannot drink as I am the driver).
• Drive back to hotel with Mum, to pick up brother in order to return for evening shindig. Realise as we’re driving back that I’m too tired to safely repeat the trip later. By this time, I’ve missed my afternoon rest, too.
• During drive, receive text from Dad saying It Could Be Worse, and that he’s planning to drive 4 hours back the next day, arriving in time for lunch. Please could we reinstate his lunch order?
• Decide to have dinner at hotel with family. We only finished lunch an hour ago, and ‘light bites’ are only served till 5pm. Order a starter for dinner, and nothing else.
• Sunday’s lunch with aunts, uncles and cousins, some of whom I haven't seen for nigh on 20 years. (One in particular I remember as knee-high, learning to ride her bike and very wobbly. She is now a teacher, and got married last year!!).
• Drive home. So tired by the time I’m back that J packs me straight off to bed for a rest. Too tired to read Rav, or follow a sentence to the end.
• Properly in bed before 9pm.

So: not so much according to plan, then. It's particularly annoying as this was going to be the week when I started working on my preparations for Wonderwool Wales in earnest - but I think I'm going to have to spend a couple of days relaxing first. I *have*, however, drawn the winner for last week's Saturday Giveaway. Congratulations to Eskimimi - a very familiar face on Ravelry, from some of the UK boards (and I think she's a spindler, too!). Mimi, I'll be emailing you for your postal address soon, so I can send you your yarn. On a related note, I've been in a reflective mood regarding the club and competition. I think I will try and post a retrospective of the last six months over the next week or two - not that I've finished much, of course, but I think it will still be fun!

Saturday Giveaway: Ostara sock yarn

I promise that one day soon I will start writing blog posts that aren't just about prize draws; I really will! In the meantime, though, the latest shipment of yarn and fibre for the Wheel of the Year club has gone out - and I have a spare skein of sock yarn! This is a special, bittersweet shipment for me: it is the last shipment of the first six months of my very first club. If that sounds a little bit convoluted, it is! But in summary, it means that this is the last skein that some of my first club members will receive. Others, of course, signed up for the full year, and have four more to come! (And still others have signed up for the next six months - some new, some returnees! I am sorry the first six months is over - it went so fast! - but I'm really looking forwards to the months to come!) Anyway, if you feel like getting in on a little bit of the yarn club action, comment on this post before noon UK time on Monday 26th, and you will be in with a chance of winning a really rather lovely (if I do say so myself!) skein.  

Sweet winnings

OK! I had 21 entries in the book draw for Sweet Shawlettes - and random.org says the lucky winner is...

Congratulations, Sparkleduck!! You get the book. Everyone else - thanks for playing! Please come back next week when I'll have a Wheel of the Year sock yarn skein to give away to one lucky winner. Myself? I think I'll be casting on arabesque. Just as soon as I have some needles free...

Knit or purl your yarn overs? The difference of direction

I mentioned last Wednesday that I've been playing with an 'extended swatch' in some of my handspun. I've been trying to come up with a reversible stitch pattern to use as part of a moebius cowl design. (I feel that 'reversible' is very desirable in a scarf, and absolutely necessary in a moebius: by definition, both sides will show when you wear it - or does it only have one side?!) Anyway, I want a nice, warm cowl, but not something so warm that it's only suitable for polar expeditions. Since the yarn is thick-ish, and contains silk, that probably meant that cables were rules out from the start! Also, I wanted something with a noticeable texture, that would be able to look good when scrunched around someone's neck. I came up with a simple, reversible lace motif that could be scaled over pretty much any number of stitches, and swatched it in several sizes. And I found something interesting. Here is the motif, worked as a six-stitch repeat:

The effect is of slightly distorted parallelograms - some in stockinette, some in reverse stockinette - bounded on one side by yarn-overs and on the other by decrease stitches. I'm particularly pleased with the nice, smooth line of the decrease stitches where they change direction! Now, compare that with this:

(I'm sorry; this would have been a much better demonstration in light coloured yarn. But I didn't know I was going to be making this discovery when I started swatching!) Anyway, can you see a difference? Where the decrease stitches change direction, the 'corner' stitch won't lie flat. It wants to kink up a bit, causing an interruption to the smooth flow of the line. The impact of this effect is much greater if the motif is smaller - work it over 7 or 8 stitches, and it becomes almost unnoticeable, unless you're being hyper-analytical about some design or other (ahem!). But work it over 5 stitches, and the 'kink' completely hides the pattern:

The only difference? In the 'kinked' version I purled into the yarn overs on the return row. In the smooth version, I knitted into the YO. I would never, ever have expected such a small difference to have such a dramatic effect in the finished piece. Sure, I know that the difference between stocking stitch and garter stitch is huge, but one stitch in a motif? Worked into a yarn-over? Yarn-overs are, I would have thought, open and flexible enough to accommodate the difference without affecting the surrounding stitches - but apparently not. The version I'm going with for the cowl? Smoothed, over 7 stitches:

I think this is going to be a pretty quick knit: I finished about 1/3 of it yesterday!

The Sweetest Thing (Book review and giveaway)

A few months ago, Jean Moss contacted me to ask if I'd like to be part of the *international* blog tour for her upcoming book release. Well, sure! I'm honoured! In the best Saturday Giveaway tradition, I have one copy of 'Sweet Shawlettes' to give away - full details are at the end of this post.

Jean's opening comment in the introduction to this elegant book of accessories is, "I've always been a doer. I need to make things with my hands," - a comment that resonates so strongly with me, and I know with a lot of other people who read this blog.

I'm convinced that the world is enriched by making, not just in a material way, but by awakening people to the joys of creativity, by keeping traditional skills alive, by reminding us (in this age of rapidly accessibly and easily disposable consumer goods) that really great things often take time, energy and thought to achieve, and are worth holding on to. Despite the title of the book ('Sweet Shawlettes'), it contains far, far more than just shawlettes. All the projects are neckwear - sure - but they range from full-size shawls to cowls; capelets to innovative scarves; natty little neckwarmers to knitted necklaces. Some of the projects are small, and could be whipped up in an evening or two. Others are larger, and would provide a nice challenge over a longer time period. As Jean herself points out, the neck is a very sensual part of the body, so neckwear is a perfect opportunity to grab a special skein or two - hand dyed, hand spun, or a precious souvenir, perhaps - to fashion yourself a little bit of luxury that can be kept - quite literally - close to your heart. In addition, a lot of the projects in this book would be a great way to learn a new skill. In this treasure-trove of a book you can find patterns featuring lace, intarsia, entrelac, Fair Isle, cables, short row shaping and knitting in the round!

The book is divided into four sections: Country, Couture, Folk and Vintage. I admit that I expected to find my favourite pieces in the 'Country' and 'Folk' sections - couture and high fashion don't have much place in the life of a dyer living in the country, who shares her life with two hairy, enthusiastic dogs! And 'vintage' too often conjures up kitschy, 50s inspired pieces in today's lexicon: great for those that can wear them, but not my thing. However, I was delighted to find favourites in all four sections! My very-most favourite is 'Arabesque' - pictured above - which is indeed from the Folk section. What can I say: it caught me the very first time I opened the book, and has yet to be surpassed. But I also love the clean simplicity and graphic appeal of Penumbra, from the Couture section. Penumbra looks like a simple black-and-white stripe - but there's a secret. Look along, rather than directly at, the fabric, and you get dynamic zig-zags, thanks to the magic of shadow-knitting!

Moving away from the stark black-and-white, I think that Madame Alfred, who joins us from the Country section, has to have the next mention! The first pattern in the book, this is also one of the larger projects, and combines lace techniques and intarsia - and a frill! - in rich, saturated, full-colour design that I would love to have on hand for cooler moments in the summer. (My summer fantasies often include drinking tea in an immaculate garden. The reality tends to include mud, weeds and dogs, not necessarily in that order. But I can still have a bit of handknit elegance around, right?)

I found this to be a very well-designed and structured book, with impeccable attention to detail. The photography is beautiful, and there is lots of additional information in the appendices, which include a pictorial index of projects (yes! One of my favourite features in a book or magazine!), a list of the yarns used, their fibre content and CYCA size rating (plus a handy copy of the CYCA information itself, right there in the book). Other sections introduce techniques used in the book, discuss trimmings and buttons, and there is a lovely section on colour choice, hidden away next to the 'Vamp' pattern (a sweet and versatile boa-style scarf from the 'Vintage section - you didn't think I was going to leave a section out, did you?)

So, you'd like to enter the giveaway?

Hurray!! Come and join the fun! All you have to do is leave a comment on this blog post before noon (UK time) next Saturday (the 17th). Let me know what your favourite project in the book is (you can see them all here, on Jean's site) - or, if you can't pick, what your favourite section is! I'll select the winner by random draw, and post the results on Saturday evening.

Follow the rest of the tour!

Be a groupie! There is lots more of the tour still to go; here's the schedule!

• Wed 7 Mar Jen_Arnall-Culliford Knitwear Jen Arnall-Culliford
• Thurs 8 Mar Needled Kate Davies
• Fri 9 Mar Rock and Purl Ruth Garcia-Alcantud
• Sat 10 Mar Woolly Wormhead Woolly Wormhead
• Mon 12 Mar Yarnscape Alison Barker
• Tues 13 Mar Confessions of a Yarn Addict Anniken Allis
• Wed 14 Mar Joli House Amanda France
• Thurs 15 Mar This Is Knit Lisa & Siobhan
• Fri 16 Mar The Knitting Institute Knitting Magazine
• Sat 17 Mar Life’n Knitting Carla Meijsen
• Sun 18 Mar ConnieLene Connie
• Mon 19 Mar Just Call Me Ruby Susan Crawford
• Tues 20 Mar Tiny Owl Knits Stephanie Dosen
• Wed 21 Mar Ulla-Bella Anita Tørmoen
• Thurs 22 Mar Heike Knits Heike Gittins

Stash down status

Nope, I haven't forgotten about my pledge to stash down and track it. Unfortunately, even with a 'buy (almost) nothing' pledge, the totals somehow still seem to creep upwards. January looked like this:

• Knitted: 543m/510 g
• Spun up: 695m/200g
• Yarn in: acquired via yarn club (allowed): 400m/100g
• Fibre in: acquired for spinning group project (wildcard): 400g

Net changes, yarn: 552m/110g increase Net changes, fibre: 200g increase Total weight change: 10g increase February was even worse:

• Knitted: 0
• Spun up: 343m/138g
• Yarn in: acquired via yarn club (allowed): 400m/100g
• Fibre in: gift (spun up this month!): 42g

Net changes, yarn: 743m/238g increase Net changes, fibre: break even Total weight change: 142g increase I think the problem is that I just don't have time to knit very much of my stash! I have been knitting, but a lot of it is swatching, or designing, or sample making. There is a difference between 'work' yarn and 'stash' yarn, but only the same amount of knitting time, whatever I do. I love working with my own, hand-dyed yarns, but my stash feels very, very neglected, and I do need new designs, shop samples and FOs to show off at shows. What's a busy knitter to do?!