Ally Pally and purnkple yarn

I know. It's been a while.

It's not that I haven't been knitting these past couple of months - I have. But I just don't seem to have anything to show for it. With just one short side of the border left to do, the Melon scarf sits in hibernation, while indecision continues to paralyse me. In the meantime I've started a new lace project, the Myrtle Leaf shawl, using Jaggerspun Zephyr in a deep plum, but there isn't much point showing you that either, since I'm switching to a cashmere, so that's effectively just a big swatch then!

Thank you for all the nice comments about the Print o' the Wave. I absolutely love this stole and have worn her a lot in my overly air-conditioned office. In fact, another reason for not blogging has been because I haven't really finished the last post, and won't do so until I've put up the specs and a final picture of the stole in all her unblocked glory. However, this may not happen for a couple of weeks yet, so I've decided to move on for now, and when I finally post a picture, I'll link it for those of you who want to see it.

While I may not have any knitting to show you, I do have plenty of yarn. First, the latest instalment of Sundara's Petals Collection, a skein of merino in Poppy, a rich burgundy, together with a sock pattern and another pretty card.

Then there is some more Zephyr, intended for the Myrtle Leaf, but now consigned to stash.

A few weeks ago, I scoured the internet looking for pink and green sock yarn, and found two that seemed to fit the bill. First, this Bluefaced Leicester from Fyberspates in the

colourway Flower Garden, which is green, purple and pink, even prettier in real life, and is now being knit into a pair of Dublin Bay socks [pdf].

By contrast, I was very disappointed by the Socks That Rock's Socktopus colourway. At the top of this picture, you can see quite a lot of brown [taupe?], not to my liking. Having said that, looking again at BMFA's website, their colours in the image are completely true. Mea culpa, it was clearly wishful thinking that led me to hope the brown was more salmon pink. Still, it's STR, right? Gotta be grateful to get my hands on the stuff.

I'm late in blogging about this year's Ally Pally, but clearly some mention must be made! First up, my purchases:

Naturally, I had to visit the Fyberspates stand, and of course, I picked up another skein of pink and green. This is in fact a different colourway; there are just the two colours and they are both richer than the first skein. I really do think Jenny has an eye for colour; there was a skein of cashmere [I think?] in a beautiful, deep wine colour, and I am simply kicking myself for not buying it.

From Get Knitted some Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Jungle Stripe. I've been after this colourway for some time, but it's always been out of stock on the GK website, so naturally I pounced on it as soon as I saw it.

[Ok, that's enough of the green and pirnkple yarn. Mission accomplished, I think.]

Other purchases were the Knit Picks Options set [hee] also from GK, a shade card from Jamiesons's, DB's Baby Cashmerino 2 and a charming baby jumper pattern from Laughing Hens.

We also visited some new stands - or new to me at least. Blogless Lynsey was particularly taken by the qiviut [click and scroll down for the fantastic story of the arctic musk ox], but couldn't decide on a project for it. She did buy some laceweight from the House of Hemp and a gorgeous wine coloured skein from the Natural Dye Studio [I have to say, NDS was a real find, I absolutely loved all her colours so it's wonderful that they are soon to be made available at I Knit London].

Lynsey and I hit the show around lunchtime, walked up and down all the aisles, visited many stalls (some of them three times), saw some of the Knit a River project and signed our support to end water poverty, made happy purchases and collected even more cards and leaflets. Luckily, I'm interested in a number of different crafts, so the question of whether there was more or less yarn this year than previously doesn't really bother me, and I found much at Ally Pally to inspire me to pick up old-forgotten crafts or try new ones. There were also many beautiful pieces in the exhibition and elsewhere for sale. We finally ended up in the Palm Court, drinking pink champage and watching Breakfast at Tiffany's [love that orange cat] and Roman Holiday [bizarrely, Lynsey was wearing Audrey Hepburn socks. Seriously.] until Gerard joined us. After more champagne, we met up with Craig in Vauxhall, and had dinner at Pico's, a lively and clearly popular Portuguese restaurant. It was a thoroughly fantastic day spent with lovely people.

Finally, in case you were wondering what the pretty case at the very top was: I have a weakness for small boxes and containers and the like, and simply couldn't resist this totally unecessary and utterly charming Cath Kidson sewing kit.

OK, that's enough for now, this post is wordy enough. If you've made it to the end, thank you. Next time I post, I'll hopefully have some knitting to show!

Don't you just love bank holiday weekends? It's been a week of late nights for me, and much as I enjoy going out, it's been glorious to spend three days relaxing at home.

Sorry for not pinning the shawl out for these photos, but the light was a bit hit-and-miss today, and I had to grab the opportunity as soon as it presented itself!

So this is where I am with the melon shawl from VLT. After several days ignoring it, hoping it would miraculously grow in width and length, I took my head out of the sand, made some basic yardage calculations, added a few more repeats to the centre panel, and then - gulp - cut the yarn and started on the border.

But the combination of garter stitch and sea silk was too clumsy, so after only a few repeats I ripped the border out, and replaced it with the smaller Vandyke edging. This border is used in quite a few of the patterns in VLT, knits up quickly, looks pretty and so far I am very, very pleased with it.

The Vandyke is a 12-row repeat, rather than the original 8-row border, so some adjustment had to be made on the corner. It does actually look better when pinned out, so I'm trusting in the miracle of blocking. What I don't like, in fact what I really, really DISlike is the final repeat which doesn't get tied by the melon stitch. I don't understand why the pattern specifies this, but I think it looks kinda ugly.

Also raining on my parade is the fact that with a smaller border, I'm going to have quite a lot of yarn left. So, I'm in half a mind to undo the edging and add another column of faggoting to make the shawl wider. But then, I'm not sure it wouldn't spoil the pattern. Oh, what to do, what to do?

It was another fab I Knit London meet this week, this time at the Albert public house in Victoria. I was surprised by how many turned up despite the incessant rain. There was also a strong US contingent, and there was a lot of laughing at the end of the evening with some healthy debate on the different merits of UK and US telly. [As an aside, I've just finished season 3 of the Gilmore Girls on DVD, and am SO unhappy about Jess and Rory splitting up *sob*, I actually don't want to watch season 4!] A few days before, I'd cast on Tahoe in DB's Cathay, as an antidote to all this lace, and the mindless stocking stitch makes it the perfect project for pub knitting.

Following an unfortunate incident on our splendid public transport [ha], the Hedera socks have bitten the dust - just as I had memorised the pattern too! I'd only got as far as the end of the first cuff, so there is still the majority of the skein left for some other project, but for now, it goes into stash. Which leaves time for a new sock project. Oh wait, I ALREADY HAVE two on the needles. [I could have done with a sock at the cinema the other night - the new Bourne film, the beautiful locations, action scenes, the car chases, visually it's all fabulous, but even for the standards of the genre, there was no story at all. Really. At all. ]

Talking of IKL, the boys are throwing a party next Sunday at the Vauxhall Griffin to celebrate the shop's first anniversary and it sounds like fun, hope to see you there.

IKL and stash enhancement

It was a particularly excellent evening at the BFI on Wednesday night. I had imagined we would be knitting in the cafe on the riverside, but in fact we were located in a rather classy bar area in the new annex between the NT and the BFI. We sat on the most fabulous sofas and armchairs, and it really was the perfect setting for knitting and chatting, except when they dimmed the lights, and then it was only perfect for chatting. Heh.

It's always good to catch up with the I Knit London boys and the usual suspects, plus this week there were a lot of new faces or recent additions to the group, all of them really friendly and I do hope they all come again. Gerard was knitting a sock with some yarn dyed by long-time IKLer Jon [check out his site to see more of his dyeing projects]. I myself had yet another disastrous night of ripping [a subject for a future post], but despite this frustration, the evening was an absolute blast, the only sour note was that I had left my purse at work, and had to rely completely on Gerard to refill my glass. For shame.

It's been a good week for the stash. First, on Tuesday, I received the first instalment of Sundara's 2007 Petals Collection, which I've been longing to see, and it did not disappoint. The package contained a 350 yard skein of soft, soft merino sock yarn in blue grape hyacinth, a pretty picture of said grape hyacinth and a sock pattern. My rubbish camera has spectactularly failed to capture the colourway, the skein is predominantly blue, but it has more purpley tints than is evident here. It's a lovely package, the only thing is that I don't really wear blue, so I guess I'll be knitting these socks for someone else!






Then, on Thursday a package from k1 yarnsarrived, this time containing two skeins of Handmaiden Sea Silk. I've been wanting to get my hands on this yarn for the longest time, and I am so glad I did. It is gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous, although I admit, I'm not that keen on the moss colour. As soon you can see, I didn't wait for better light, and as soon as I'd finished photographing the skein, I wound it into a ball and cast on.

Everybody cut footloose!

For a few weeks now, I Knit London have been running a film night, and this week I finally managed to make it. Well, I made it to the shop, but unfortunately with only twenty minutes of the film to go. Next week's showing will be Footloose, which I went to see in the summer of 1984, celebrating the end of A' levels. It's not a film that ranks in my list of favourites, but of course, if I come across it on the telly, invariably I find myself singing along and tapping my foot, watching to the very end, remembering a [my own] more innocent time.

Anyway, as I said, I didn't get to see much of the film, but afterwards, it was nice to catch up with Gerard and Craig, who I hadn't seen since an IKL meet in Alibi last month. I also had a long look around the shop. The stock has really grown since I was last there. Gerard showed me some lovely cashmere just in, I forget the name, but remember it was from Devon. Anyway, if you haven't been there for a while, or at all (!), go pay the boys a visit, take your knitting and sit on the Chesterfield. It is a real knitters' haven.

Whilst there, I bought some DPNs. I've been using 2.75mm Pony circulars for my current on-the-go sock, and although the experience hasn't been as bad as with the lace, it still makes for uncomfortable knitting, but now with my DPNs, at least I have managed to get as far as finishing the rib.

I also bought some more Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Tropical Storm, this time for me, I think. Sorry for the useless picture; my laptop which I use to store my images, has died on me, and I'm using my work laptop, which, given that I work in the glamourous world of accountancy, unsurprisingly does not have sophisticated photo imaging software on it.

In other news, I have turned the heel on each of the stripy socks, and am shaping the gusset on one, and working the foot of the other. As for the Print o' the Wave, I initially thought I would work one 12-row repeat every night, the reality is that I tend to leave it to the long, bright weekend hours. I am now up to 20 out of 34 repeats in the centre panel. No pictures to show on either of these projects, since they just look longer than the last time.

Everybody cut footloose!

Print o' the Wave

So I mentioned that I was knitting Eunny Jang’s Print o’ the Wave stole. This is a Big Deal. For the longest time, I have wanted to knit this, I’ve googled and visited every mention of PotW on the world wide web, followed the Yahoo Groups knitalong and more recently, the French knitalong. [Hey Eunny, if ever you need someone to catalogue all the references, I’m your gal. Got 'em all right here.]

So, why did it take so long to start? Well, for one thing, yarn choice was particularly difficult. I’d never used laceweight before and didn’t know what qualities to look for, other than being, um, fine. After much research on blogs and forums, I finally settled on Jaggerspun Zephyr, and early in the new year, four balls of Zephyr in plum and ruby arrived at my door.

Then there were gauge issues. Following general wisdom, I tried bamboo circulars, but the 3.5mm Addis produced a too holey fabric, and the 3.25mm Ponys produced something not very different and in addition were simply dreadful to use. The join between cable and needle is not suited for the combination of tight tension and fine yarn, and I had to ensure at all times, that the stitches remained on the needles. If a stitch moved onto the cable, there was no way I could get it back onto the needle again, and the piece was wasted. In addition, I felt that bamboos produced a looser tension than my norm, and I like the knitted bits in lace to be dense, not holey (if that makes sense). In the end I used 3.25mm metal straights, which so far have proved to be the best solution all round. Actually, I am awaiting delivery of some Addi Turbos in 3.25mm, and yesterday I ordered 3 sets of the new Addi Lace circulars in 3.0mm, 3.25mm and 3.5mm from Colorsong, but I prefer straights, so will probably stick with them for this project.

Another challenge was the provisional cast-on. I read Eunny’s lace tutorials, but to be honest, they made me more anxious about gauge. Real, practical help came from the ever fabulous KnittingHelp.com, and due to the number of times I had to cast on for this project, I did indeed get some real practice.

In the midst of all this research and experimentation, there was Victorian Lace Today. As soon as I heard about this wonderful book and its emphasis on rectangular shawls and wraps, I put off starting PotW until I could see VLT for myself. As it turned out, it took four months till I got my own copy, yep count 'em, one, two, three, FOUR months, and yes, as soon as it arrived, I swatched for a couple of the patterns. However, in the end I decided that the Zephyr was probably best used for the PotW. [I do love VLT and have already earmarked two designs for future projects, hence the order for more Addis Turbos and Lace.]

So, a couple of weeks ago, I cast on and started again in earnest. The first few repeats were, in a nutshell, a nightmare. Reading from a chart for the first time, using such a fine yarn for the first time, the ill-advised combination of metal needles and tiny stitches, all this conspired to make the first few repeats a slow and painful experience, with much ripping and reknitting and swearing. Usually, I would know at the end of the row if I had made a mistake, but there were also occasions when I would have to unknit a few rows of small, tight sk2pos. Each time I reached the end of the row with the correct pattern and number of stitches, the relief was overwhelming. In short, I hated every moment, and often questioned my sanity for persisting.

Happily, that was all part of the learning experience, and soon I began to have a "feel" for the pattern and see where a stitch was incorrectly placed. My errors became fewer and more quickly rectified, and as my confidence has grown, so have the repeats got easier and quicker. The picture to the left, taken earlier this afternoon, is mostly the result of two weekends' work. This is the centre panel; there is a border to be attached as well, and I understand that blocking transforms lace knitting, but clearly, not even an agressive blocking is going to render this baby into anything other than a wide scarf. (For perspective, the needle is 14" long). When casting on this final version, I decided to stick to the number of stitches as specified in the pattern, even though I knew that it would turn out narrower and shorter. Since I am so new to laceweight, I thought I would knit this as specified so that the finished object could serve as my yardstick for future lace projects, a reference point to calculate measurements and modifications.

Although I am now quite familiar with the pattern and am speeding along, I still need to concentrate, and I can't work on it without good lighting. So, for mindless knitting there are the stripey socks, and this is what they looked like earlier this afternoon. I'm trying to do both socks moreorless at the same time, ie at each turning point on the first sock, I'll stop and catch up on the second.

In London, we have been blessed this Easter with unusually fine weather with constant sunshine, and I have had a lovely and relaxed three days so far shutting out the world and just knitting, internet surfing and lots of telly. Tomorrow, Monday, is the last day of this long weekend, and I will probably have to eshew the knitting to focus on some essential life stuff. Pah. Wishing you all a very happy
Easter, and I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

Finally, a finished pair of socks

I love, love, love these socks. LOVE them.

So, flashing back to a couple of months ago, once I had settled into the hotel, and finished off the OSBS and a present for my secret pal, I began these socks for B as a small thank you for project-managing the move (time, energy, planning and sheer physical labour).

I flew through the first leg pretty quickly, the yarn - Cherry Tree Hill Supersock, bought last year at Ally Pally - is soft and with my Addis, produced a lovely gauge, but to be honest, the colourway knitted up was pretty blah. Also, I clearly remember Gill saying that it would be more than enough for a pair of socks, but when I wound the skein into a large ball, I lost faith, because I was unsure how sock-big B's feet were, because the yarn was new to me, in short, because I am still a sock newbie, I am ashamed to say that I did not believe that the skein would suffice for two man-socks.

I bought a ball of Rowan 4-ply soft in a light olive colour, and boom, the CTH came alive. The Rowan shade matches one of the dyes in the CTH perfectly, and simply allowed all the different browns and greens to reveal themselves. I fell in love.

I chose the 4-ply merino because I was impatient, because I couldn't stop knitting these socks, although I knew that it was not a satisfactory substitute for heels and toes. I wasn't really aware of any solid sock yarn available in the UK, but at some point towards the end I searched online and found Opal solids and more upsettingly, a CTH solid in the exact same olive shade as in the multi. Patience, who's Patience?

These socks were knitted up very quickly (and at one point, from the same ball, not something I shall try again unless absolutely desperate), but were not finished quickly, as I had to keep getting B to try them on for size, before I could finish the toes. The picture to the left shows both socks with only the toe on one sock left to do. As you can see, I had quite a lot of yarn left, so could easily have added an inch to the cuffs.

Details
Pattern: basic cuff-down sock
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock
Needles: 2.5mm DPNs for cast-on and 2.5mm Addi Turbo circular needles for body

I love these socks because:
1) they were a dream to knit, I will definitely be using CTH again
2) the addition of the olive toes and heels brought a dull colourway to life (but goodness, the amount of seaming at the end!)
3) they remind me of my long but happy stay in the hotel and knitting them on my longer commute.

Happily, B loves them too, and expressed surprise at the fine knit - not sure what he was expecting, thick cabled aran socks for trekking to the South Pole perhaps?

BTW - that first picture, see my new bathroom floor?

One Oh-So-Beautiful Sock

So, I mentioned that in the midst of all the mayhem, there has been knitting. Yes indeedy.

First up, my Oh So Beautiful Socks. I started this project way back in September, and immediately fell in love with both the pattern and yarn. But, nearing the end of the first sock [above], it became clear that it wouldn't fit over my heel, and I reluctantly put it away in a plastic bag until I felt strong enough to rip it.

I started the second sock and this time, increased the number of stitches to take into account my tight tension and the stitch pattern. But, although the size seemed better, I lost enthusiasm. I'm not sure whether it was Christmas knitting or just other projects that captured my attention, but this sock languished until I arrived at the hotel in late January with a box of yarn, bags of WIPs and lots of knitting time. It was one of the first projects I pulled out, and think it only required an evening or so to finish.

Before grafting and seaming

Unfortunately, the bag with the first sock is missing, and indeed, I think it had already disappeared some time before the whole packing chaos began. The bag had been sitting in the hallway, and it is possible that it was mistaken for rubbish (heh, not by me). Maybe it will turn up sometime. Until then, I present sock no 2 as an FO.

Details
Pattern: Oh So Beautiful Socks by Judy Sumner, designed for Lorna's Laces
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Purple Club
Needles: Sock no 1: 2.5mm DPNs; Sock no 2: 2.5mm Brittany DPNs and Addi Turbo circular needles

Knitting these socks, I learned two new things:

1) Sometime during sock no 2, Stefan taught me magic loop, a method I took to immediately. To be honest, I prefer the look of DPNs, but the Addis win on speed and ease of transportation.

2) Right from the cast-on of the first sock, this project introduced me to on-the-move knitting, and I came to rely on my little sock to entertain me in queues, in the pub, on the tube. For this reason only, I post this picture, of my never-to-be-seen-again half-naked foot, taken while driving a van full of boxes and furniture down the A2 (despite the circumstances, a really fun day out of London). Clearly, I wasn't the one driving the van.



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Edit 24 March: image added