Print o' the Wave update

This is the current state of PotW play: the border of one short side and half of one long side complete. Surprisingly, attaching the border turned out to be as simple as everyone had claimed, but it's taken a long time to get here. Long and unhappy and involving ripping.

First of all, in an attempt to increase the width of the shawl, I increased the stitch count of the border, inserting two lines of double faggotting separated by a column of stocking stitch (this [cough] expertise courtesy of much pouring over the back pages of Victorian Lace Today). After a few pattern repeats, I was satisfied that I had achieved my aim, and congratulated myself on my ability to adopt new techniques so successfully.

But with each repeat, I disliked the result more and more. The additional columns did indeed increase the width, and were perfectly nice to look at, but the hard lines broke up the soft flow of the pattern, and the wave border was too far removed from the centre panel. Time and time again, I looked at the border, tried to imagine it round the entire shawl, and fought the desire to rip.

I also revisited the library of tips I'd accumulated in my research, and of course found a post from the PotW KAL, that perfectly explained why I had more stitches in the eyelet rounds than specified in the pattern. I shoulda just read Eunny's instructions as written. Anyway, it inself, it wasn't too much of a problem, it just required some fudging, but as I got to the first corner, the required fudging on top of the ugliness of the border, well, you can probably see where I'm going with this. I ripped.

Initially, I wanted to rip right back to the centre panel, and pick up 768 border stitches again, as it was SUCH FUN the first time round. But the prospect of losing stitches at the two live ends made me too nervous, so I ripped only the border, counted the stitches on each of the sides and corners, put them on a crude diagram on a spreadsheet and calculated where adjustments were to be made. I then felt comfortable enough to restart the border.

I still wanted to increase the width, but contented myself with one column of double faggotting and an additional two stitches of of stocking stitch at the side of the wave pattern......... and I am really pleased with the result.

Now, did you all notice the large holes at the corner in the first picture? I don't know what the hell went wrong there, but I only noticed them today when I removed some scrap yarn used as a marker. I'm hoping that after blocking and draped around my shoulders, they aren't going to be that visible, otherwise, I foresee some fudging ahead...

It's a bank holiday weekend, and it has rained non-stop. Seriously. Non. Stop. But I don't care, I have the rest of the week off, yipee! That makes nine stress-free days away from the office. On Friday night, I actually fell asleep smiling.

No more exams, EVAH

For reasons that I won't bore you with, tonight was the first evening in several weeks that I left work without having to continue the day's toil later at home, or dreading the next day. It was such an odd feeling, this light-heartedness, it reminded me of school or university, that feeling on the last day of exams, the knowledge THAT I DIDN'T HAVE TO REVISE EVER AGAIN EVAH,............. or at least until the next semester. Ok, maybe it wasn't quite like that, but really, I was so unexpectedly light-hearted, I didn't quite know what to do with myself, and at such short notice, had no-one to play with. How sad.

Even though I still left a good couple of hours later than the norm, it was a fine evening and I was in a Good Mood. I didn't want to waste it at home. I toyed with the idea of going to I Knit London's group meet, but bizarrely felt a little inadequate with only a sock-in-progress with me. In the end, I treated myself to a couple of glasses of expensive wine al fresco, worked on a geeky personal project on the laptop and knitted on said sock.

Back at home, I had the choice of working on the PotW or winding a skein of the PY Sophia to prepare for swatching. I turned on the telly, and Notting Hill was just about to start. Ok, ok, not the best film in the world, but still one that makes me laugh and makes me cry - in short, the perfect film for me tonight. I reached for the Sophia et voilà, one ball ready for knitting.

Which brings me to the Actual Point of this post: which is that I forgot to say last time how amazing this yarn is. So, so soft; so utterly, gorgeously beautiful to touch. I love this yarn.

I often wonder what my neighbours think of the constant steam of mostly squishy packages laid at my door. On Friday, one such package in bright, pink plastic was delivered. In fact B found it when he went up to leave some shopping, while I waited in the car, on our way for a quick drink. This time, postie had left it under the doormat, which does little to conceal it from would-be burglars, but presumably allowed one to see beyond the glare of the package! Anyway, B stepped out waving this neon pink package; clearly he has come to understand the importance of uniting me with my yarn as quickly as possible.

Inside the pink plastic was the same colour tissue paper. I refused to expose the yarn to too much pubness, but all this pink made it difficult to see the colour of the yarn, which surrounded by the packaging, seemed apricot, not what I was after at all. Thankfully, the colour is closer to red and is very, very pretty.

Red is a notoriously difficult colour to photograph, and combined with this weekend's poor light, these pictures don't reflect the colour at all well, although this one taken with a flash gives a slight indication of the different hues.

The yarn is Posh Yarn's Sophia, a pure cashmere laceweight, in Red Admiral. For some time, I've been on the look-out for bright red laceweight for a friend's shawl; a few weeks ago, PY had the perfect pillar-box red, but of course it was snapped up by the time I remembered. The Red Admiral is probably not as bright as my friend would like, but I'm still confident that she'll love it.

Another recent delivery was from ColourMart, whose cashmere yarns and service receives only the hightest praise in blogland, forums and lists. This is their sample pack, isn't it good? Enough of each yarn in their range for a decent swatch, against the labels describing them, plus 250 yards of DK cashmere. Once I've got my head around the washing instructions (the yarns are oiled) I definitely hope to be using some of the laceweight in the future.

Finally, on a tenuous knitting-related theme, I took my shiny new iPod, the Nike + attachment (what a fantastic gadget) and Lime and Violet for a brisk walk this week. Back in the day, when I used to run regularly, I would listen to music, but now that I'm so unfit and lacking the motivation and routine, Miss Lime and Miss Violet are the perfect companions, and the thirty minutes not only raced by, but I had so much fun too. This week, I shall be starting a walk/run programme, and with 35 plus back episodes of L&V to catch-up on, am thoroughly looking forward to it!

Cliff walking

This weekend was a bank holiday weekend, which means, for those of you not familiar with the term, that Monday is a public holiday, a long weekend. On Saturday I drove down to the Kentish coast to visit my father, who left the big smoke a couple of years ago for the wide open spaces and fresh sea air.

Cliff-walking

We had such a fun day. We started with a pot of tea at the National Trust centre on the white cliffs, where I whipped out a sock (appropriately enough, a new pair I'm making for mon père) and knitted quite happily watching the ferries come and go. Then we walked along the cliffs; the sea was quite grey, but as you can see from the photos, everywhere else was beautifully green, and there were pretty wild flowers growing in the chalk, something you definitely don’t see in the city.

Overlooking the docks

We drove westwards along the coast, stopping to eat fish and chips on the beach and feel the calming influence of the sea. Then, in the evening, I accompanied my father to his bowls club for their annual prize-giving ceremony followed by a dinner and dance. I am extraordinarily proud of him, not only for receiving a medal in something he has only picked up in the past year or so, but for assimilating into and making new friends in the local community.

During the day I had felt quite sleepy, but we had put it down to the sea air. However, in the evening, I started to have brief giddy moments, and when I drove back to London later, I got lost coming off the motorway, a trip I have made countless times, but my normally reliable sense of direction failed me completely, and I took several wrong turnings and for a while drove further away from London, before I finally got back on track. Turns out I wasn’t feeling too well, and I spent the rest of the weekend in bed. On Tuesday, I called in to say I would work from home that day, but as it turned out, I slept until mid-afternoon! Anyway, all this rambling is to explain why, despite a luxurious four-day weekend, I have no knitting to show you, because a) my camera batteries are dead and b) it's remarkable how sleeping for three days and nights can ruin your productivity.

For the record, I have picked up all 768 stitches of PotW and completed the eyelet rounds, in so doing, increasing the stitch count. This does not appear to accord with Eunny’s instructions, but I have read and re-read them till my head hurts and I still don't see how you can NOT increase the number, so I shall forge ahead and start the border. Hmm, I see much fudging ahead. [This dreadful picture was taken with my phone, and the colour is way, way off the deep ruby red in real life.]

Finally, when I opened the door this evening for some pizza delivery [!], I found a package from Amazon containing the iPod I'd ordered on Friday. It was a wonderful, marvellous surprise, and I'm very excited and now looking forward to going back to work tomorrow to start downloading (since it will take forever and a day on my home dial-up).

Actually, I'm writing as though it's Tuesday night, it is in fact Wednesday morning, and I need to be up in three or four hours, so I'll sign off for now, and hopefully return soon with some actual knitting content!

Suck it up

The Americans have a phrase ...... suck it up. I'm not even going to pretend to know where it comes from, but it very neatly describes my PotW knitting activity today.

Having heeded the advice of others and convinced myself to keep to the pattern's specs, I read mid-week Little.Yellow.Different.Better's post, and was inspired to add another eight repeats to the PotW, making a total of 42 repeats. Then I did the math [another fabulous phrase from across the pond] for picking up the additional stitches and marked the long rows into eights to make the whole exercise easier. Today, I sucked it up, and picked up the stitches for the border. I am embarrassed to admit that the calculation and picking up took far, far longer than the couple of hours I had anticipated, and thank goodness it was a good telly day! (double Grey's Anatomy, CSIs New York, Miami and Vegas - just some of what accompanied me on this journey), and yet it still isn't finished, since the last part involves knitting from the original, provisional cast on, and I am too nervous to do this in poor light (it now being close to midnight). I have an absolute horror of removing the waste yarn, the anchor of the entire project, and watching all the stitches unravelling.

So, no pictures today because it's too dark now, and besides, it doesn't look that pretty right now anyway.

For one reason or another, it's been an extemely stressful week at work, and I wouldn't have survived if not for some levity in the evenings. On Monday, I joined Gerard, Craig, and Esther to take part in the record-breaking largest coconut orchestra performance in Trafalgar Square. A completely ridiculous endeavour, and yet huge fun, followed by the most sublime Thai dinner.

On Thursday, I made it to film night at I Knit London to see A Chorus Line. Ah, there were tears, some singing, some wine.......... some sewing up of those ruddy blue squares for Knit a River. I even managed to bring a couple of bags of squares home with me to sew up.

Also coming home with me were the latest Vogue Knitting and Rowan 41. Having looked at VK properly this weekend, I'm none too impressed; the patterns are dowdy and the models and styling belong to the eighties. As for Rowan 41, the styling is beautiful, and I love lots of the designs, but realistically there's only one which I want to add to my to do list: Maris in Rowan Calmer, a lovely spring/summer cardigan. Trouble is, I am not a big fan of knitting with cotton, although I've seen lots of knitbloggers wax lyrical about Calmer. Anyway, looking at all the spring designs and with PotW's end in sight, I'm also inclined to start Debbie Bliss's ribbon-edged cardigan again (still love, love that pattern).

Well I missed film night at I Knit London, but I did make it to Wednesday night's meet at the Crown and Two Chairmen, where I cast on Miss Lambert's shawl from VLT, using my new lace Addis and parcel string for waste yarn. Alas, the combination of dark yarn, chatting and alcohol meant for an unsuccessful start, and I spent most of the evening casting on again and again and again..... until I gave up and worked on my Lucia socks instead, which incidentally are no longer going to be Hedera, since the yarn is too variegated for the lacy pattern. Anyway, an excellent evening was enjoyed by all, with sausage, egg and rhubarb (!) and as ever, Craig has written up an entertaining account of it here.

This weekend, I have been working on PotW, and to my surprise, have completed the centre panel's 34 repeats. In the photo, it is at 33 repeats and measures 12" across and approximately 44" long. I have since added the final repeat and have put it aside to think about what to do next. I'm really tempted to make it longer, but then I remind myself that it will never be wide enough for a wrap, so is it worth the effort? Didn't I say before that I was going to keep to the pattern's specifications, so that I could use it as a yardstick [or should that be yarnstick?]. To be honest, I'm a bit nervous about attaching the border, so I'll probably end up keeping to the specs this time to get a feel for how it works, and save the additional rows and stitches and calculations for PotW no 2.

[The light was not very good today, that sheet is actually white, not grey.]

Addi Lace

Ooo, ooh, look what I came home to last night. Addi Turbo Lace needles, FOUR sets of them.


[Ok, so it's not exactly a crock of gold, but it was late when I got home, and I was tired and depressed and sad, and none of these feelings were related, so I was all kinds of down and it was a welcome little bit of cheer. Package at door, yay! New needles, yay! Addi Turbo Lace, yay! Ya gotta find the happy where you can.]

Of course, I opened a set to examine the needles and cable, but didn't test them, so can't comment on them yet. I don't think I'll swap the straights on PotW mid-project, but I will probably use the Addis on my next lace project, which by the way, I'm going to have to start pretty soon. Remember I wanted to knit a shawl for a friend of mine last year? Well, her wedding came, no shawl. A milestone birthday came, um.... no shawl. Today, she resigned from her job for a change of direction. Seriously, I have to knit that shawl!

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Edited to add: Oops, forgot to say that I ordered the needles from Colorsong Yarn in the US, and received them in just over a week. Fantastic service and no shipping costs.

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.

There is currently much debate on a certain knitting list about the niceties of naming and shaming bad suppliers (dear reader, if you're in the UK, you'll know what I am talking about). The topic has been hotly argued from both sides, with terms such as libel and freedom of speech looming large.

My observations:

1) I have dealt with a number of online suppliers (as well as bricks-and mortar shops) in the UK. Of these, there are two where I have not only experienced poor service but shockingly bad customer relations. I am full of admiration for those brave enough to start their own business, but I will NOT accept lies, misleading information or refusal to communicate. Your poor attitude repels me and ensures I never consider buying from you again.

2) Without wanting to perpetuate the stereotype, knitters and other crafters are positive-minded, supportive people. Our tolerance levels are high. Frankly, I am amazed that it has taken this long for this subject to be discussed in an open forum. But, surely the fact that a significant number of said knitters have voiced their opinions, and thereafter defended their right to do so, surely this is indicative of the extreme and unacceptable frustration felt and the seriousness and longevity of the problem. I am not for one moment advocating rudeness or personal attacks, but factual representation of the position can only help suppliers and customers alike and hopefully identify the steps necessary to improve the situation.

3) I have no desire to give airtime to rubbish suppliers, instead I'd like to list my favourites:

The Woolly Workshop
Laughing Hens
Web of Wool
Get Knitted
Posh Yarns
K1 Yarns

Each of these sites offers a different product, has its own individual identity and outlook, and each is run by talented, hard-working women. Against the backdrop of angry emails and subsequent reprimands, I searched online at the weekend for a particular sock yarn, ordered it from Web of Wool on Saturday, received an order confirmation the same day, a despatch email on Monday and came home on Tuesday to a delightful package. From online search to cast-on = three days (including the weekend).

This is Regia Mini Ringel in 5220 (green and blue), on new bamboo DPNs for socks for B.

In other knitty news, I still have some FOs to show you, but it's all about finding the time to block, photograph (in the right light, heh), and upload. In the meantime, in addition to the Regia socks, I have experimented with some of the patterns from Victorian Lace Today, cast on Eunny's Print o' the Wave stole in tacking thread Jaggerspun Zephyr and Cookie A's Hedera socks in PY Lucia. I'll post about these properly when there is something more substantial to show!

I have also joined Sundara's Petal Collection. There are a lot of sock clubs about, but I love the look of this one, and I'm so looking forward to the first lot of sock yarn.

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

This time I’m really back

It’s March, and I last posted properly in January, eek.

So as not to bore you witless, some bullet points of the past six weeks.

< Sorting and clearing
Days (and nights, sometimes 48-hour shifts) I have toiled, reminisced, cried, packed things for charity, for rubbish and others for storage.

< Boxes
Newly-developed ability to turn flat-pack into a box in nano-seconds

< Gales
Normally not especially noteworthy, in this case however, a crucial element affecting the logistics of my move

< Stress
Fatigue, tears. There has been shouting.

< Hotel
Wonderful hotel room with modern, trendy bathroom You have no idea what a walk-in shower means to me

< Commuting
Hate the early wake-up call, but LOVE the G&T at the bar in the evenings

< My birthday
Dinner here

< Appreciating my friends and family
Nuff said

I am still in the hotel, and much as I am loathe to leave it, I am in all likelihood moving back home next week. Which is not ready and NOWHERE near the state I had envisaged, not even close. All that hope and optimism about a better future in my new year’s post? A long, long, LONG way to go baby.

Still, on the positive side, much progress has been made. I can’t fault the work so far, I just wish there had been more of it. And there is a plan in place for the next stage to keep my sanity.

Right, that’s enough of that. This is a knitting blog and my next posts will be about the knitting.

Hello, I'm back.

Thanks to everyone who has left a comment or sent an email; I will respond and post properly at the weekend, which I'm hoping will be entirely devoted to catching up with what's going on in knitblogland.

Ex

Just a quick post - life is mayhem and stressful at the moment while I pack boxes, sort stuff for recycling and throw out rubbish. My hands are raw, my nerves ragged, my whole being sleep-deprived, weary, fed up and I JUST WANT IT TO BE ALL OVER.

As of tomorrow afternoon, I shall be on holiday (was ever a word so misused), and by Sunday evening, I will have (gulp!) moved all belongings into storage and myself into temporary accommodation. Friends and family are helping, I just hope we're all still speaking to each other at the end of it all.

The first week or so, I'll be in a hotel/B&B, just enjoying not having anything to do or worry about, just lots of telly, knitting, sleeping - LOTS OF SLEEPING - and just slowly returning to sanity. I might make a start on the paperwork that's been building up, hell, I might even resume my studies. Then, depending how much recovery time I need, I'll move to stay with friends till I can return home. I'm not making any definite plans on that front yet; I won't be taking any holiday from work during this time, and to be quite honest, coming "home" and shutting the door on the world for evenings of peaceful solitude is what appeals right now. [Is that terribly ungrateful of me?]

Not surprisingly, there hasn't been much knitting going on, but there has been some (essential stress-relief!), and hopefully I'll be able to show you a couple of small FOs next week. Till then, I just keep telling myself that the end is in sight/there is light at the end of the tunnel/[insert your own platitude here]. No, really, it's what keeps me going: in a few days, I can say goodbye to this phase of my life, and I will be happy.

See you on the other side.

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Wednesday, early hours of the morning - edited to add: My brain is mush, I rambled on about the move, but the ACTUAL point of this not-so-quick post was to say hello to everyone who has stopped by the blog recently, and to apologise for not being very chatty these past couple of weeks, in particular to my secret pal. Congratulations again SP, on your wonderful news (heh, this may mean you aren't so secret any more?)

Runagogo is a fantastic site found via Knit Two Purl Two. It's a group of knitters and other crafters all rising to the challenge set by Rachael to move 100 miles in the first three months of 2007, and exactly the motivation I need to get my fat ass into shape.

I used to run regularly, but in recent years, became increadingly sporadic to the point where I just. Stopped. Running. During last year's trip to New York I picked up a hugely useful and inspirational running book and did actually start some gentle jogging again, but then Stuff got in the way, and that was the end of that.

So, Runagogo is just what the doctor ordered, great concept, cool blog with links to useful sites and tools to help keep you on track.

I've been meaning to take pictures of my yarn purchase from before Christmas, but the weather has been so lousy here in London, that there simply hasn't been enough light. On this new year's morn, there was some actual sunlight, so I scrambled for my camera and quickly snapped these.

First up, a Magic Ball from Be Sweet (I think, since there is no label). I have absolutely no idea what I am going to knit with this, I suspect a scarf, but I don't even know what needle size to use or how far the yarn will go. No matter, it is very pretty, much more so than I've portrayed here.

In the I Knit London shop, there is a beautiful throw made out of some Safricana mohair, which convinced me to buy a couple of balls of the boucle to swatch. I'm afraid this picture isn't very true; the orange isn't as bright as appears in the photo, and the darker skein is a purpley grey. Both are beautiful. I'm going to use the grey for swatching for the throw, and the orange for a scarf. Actually, it occurs to me that I could use it for the curlicue ruffle scarf that I seem to have abandoned, instead of the KSH, although the yardage is a little short. [BTW, apparently, the Be Sweet and the Safricana yarns are the same, but traded by different suppliers].

Next up, another yarn new to me, Manos del Uruguay. The bottle green skein is a present and the multi-coloured is for me. The multi is just the prettiest yarn I have ever seen, and I bought it with no project in mind, just to keep in stash and periodically look at and sigh. I love it so much, I'e added another close-up below.

In addition, I bought a skein of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in the Martha's Vineyard colourway [below], also as a gift, and two balls of Louisa Harding Grace in plum. I'd used the ball I had in stash for a present I am knitting, and needed just another ball to complete, but bought two in case the dyelots didn't match, and I had to start all over again!

Finally, I bought a Rowan booklet for a simple lace scarf pattern (using KSH, um, I DON'T THINK SO) and a needle measurement tool, just because I love gadgets. As you can see, I had a wonderful time shopping and it didn't stop there. This week, I've been flexing the plastic on the internet quite a fair bit. I'm very excited about these purchases but I'll post about them when they arrive.

With so many new projects planned, I'm going to make a concerted effort to regain control of my stash and WIPs, by identifying those that I want to finish (for example, the lovely Cozy, which only needs to be blocked!), and ripping all other UFOs. I also have to plan the projects to work on during my temporary move and additional commute.

A time for reflection and resolution

2006 was the year I hit a milestone birthday, which officially kicked me over the hill. I celebrated this momentous event in New York with people dear to me. It was a fabulous, fabulous time. Other than this, 2006 was another year of chaos.

2007 is going to be a better year. I don't say this out of desire and resolve, it's simply because there is no way it cannot be. The main reason for the chaos in my life is my home, the story of which is too long and boring to relate here, suffice to say that if you saw how I lived, you'd have me certified.

Renovation has been in the planning for oh so, so long. BUT it is finally here! In three weeks, I move OUT and the builders move IN. The new bathroom and kitchen units are being ordered and ohmygosh, I still can't believe it: by the end of February I will have a home I can live in. Of course, I'm not going to have any money for furniture, but that's ok, it will be renovated, redecorated, with room to move, CLEAN.

The impact this will have on other areas of my life cannot be underestimated; 1) I will be able to cook again, so my eating habits and health should improve, 2) living in a more organised and comfortable manner will reduce unnecessary spending, 3) I will be able to resume my studies.......... even little things like being able to come home from work, and drink a glass of wine on a sofa in front of the telly........... How can 2007 not be any better?

I am so excited about this, and so looking forward to this year, and even though I'll be walking further down the other side of that damn hill, I will be less stressed, much happier about life, rejunevated. I can see a whole different life ahead of me, and it's a good one. I even think I might be able to keep to some of my new year's resolutions, so, inspired by Crazy Aunt Pearl's list, I made one of my own, from which I am going to share one item: as soon as the renovation is complete, I am going to get a cat. While The Orange Cat Who Does Not Live With Me was never one for cuddles or lap sitting, I do miss feline company and I especially missed it at Christmas.

Right, I'm off out to see in the New Year with the I Knit London boys. Happy new year to you all!

All the partying this past fortnight has meant very little knitting, so even if I had time to post, I don't actually have anything to show! But on Friday, I went to the I Knit London shop, for an evening of food and drink and ....... knitting. It was a more sedate affair than other recent social forays, but just as fun, and I managed to work some more on the simple vest and the Oh So Beautiful Socks.

In a taxi on my way home, I realised I had left my laptop and other bags behind, so the next day, I was back and this time, I left the shop with my forgotten things and more besides. Then I drove to Loop, where I again left with more than I had going in. I haven't had a chance yet to take pictures of my swag, so I'll show you after Christmas.

I also managed on Saturday to get all the necessary preparations done, and the fridge is bursting with yummy food, including good wine to take to friends in the evening. No tree this year because of the renovation work, but instead a fabulous bouquet adorns the dining table, and with candles it's all going to look very festive. Can't wait for those lillies to open and give off their heady perfume. All that is left for me to do is, ahem, a little tidying up. Please ignore the background mess in the first photo - I moved the vase to get the best light for the picture. By the way, considering the pictures were taken with my mobile and at night, I think they aren't half bad.

On a final note, back to my lovely day at the yarn shops. In each case, as I was walking to I Knit London and then Loop, there was a ginger cat loitering. The Islington boy was quite amenable to a stroke or two, and also let me take his picture, and so with this feeling of love and goodwill, I wish you all a very joyous and peaceful Christmas.

For some time now, I have been planning to knit two lace shawls, one as a present for a friend and another for me to wear at her wedding in the new year. Now, you may be thinking that I'm trying to run before I can walk, because quite clearly, SIX FEET of Cozy doesn't count, what with it being such a simple pattern and all. Aha, but you see, I have been working on a more intricate lace pattern, albeit smaller project, for my secret pal. Obviously, my lips are sealed, but I can confirm that I have been bitten by the lace bug, and I'm very sore.

Of course, I have been desperate to get my hands on Victorian Lace Today, especially since the emphasis is apparently on rectangular shawls (my preference), I have scoured bookshops, I have made B drive me to other, larger bookshops and scoured those, I have telephoned other bookshops, visited LYSs, all to no avail: there isn't a copy of VLT to be had in London. When I first tried to order the book from Amazon UK, the dispatch time was 10-13 days, now it's 6-8 weeks!

With so many beautiful patterns available, in the end I decided on the Forest Canopy Shawl, backed up by these lovely examples here, here and here. This decision was partly influenced by the yarn I wanted to use, Posh Yarn's Lucia in mulberry, a cashmere/merino 4-ply bought months ago, but which just hasn't made it to a pair of socks yet. It is a little heavy for some of the more intricate shawls, but I thought would be perfect for the FCP.

So, after a couple of false starts experiementing with guage, the first night saw me get as far as the picture above. As you can see, it is a relatively simple knit, but not so simple that you can watch CSI at the same time (my yardstick). In the first picture, I've stretched it out a bit so that you can see the pattern, isn't it pretty?. Sorry, the colours aren't true in either picture, have to rely on my mobile till I get batteries for the camera.