Make do and mend

In the event my epic train journey this afternoon went remarkably smoothly and was extremely pleasant with minute-perfect connections and bizarrely quiet trains and buses all the way to Banbury.

I finished the all-in-one portion of the knitting on the Katharine vest somewhere between Wolverhampton and Leamington Spa and had finished the left front by the time the bus pulled up at Oxford station.



It's looking a tad on the small size (as in child-size) but I am keeping faith with the pattern and hoping that aggressive blocking will bump it up to the correct proportions.

I've spotted (I think) one further erratum in the pattern concerning the stitch count after the armhole decreases for the back which I don't think was reported on Ravelry so I'll have to check that out later.

I've recently been using my trusty knitting bag (a Christmas pressie two years ago) as a holder for my current project (rather than as a receptable for an assortment of odd needles and half balls of yarn) and have realised that it really is time that it had a new lining. Not least because the torn plastic of the old one had a very irritating habit of scratching the backs of my hands every time I tried to reach something out of it.

BEFORE:



Yeugh!

AFTER:



Yum!

The main lining fabric is some strong polycotton that I used to make muslins for skirts in the summer. The strip of edging at the top is the snail and peapod fabric bought over a year ago at the Festival of Quilts for Laurie's crib quilt. It's both functional and decorative as I only realised after cutting, sewing, and hemming all the main lining pieces that the sides of the bag were about an inch taller than the ends and so had to improvise something to make the sides a bit bigger - oops!

I made up the lining in its entirety on the sewing machine and then hand stitched it in place to the binding, hems, and zip (anywhere where a stitch could get purchase) of the outer bag.

The added bonus, aside from now having a lovely soft bag lining in which I won't keep losing needles and notions, is that I was able to lose the old electronic security tag which kept setting off the door alarms in Borders and Boots whenever I took it in there.

Silver linings

The plus side of spending over ten hours - five hours due to unscheduled delays and disruptions on Friday evening and another five due to scheduled delays and disruptions on Sunday afternoon - on public transport over the weekend is that you get a lot of knitting done*. I'm now four lace repeats into the vest which was just a smidgen of a swatch when I dashed onto a Newcastle bound train at 17:21 on Friday, I might even have it done by the end of the week!

The pattern (which I mentioned briefly in my last post) is the Katharine vest by Eunny Jang from the Spring 2008 issue of Interweave Knits. Right now, when it's chilly, damp, and dark outside, is a great time to flick through spring designs and plan what I want to have knitted up** and ready to wear when the sun finally breaks through.



I really love little, short sleeved blouses for spring, summer, and autumn and this looks like it would be the perfect vest to match with them. I especially like the deep ribbed waistband which is nice and snug in contrast to the airy lace - I hate having a draughty midriff. In fact this top might even lengthen the stay of execution on my Gap jeans which do leave me feeling rather, well, gappy around the middle.



Other than the fact that I'm knitting mine in 100% Wensleydale Longwool whilst the original is in an 80%/20% cotton/merino blend I'm not planning to make any modifications. Really the pattern is so complicated, shaping + a lace pattern where not all the decreases and increases are on the same row, that I'm not sure I'd know where to start.

* In fact I even got a mini stitch'n'bitch session in with Ruth as we were both stranded at Oxford station waiting for trains to the north and west respectively.

** I'm also liking the (very fancy) Twisted Tulip socks, I think they may have been the reason I bought the mag in the first place, and Anne Hanson's Bleeding Hearts stole - just gorgeous.

5 things that make me happy

1) The new designs on UK coins. Do any other countries have coins that work like a jigsaw puzzle?

2) Leaving work at 4:30 to catch a train meaning that it will still be light (more or less) outside.

3) Starting work half an hour earlier than usual but working up to my usual lunchtime so that the afternoon is half an hour shorter.

4) Finding a pattern that will look good with some stash yarn that I had more or less given up on.

5) Bothering to swatch for said pattern, realising that there is a small error in the chart, and so looking up the errata before I start, rather than when I'm racking my brains for why the cap sleeves aren't quite working.

Happy weekend everyone!

For days when knitting takes too long

Having not (for various reasons including being dog tired and having my nose stuck in a book for much of the time) picked up a needle of any description between Friday lunchtime and early Sunday evening I felt in need of a quick craft hit at the end of the weekend. I wasn't really in the mood to knit on the very fine alpaca gloves so I got out the fabric, cutting board, rotary cutter, and sewing machine and had a crib sized quilt pieced up by the end of the Antiques Roadshow (perfect crafting viewing).





I used the same pattern for the quilt top as for Laurie's crib quilt which I made last year but I intend to make the quilting a bit more fancy. I'll be doing the quilting by hand which will be good practice for submitting a quilt for next year's Festival of Quilts (apparently I'm already too late for this year!).

Cabbage Patch quilt

The advantage of waiting at home for the Argos delivery men who are bringing a new chest of drawers is that I can take photos in what passes for daylight around this time of the year!



I finished the binding on this shortly after getting back from my Christmas break. Hand binding a quilt is a perfect job for the cold weather as you get to snuggle under it whilst you work. This is my first big quilt (just under single bed size) and the first one that I've machine quilted. I'm really pleased with the overall effect despite a few skipped stitches and small tangles on the back. I particularly love the dark green cabbage squares and border and the concentric octagons in the middle of the blocks.

The backing is a bright green gingham and the binding is (yet) more of the cabbage fabric.

Christmas knitting - redux

Epiphany is done and dusted (although the decorations will be staying around until the weekend) so it's a perfect time to crack on with the Christmas knitting. Alas this is not next year's Christmas knitting but rather the knitting of Christmas past come back to haunt me.



Although I made a bold start on my Mum's alpaca gloves (to match the scarf I crocheted for her birthday) with my beautiful new Knitpicks Harmony dpns (*hearts* these needles) on Christmas morning I got somewhat distracted by the need to knit socks for my brother-in-law and then, when they were finished, by the baby sweater which I cast on in the car on New Year's Eve out of the need to have something that I could knit in the dark on the way to and from Manchester. Gloves in 4-ply were far too fiddle and no knitting is simply not an option.

Back to the gloves, they are knit using a tubular cast on with a turned picot edge. I used 2.25mm needles to knit the rounds on the inside of the cuff and then changed to 2.5mm needles to knit the picot round and the rest of the glove. The finer gauge on the inside of the cuff helps it to lie flat rather than splaying out, one of my pet peeves.



As with most hand knitted gloves of my acquaintance it looks much better on than off.

With the first glove finished and the tubular cast on of the second one completed I've just got the cuff and thumb gusset to do, which should be straightforward, and the fingers and thumbs, which should be - well, there's a reason that people say "all fingers and thumbs". Fiddly is not the word!

(Not Quite) FO

It turns out that my announcement of the blue is for boys? baby sweater as an FO was a tad premature.



I pounced on Laurie for a quick fitting whilst she was watching In the Night Garden on Sunday morning and it turns out that the sleeves are too tight at the top and the neck gapes. I've fixed the sleeves by changing the pattern to mostly stocking stitch with just the cable down the top and I plan to take 8 stitches out of the neck. The size of babies' heads notwithstanding I reckon it can take it as at the moment as at the moment it fits over my head!



In other news, and primarily for the benefit of my parents who are probably wondering what it was they bought when they gave me a yarn winder and swift for Christmas, I've finally found the perfect set-up for my new toys.





You wouldn't think that the desk, what with the wide screen monitor, overhanging shelf, etc. was the ideal place for these but it's actually the only suitable surface in the flat as all the rest either have shelves which get in the way or bevelled edges or are just too wobbly! I think it should be fine so long as I don't get any skeins longer than two and a half metres. I've already wound off my skein of Mmmalabrigo sock yarn (which was a complete and tangled nightmare), and four skeins of my bfl handspun which went very smoothly. I plan to knit the finer skeins of that into another Mr Tweedy for myself as it's currently brrrr freezing around here.

Happy 2009!

I'm sure that there are lots of things that I could think of to aim to do in 2009 but here are just a few off the top of my head.

Put in enough training so that running the London marathon in a sub 4-hour time is a reasonable target.
Finish the Anya sweater.
Get a knitting pattern in an actual publication.
Design a full-size adult sweater.
Submit a quilt to the Festival of Quilts in August (not aiming to win anything, just for the fun of seeing it hung on a board).

My two and a bit weeks holiday in Bolton has just flown by. I've been fairly productive. I've finished three knitted items, designed two, and published one. I've been on 6 runs, gone walking in the lakes, attended three football matches, watched cows being milked, made two trifles, and even given the baby her bath all by myself (it's a slippery task).

FO - blue is for boys(?) baby sweater



Pattern: blue is for boys(?) by Liz Thompson (appearing soon on Ravelry)
Size: 12-18 months
Needles: 4mm and 4.5mm circs, 4.5mm dpns
Yarn: Rowan Pure Wool aran (2 balls)

Argh!

Bobbins! I've just realised that I never changed the "only you can see this photo" permission on the advent calendar image for December 24th.



As you can see, it's the traditional nativity scene, only knitted! I snapped this in John Lewis in Reading a few weeks ago and saved it specially for the 24th window *kicks self repeatedly*.

Still, it's not quite Epiphany yet so the two magi are still seasonal. Apologies to anyone who was disappointed on the 24th!

blue is for boys(?)

I had a pretty productive run today. Not only did I manage 6 miles in fairly good shape, I also finally decided what to do with the quilt fabric* I bought from the Quilt Room stand at the NEC back in August and that I wanted the baby sweater that I'm designing to have a round(ish) neck and square set-in sleeves.



This project represents my first toe in the water when it comes to designing a sweater in several different sizes (12-18 months, 18-24, and hopefully 2-3 years). Obviously this is no help to those of my friends who have (or are expecting) much younger baby boys** but unless the cables soften up considerably during washing I don't think it will be practical to knit this one any smaller. Of course I could always try a DK version for the baby sizes!

This one (as always) will be going to my niece, Laurie, who in return I hope will let me check the neck shaping on her tomorrow. It's all well and good consulting charts and making measurements but there's just no substitute for checking that the neckhole actually does fit over a real baby's head.

* I'm thinking either swimming pool or log cabin with little hand-stitched waves for the quilting.

** yes I know that can be read in an absurd way but I can't think of a way to rephrase it without the ambiguity.

Mountains, Gandalf!

I've been having a serious craving for mountains ever since Felix told me about her planned walking holiday in Scotland and lovely as mine and Mum's Christmas day walk around Entwistle was it didn't come close to ticking the box. I therefore persuaded my parents to drive up to south lakeland on the Saturday after Christmas. We went for a lovely walk near Rydal Water and Grasmere that had just about everything.

Lakes ...



Views of mountains ...



Little rivers ...



and an excellent cave, the sort that might have almost anything lurking in it (wargs, orcs, trolls, giant spiders) ...



Enough to satisfy the most demanding hobbit.

It was a beautiful morning, very clear, very crisp, very cold. I enjoyed listening to all the different sounds my footsteps made: the crack of ice, the crunch of frozen mud, the whisper of frozen leaves, and the creak and groan of the ice swollen ground. There were some amazing ice formations.

Hoar frost like angel-hair pasta.



Ice-bubbles in the puddles.



Ice-crystals on a gate-post.




After the walk we had lunch at the Low Sizergh Farm tea room near Kendal. The tea room overlooks the milking parlour so if you arrive at the right time (as we did) you can watch the organic cows being milked whilst you eat, either through the big window or on cow cam!

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me ...

... some decent light for photography. And on the sixth day I even got some time to blog about the stuff that I photographed.

I got such a lovely surprise when I opened my parcel from Felix.



I love the little birdie buttons ...



... and wool fat soap happens to be one of my favourite things. So much so that I bought I whole load more of the stuff to store up for knitterly gifts when I saw it in the Low Sizergh Farm shop last Saturday. If you know me and you like sheep you can be fairly sure that you'll be getting some of this over the coming year.

Other highlights among my Christmas presents included Mmmmalabrigo sock yarn and a set of Knitpicks Harmony dpns from Socktopus (along with the customary complimentary sachet of Eucalan)





The Harmonies are a delight to knit with, I just love watching the sharp little points dig into the stitches. I've already knit half a glove and one and two-thirds socks with them since I unwrapped them. Unfortunately, despite being really really careful about putting the needles back in their little case when not using them, I've already managed to lose one of the 2.75mm needles when I dropped it into the innards of my mum's friend's car on the way to Manchester last night. However, since the set includes six of each needle size this hardly qualifies as a disaster and I'm trying hard (although not entirely successfully) not to dwell on it.

My haul of goodies also included Free Range Knitter by Stephanie Pearl McPhee and It Itches by Franklin Habit, both available for borrowing, should you wish, as soon as I am back in Oxford. I also added another practical knitting book to my library today. I went into Waterstones to spend a Christmas gift card and didn't think that I'd be buying a knitting book given that they had a miserly three shelves devoted to craft (although to be fair it is a small store) however, I spotted a copy of Design Your Own Knits in Five Easy Steps by Debbie Abrahams. The main selling points for me were the comprehensive sizing charts for men, women, children, and babies (no more scouting through pattern books to work out the circumference of a 18 month old's neck) and the detailed instructions for designing and knitting various types of sweater (raglan, saddle shouldered, set-in sleeves, etc.). I'll try to write a review in a couple of weeks or so once I've put it to use.

On the knitting front I've been working on a pair of gloves for my Mum in Artesano Alpaca 4 ply to match the scarf I gave her for her birthday (this was the present not finished, or indeed started, in time for Christmas) and a pair of man Monkeys for Jon, my brother-in-law in navy blue Rowan 4 ply soft.



There are just one and a bit repeats to go before the toe on the second sock so they're a bit further along than the gloves, which are missing one hand, two thumbs, and seven and a half fingers.



I thought of writing up the pattern for the gloves but as they're really knit to fit my Mum like, well, a glove I'm not sure that they'd fit too many other people. So long as I remember enough of the details to knit the second one that'll be just fine.

Mr Tweedy

Yet more of the Christmas knitting can now be unveiled although truth be told I was knitting this pretty openly in the two days before Christmas. It was either that or wrap up an unfinished hat*!

In the run-up to Christmas I couldn't find a hat pattern to knit for my Dad that fit all the criteria (to fit a man, heavy dk, dead quick, dead easy) so I improvised this and then wrote up the pattern. I've named it Mr Tweedy (after the beleaguered chicken farmer in Chicken Run) mainly because it's a bloke's hat knit from Rowan Scottish Tweed (I have got to come up with better stories for how I come up with the pattern names).

I used mistake rib as it's very forgiving size-wise due to its stretchiness, not to mention very cosy.

FO - Mr Tweedy



Pattern: Mr Tweedy (available as a free Ravelry download)
Size: adult male
Yarn: Rowan Scottish Tweed DK; colour: Lewis Grey; 2 balls
Needles: 4mm circs (60 cm using magic loop)

Dad very kindly agreed to model this for the pattern photos during our lovely walk in the Lakes today (more of which later) after I pointed out that all he had to do was change his hat and look at the ducks.

* or be completely anti-social in the run-up to the big day which is kind of missing the point.

O Christmas tree(s)!

Merry Christmas to you all - I hope you had a lovely day whatever you were doing!

Our own Christmas day followed a well-worn pattern, breakfast followed by presents (yay!) and a visit to our old next-door neighbours after which Mum and I took a walk around a nearby reservoir whilst Dad cracked on with the tea and my brother fell asleep on the sofa.

We had a lovely walk which was considerably enlivened by numerous sightings of that rare beast, the wild Christmas tree. Of course most people are familiar with the domesticated Christmas tree which can be found in many a living room, shopping centre, or hotel lobby at this time of year but the wild tree is less common and altogether harder to track down (although once you have found their territory they're fairly easy to spot due to their shining baubles and spangly tinsel!).



People have been decorating trees around Entwistle Reservoir for the last few years but it's really taken off this year. Two years ago, when Mum and I were last there on Christmas day, there were half a dozen or so, mainly memorial trees "to Nan" or "to Dad". This year (judging by the number of photos and I didn't get them all) there were around 40, and although some were memorials, others were decorated for the people who walk around the reservoir. It's a lovely new tradition and long may it continue.

'Twas the night before Christmas...

...and I'm a knitted item short. However, as I'm under a strict injunction that I am not to stay up crafting until the early morning in a mad rush to finish Christmas gifts the intended recipient will be receiving their (extremely nice) bought gifts* and an I.O.U.

In the new year I will be making resolutions to exercise more, eat less (or at least better), and start my Christmas knitting in September.



* I always have back-up

Block party in my airing cupboard

I celebrated finishing my brother's Christmas present (Ravelled here) by holding a little blocking party in my airing cupboard.



Pictured are Laurie's toasty topper and baby James' Owl vest. Ste's present was also hanging out in there but was a bit camera shy. I'm now halfway(ish) through the next present which means there are one and a half to knit before zero hour. Still I mean to get up early tomorrow for an hour of Dorothy L. Sayers on the Alibi channel (the channel designed expressly for me) so here's hoping.

Recession, what recession?

In an act of seasonal foolhardiness Mum and I ventured out to the Trafford Centre this lunchtime so that I could complete the last remnants of my Christmas shopping. Luckily we are privy to the best kept secret in the north-west, how to get into the Trafford Centre 3 days before Christmas without queueing*, so getting in and finding a space was easy. Alack, we were so excited at spotting a space at the end of the carpark nearest to John Lewis (always an important consideration) that we didn't think that parking near the exit would be a sound move - it took us 40 minutes just to get out of the carpark. The centre itself was packed and the queues in some of the stores were immense. If this is what it's like in a downturn I'd hate to see it when the economy's booming! Of course a lot of the frenzy was caused by the 30 and 40% sales that had already started in a lot of the stores. Anyway, I managed to pick up gifts for my brother, dad, sister, and brother-in-law and even a little something for myself.



I'll be casting on in this for a pair of Woodsmoke socks as soon as all the Christmas knitting is done. Just, can't, wait!



* no, of course I'm not going to publish it here. If any of you really want to know I'll tell you in person after Christmas!

Kee-eep knitting!

Christmas for me always kicks off with the Halle Carol concert at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. Quite apart from anything else it's an absolute treat to watch James Burton conduct. We always sit in seats to one side of the auditorium, level with the orchestra, so we can watch the interaction between the conductor, the orchestra and the choirs. There's a hugely fun element to the Halle carol concert. The orchestra and choirs all wear festive headgear which is turned up a notch for the second half and audience interaction (e.g. jingling of keys and clapping in time with the whip cracks during Leroy Anderson's Sleigh Ride). Unfortunately the ride there and back, squashed into the back of a Skoda Fabia (which really does not hold five people), was less enjoyable. There wasn't even enough elbow room for knitting in the round! This means that I'm at least an hour behind on Ste's present and I've not even started knitting yet for Mum and Dad. With only three knitting days until the big day it's looking pretty damn tight I can tell you.

Home for the holidays

Last day at work today and boy am I ready for a break. As soon as it hit 12:30 I saved the half-finished email I was writing, put on the out-of-office assistant and headed for the Christmas lunch in the canteen. It was a very jolly meal and I snagged a great present in the secret santa lucky dip, The Corpse Bride on DVD. Sadly I don't know whether or not the recipient of my gift, The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling, was chuffed as she turned out to be one of those hardcore people that won't open even their secret santa gift until Christmas day!

The train journey up north wasn't too bad. I caught an earlier train than planned to make up for the expected delays in Cheshire caused by some idiot who didn't put the handbrake on properly on his 4x4 yesterday or, as the ticket inspector put it, "dropped a car on one of our trains". The first half of the journey was fairly lively - the lad sat opposite me was watching The Running Man (that 1987 Schwarzenegger classic) with one of his friends without headphones. Sadly I couldn't see the screen but I could hear the audio track. I was amazed at how much of the plot I remembered given that I saw the film once about 17 years ago (what were my parents thinking letting me watch that at such a tender age?) - it must have made a very deep impression. A quick look at Wikipedia informs me that the film (which involves convicted criminals fighting for their lives on live TV) is set in 2019 - well it does look as though reality TV will be headed that way by then.

No bloggable knitting today although I got tons done on the train. It's amazing how much you can get done when you're just knitting round and round (and round and round).

Everything but the kitchen sink

I'm just taking a quick break from finishing up my Christmas yarn packing* which is much more complicated than my Christmas clothes packing - yarn - check, needles - check, notions - check, patterns - check, emergency yarn - check, fibre - check, drop spindle - check. I'm going to be away for 17 days which is a very long time in knitting.

First into the knitting bag are the presents to be knit and the presents in progress. I picked up yarn for something for my Dad and for my brother in John Lewis in Reading on the way to see Felix at Sticks 'n' String on Tuesday night. I had planned to also get two skeins of Noro Silk Garden to make one of those striped scarves for my brother-in-law but it looked like everyone had the same idea first as there were no manly contrast colourways left in stock. Luckily I have a fallback position (see * below).

I'm well into my brother's pressie. It's not beyond the bounds of possibility that he'll read this so I'm not going to post about it but you can find the details here on Ravelry. It's the first thing I've ever knit for Ste so I really hope he likes it (no pressure, bro).

Whilst in John Lewis I not only found the picture for Door number 17 of the Advent Calendar but also the perfect final picture for Door number 24. No sneak preview though - you'll have to wait until Christmas eve.



* actually I'm meant to be checking hat patterns on Ravelry so that I know what size needles to take with me. Hang about, isn't Ravelry meant to be the thing that distracts you from that other stuff you're meant to be doing?