Pattern-Lust Unveiled

Let's talk knitting. Having just finished a quick Christmas knit for my Other Half's aunt, I am now working on the Lush and Lacy cardigan in a soft wool/alpaca blend. It is an interesting knit insofar as something is constantly happening - an interesting lace pattern, some reverse stocking stitch or some garter stitch - but I keep wondering if I will ever wear anything this overtly feminine. I am also slightly frustrated by the pattern instructions which are not as well-written or clear as they could be. I think it is a case of the author knowing exactly what she means but not having had other knitters read through it before putting the pattern up for sale. I have not had any major problems but I must admit to a tiny bit of frustration when I have to rip back ten rows because I missed that throwaway subordinate clause at the very bottom of the page.

What's next? Well, there are a lot of new patterns out there and quite a few have caught my eyes.

The new winter Knitty has just been unveiled with a fantastic selection of patterns (it is possibly my favourite issue thus far). Amelia is classy and very wearable (perfect for my Noro Cash Iroha in a heady rich purple which I scored at 75% off earlier this year). Norah Gaughan is a fecking genius and her Surface pushes all the right buttons for me. It has a vintage feel whilst being very current - and I have a thing for interesting collars, anyhow. Yarn? No idea. Finally, my three-year-old nephew would just love a fish hat, wouldn't he?

I'm dithering between liking the new Interweave Knits and .. not. I think Elaine's Blouse is frigging gorgeous. Funnily enough I just happen to have some peacock blue/teal tweed which I've been wanting to use in an unconventional way. A perfect union. I am also going to knit the Climbing Vines pullover, but I will need to a) lengthen it and b) make it more fitted. It would look beautiful in a deep claret red, wouldn't it? The rest of the patterns in this IK issue underwhelm me, however. They are slightly too nondescript or too frumpy for my taste (although it could be the styling). There's a fab article on Faroese knitting, though, which caught my attention (I'm one-quarter Faroese).

Another recent pattern which I absolutely love: the Hippocampus mittens. They look complicated, but they are really not. It'd be a good way to get myself back into colourwork and I think they are gawjuss.

And.. I have saved this pattern for last because I am head over heels in love with it to the extent I have to keep looking at it.

May I present to you: Flyte?

It's perfect. All interwar-period perfect in tweed and subtle colours that ask you in an Oxbridge-Countryhouse voice if you would like some Five O'Clock tea. The designer cites Brideshead Revisited as an obvious inspiration: Flyte is actually the surname of the two siblings, Sebastian and Cordelia, with whom the narrator gets entangled (Go read the book - its first part always makes me ache in all the right ways). I tell you: that top shall be mine once I figure out how to justify buying nine balls of Rowan Felted Tweed.

Having swooned over several patterns, now would be the time to mention that I have signed up for a "12 projects in 12 months" challenge (which should be entirely feasible), that several friends have either just given birth or will give birth within the next six months and that yesterday I was approached by a craft boutique who enquired about me possibly designing some pieces of children's knitwear(!?) for them. One thing is certain, though: Flyte and I will meet. Mark my words.

A Bit About Yarn

I wonder what my favourite colour is..? I have been spending the past few evenings winding up a lot of yarn from hanks into these cakes you see. It's both totally gratifying and hard work. Gratifying because I get to rummage around my stash, see all the gorgeous yarns I own, daydream about future projects and fondle the fibres as I wind them up using the swift and ball winder that socherry let me borrow (thank you! thank you!).

Hard work? Well, my right wrist is sore thanks to all the laceweight yarn I am winding. Believe me, 1300 yards of any yarn will make even the strongest wrist a bit sore. I must admit I'm cursing my thriftiness: "Ooh, laceweight yarn is cheaper by the yard and will totally last longer than bulky yarn, so I'm going to buy that laceweight, yes!!" - of course by "thriftiness" I mean a completely patchy sense of thriftiness that mysteriously allows me to buy more yarn.

People (who shall remain nameless, but I live with them) claim that my knitting groups have a "cultish" air to them. I would like to refute that by directing everybody's attention to The Advanced Bonewits’ Cult Danger Evaluation Frame which examines how likely it is that a given group is a cult. I'll just go through a few of the questions.

"Lack of clearly defined organizational rights for members"? Certainly not. Anything mildly important is decided via polling and discussion. Anything mildly unimportant is also resolved thusly.

"Amount of infallibility declared or implied about decisions or doctrinal/scriptural interpretations [by leaders]"? As accomplished some of these knitters are, even they have to frog rows and picked dropped stitches. Sorry.

"Emphasis put on attracting new members" ? Okay, I'll give you that. We like new victims.

"Advancement or preferential treatment dependent upon sexual activity with the leader(s)"? Sadly, we get our kicks from fondling yarn, not each other.

Cult claim refuted, I believe.

Anyhow, I'm off back to bed with my almost-flu/cold. Thank you, Paula, for your professional medical advice. I might just survive (although I'm not sure Other Half will).

Buttons and Books

These are my Buttony Mitts. I test-knitted them for Lilith of Old Maiden Aunt. Basically, she asked me one day if I wanted free handpainted yarn and I replied with my best teenage "dooooh" face. The yarn is gorgeous. It is a soft alpaca-merino-bamboo blend and is handpainted in shades of forest green, khaki and pine. It knits to aran-weight but Lilith had decided to use a 4mm needle to create a warm, durable fabric. It worked a treat. The pattern itself was well-written and taught me how to make paired increases. If not for other commitments I could have finished the mitts in the course of two evenings (I love instant gratification projects).

Lilith is planning to make Buttony Mitt kits available on her site, so keep an eye out for those.

Other commitments? Among other things I went to Edinburgh on Friday night for a panel on the future of the book at The Scottish Book Trust. I was pleasantly surprised to see a relatively large turnout (fifty people or so! on a Friday night! in November!) and was even more pleasantly surprised by the panellists who all had interesting points to make. I was particularly impressed by Donald Smith (of the Scottish Storytelling Centre) who knew his book history and made good points about the book (codex) as a material object. The panel ran out of time, so the Q&A session was cut short, but I managed to raise a point about the socio-economic implications of digitalising books which was well-received. I suppose "you had to be there", but I really enjoyed myself.

As an aside, I was cornered by an American who wanted to know what I had bought my cardigan. Score!

PS. I trust the permalinks are working for people now. If not, let me know.

Loot!

We went to the 3D/2D Craft Fair today. Having recently visited survived the Crafts For Scotland/Hobbycrafts, I was wary of visiting today's fair but came away quite impressed. Not only does this craft fair have superior quality control, they are also far more diverse whilst remaining local. Unlike Hobbycrafts you don't have navigate around bowls filled with glitters or squeeze through packs of people fighting over grossly overpriced novelty yarn. I greatly appreciate that. Anyway, excuse my crap photos.

I like owls a great deal - both because of their association with Athena (the Greek goddess of wisdom and knowledge) and the far more contemporary piece of pop culture that is "Twin Peaks". The owls are not what they seem, you know. So I spotted this pin and loved it on sight.

Sadly I didn't get the vendor's details. He had some ace ceramic flying ducks with rather wonderfully quirky expressions.

My loot also bears testament to my continuing button obsession: these are handmade by Pat Longmuir of 'Paraphernalia' who does commissions too.

I recently bought some über-lovely Berocco Ultra Alpaca in the "Moonshadow" shade. I once said that I wasn't overly concerned with yarn I couldn't buy in this country because I'd always be able to find suitable substitutions. I was clearly wrong because I'm now deeply in love with the Ultra Alpaca and the only substitution I can find is twice the price for yard yardage - and in limited colourways too. Le sigh. Anyway. Pat's buttons might just be earmarked for that yarn..

PS. I'm doing NaBloPoMo in case you're wondering. That means the 'self-indulgent knitting plus random linkage' to 'brainy stuff, you know' ratio is going to be horribly skewed. Just warning you.

Post-Election Fatigue

Yesterday I knitted this hat whilst I was waiting for the election results to come in from the US. I was sewing on the flower when Obama was declared president elect. I have no idea what to do with the finished hat, though. I will probably never wear it. I have been binging on a certain type of elegant little British novels. I read two Nancy Mitfords recently - The Pursuit of Love and Love In A Cold Climate. I would call them comedies of manner except Mitford doesn't satirise her characters as much as she gently chides them. I'm currently reading Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day by Winifred Watson (borrowed with much gratitude from Lilith). It is less upper-class twittish than Mitford's novels, but it still features men with pencil moustaches and "Oh, darling!" exclamations.

As I'm beginning to say things like "Tea would be utterly divine, darling!" to my partner, perhaps it's time I start reading some Michel Houllebecq (although, to be fair, I really liked Atomised)? I would but .. a novel about "the lack of ideas and morale in contemporary (..) society" complete with "an overarching mood of gloom and fatalism" just doesn't seem the thing to revisit right this moment.

But what on earth shall I do with the damn election hat? Knit another one?

Red Redux

World, meet my red cardigan. It's a simple raglan cardigan with garter stitch ridges on the yoke and a stockinette stitch body. It's very warm (which is why I finished as quickly as I could because the temperature's dipping below zero every night) and the colour itself keeps me happy in the midst of gloomy November. It was knitted in New Lanark Aran (in 'Cherry'). The yarn is organic, locally milled and has a wonderful rustic feel to it. There is no denying that a cheerful sheepsie once flopsied about wearing a fleece which has now become a cardigan in which I shall cheerfully flopsy about the fair streets of Glasgow. As for the pattern: The math was cheerfully flopsi lifted from February Lady Sweater but otherwise it's all my own. And the verdict: I like having a red cardigan in my wardrobe and it's comfy, if not the most stylish or fashion-forward of knits. It's all good.

Next on my agenda? Christmas knitting looms, of course. First, though, I have promised Lilith of Old Maiden Aunt Yarns to test-knit a new pattern of hers and I get to try some of her luxury hand-painted yarn. Mwhahaha.

PS. I'm a bit tired of elderly gentlemen approaching me to say they haven't seen anyone knit for a very long time. Well, try making your way to Glasgow's West End on Tuesday nights - you won't be able to pass a street without tripping over a knitter. Seriously. Seriously.