Hello, it's Me Again
I have had the strangest weekend ever. Okay, maybe not ever ever, but it was strange. We went up to Aberdeenshire and strangeness ensured. I'm home now, thank heavens. My partner, Dave, is away at Dr. Sketchy's and it's quiet here. I have ripe plums waiting for me and I am enjoying having bare feet. It's the small things, you see.
Two things, though, before a brief spiel about another Finished Object (pictured left):
1) Yes, I speak excellent English. This is not the result of me having met David and lived in Scotland for a few years. You do not need to compliment me on how fast I've picked up English. And do take note when I talk about having lived in the UK on and off since the mid-90s and having a degree in English. This means I'm not an illiterate foreigner who moved here because Scotland is flowing with milk and honey. Yes, really, I get that my English is surprisingly good for a non-native speaker. I KNOW THIS. I DO NOT NEED YOU TO KEEP TELLING ME.
(wow, that felt good)
2) We travelled from Aberdeen to Glasgow on a bus filled with tipsy Aberdonian mums-off-the-leash going to see Take That in concert at Glasgow's Hampden Park. That was slightly .. unsettling. I tried to doze to shut out the painful conversations behind me, but to no avail.
Finished object, then.
I was making a cardigan out of two different colourways of Kauni yarn. The idea was to make a crocheted top-down yoked cardigan (these words make sense if you are a knitter or crocheter, believe me). I finished the main bit of the cardigan, crocheted buttonbands and .. it looked frumpy. No, it looked more than just frumpy: it looked like something taken from What the Hell Is This? modelled by Monica Lewinsky. So, scissors came out and fiddled around with the fabric until it dawned on me that I was holding a rather cool top. I just needed to crochet it together and leave enough room for my big head to pop through.
Thus the Kauni top (also known as Sun Ray) came into existence. I'm rather fond of it as it warms my always-cold backside whilst leaving my arms free to do whatever my arms do. I am already planning a few more - possibly in Kauni, but definitely crocheted in the round. The photo is rather arty and doesn't show the top well, but I was having an awkward photo day and this one is at least semi-presentable.
Next: another crazily busy week interspersed with knitting and hopefully some relaxation. Ha.
Home: Refugee Week 2009
What does home mean to you? When I left Denmark in 2006, I spent the last few weeks living out of my suitcase and sleeping on friends' floors. I liked this sort of transitory existence because I knew I was moving from my old home in Copenhagen to a new home in Glasgow. What I did not know was that this transitory existence would continue for almost a year.
I moved to Glasgow with a suitcase. Twenty-four boxes and a chair followed quickly. I slept in a proper bed and I had a wardrobe for my clothes, but the place never felt like home. My keys did not work, my books were all in boxes and my name was not on the door. This is when I learned how important Home is.
If you do not have a home, you will not feel like you belong. If you do not have a home, you will not feel like you have rights. If you do not have a home, you do not feel safe. If you do not have a home, you will not feel whole.
We moved, of course, and I have a home now. We have bookcases (and need more, quite frankly), unwashed coffee mugs, internet connection, window sills with an ever-growing collection of clay pipes, a cupboard of yarn, and a view of green treetops. I have we because home is not home without David.
Moving to Glasgow exhausted me, mentally and physically, and mine was a voluntary move - I cannot begin to imagine what an involuntary move somewhere (caused by war, famine or persecution) would do to a human being.
(Thank you, Katherine, for alerting me to Refugee Week Scotland)
Worldwide Knit In Public Day, Glasgow Edition
A big thank you to everybody who showed up for the Worldwide Knitting in Public Day in Glasgow.
We had a lovely picnic at the Kelvingrove rockery (you can even see Lord Kelvin in the background looking at us - we thought about knitting him a beanie). It turned out to be so much fun that we are thinking about having another knitters' picnic later this summer. It was great to see so many people from various knitting groups and places (New York! New York!!).
Thank you to everyone who brought cake, fruit, homebaked bread and sunscreen. A special thank you to the amazing Jen who had devised a knitting game with fabulous prizes (handspun yarn! spinning fibre! dyeing kit! handdyed yarn!).
And now to apply copious amounts of aftersun lotion..
FO: Laminaria
"See," Personal Photographer said, "you totally look like Naomi Watts". It's not that I don't appreciate the sentiment; it's more that I think Personal Photographer might need glasses. Or maybe he just thinks that my red Laminaria is glam and I agree with him on that. I'm not tiny, blonde or Australian - but I am feeling very glam when I wear my shawl.
Lamniaria, oh, Laminaria. Where to begin?
I had no problems with the pattern: it was extremely well-written, the charts were crystal-clear and the designer has made some very helpful Ravelry notes regarding yardage. In fact, I zipped through most of the charts without a hitch (even the much-fabled Transition chart - you just need to count your increases). If only all patterns could be as well-written as this.
My main concern was the 1-ply kidmohair/merino yarn I was using. It had fallen apart on me during the first chart - literally, fell apart rather than snapped - and I was anxious that it might fall apart again or break during blocking. As KV suggested, I knit a test swatch and blocked it before blocking the shawl itself. Surprisingly the yarn really came into its own during blocking and I had no qualms about subjecting the shawl to some pin action.
I will knit this shawl again - possibly in some Old Maiden Aunt merino/silk I have in my stash.
More photos at the Ravelry project page (and I do not look like Naomi Watts in any of those either).
Cast-On Frenzy
Laminaria is done. Tomorrow we are heading out for a proper photo shoot, my Personal Photographer and I, so this little sneak peak will have to suffice for now. As you can see, the shawl survived the blocking.
When I finished the shawl I cast way more projects than I usually have on the needles at any one time. Perhaps it was because I had been so focused on Laminaria - monogamous knitting and all; perhaps it was because I wanted to do so much things all at once; perhaps my head's just full of ideas and I needed an outlet?
Don't snicker at back, please, but I have cast on for another Ishbel shawlette. I know, I know.. I didn't like knitting it first time around, and I've even cast on in Kidsilk Haze in a really, really drab grey-brown colour. My best explanation is that I wanted something completely different from Laminaria. Something to cleanse my palette.
I've cast on for the Topstykke tunic which I bought as a kit in Denmark. It's a top-down tunic with puff-sleeves, an interesting decorative feature on the front .. and it's knitted in light fingering wool on 3.5mm (US size 5) needles. So far I'm struggling to get my knitting brain to read Danish (my native language too!). I'm predicting this'll be a long-term knitting project that I'll knit when I'm watching TV or the like. Did I mention that the light-fingering wool is .. grey?
Third project, then. It is the most immediately interesting project of the three. It is a crocheted top-down cardigan made from two different colourways of Kauni 8/2. Yes, stripes! Inspiration comes from a Danish blogger, Liselotte Weller, who made a stripey top-down crocheted cardigan in Kauni - but I'm not exactly following her sketchy pattern. I have a very, very relaxed attitude towards crochet (it used to be my craft of choice for years) and I'm pretty much making it up as I go along. Crochet is so very forgiving.
Finally, some months ago I made up a crochet pattern for a cowl. I've been asked for the pattern and thankfully I made a few notes. I have a test crocheter all ready to get going, so watch this space.