Knitterly Woes (& Some Joy)

I finished the Snapdragon Tam this week and am generally pleased with the result. I was terrified I would run out of yarn (I had 2g leftover after leaving out one row and sending prayers to the knitting gnomes) and one of the as-written-in-pattern cables irritates me, but overall I like the end result. It is very pretty and very knitterly. But most of my knitting energy is focused on finishing a shawl (ravlink) I am making for a friend. I have been torn on whether or not I should write about the pattern here, because, well, the pattern is very poorly put-together.

As written the actual pattern makes no sense:  the pattern tells you to repeat rows 1-37? No. You need to repeat rows 23-37, except you finish on row 34 before starting edge chart (and do not do a double-YO on row 33 but use a single-YO), but do not start on row 1 of this chart but on row 5 despite what the pattern tells you. See what I mean? The shawl would actually be a very easy knit if instructions had been correct and the charts properly set-up. Instead I have trawled online fora trying to find errata - unsurprisingly several people have posted errata - with added frustration as the designer can be seen throwing attitude into the mix ("Re-writing, re-charting, and/or any other adaptations (..) will not be allowed" is one of the mild instances). Also, an updated version of the pattern including the errata would be a nice touch.

I am about to start the edging (using one of those contraband re-written charts) but I shan't be knitting this pattern again nor will I be seeking out any of the designer's other pattern - particularly not the pay-pattens she has begun releasing. If you were planning on knitting this shawl, maybe you would be better off knitting Tree of Light which is, ahem, quite similar. I'd call this a cautionary tale of how online behaviour might affect a small business because I am very sure I am not the first nor will be the last knitter to be put off.

I'm currently trying match a stashed yarn to a possible cardigan pattern. I had plans to make Peace or Carrie from the new Kim Hargreaves book, but the book is yet to arrive in Glasgow (and I have good reasons for not buying it online). So, a contingency cardigan is being planned .. let us see if I can decide on one, let alone knit one, before I start the KH cardigan.

Linkage

A few links to tide things over:

• A few weeks ago a perceptive blogger wrote about volcanic activity in Iceland. Seeing as Northern Europe's airports are more-or-less shutdown due to a massive cloud of volcanic ash coming from Iceland, you might find it an interesting background read. Also: Katla, another Icelandic volcano, could well be about to get ready to rumble.
• Speaking of Eyjafjallajökull, have you seen this fantastic photo taken by a local farmer?
• And this is how to pronounce Eyjafjallajökull (links to sound). Not what I expected.
• Pictish writing?! The idea sounds ludicrous. Language Log explains.
• Best places to eat in Glasgow for the budget-conscious? The Guardian has a few ideas.. and handily includes a photo of the 78 (one of my favourite hang-outs) plus the opening paragraph explains why I love my new home.
• If you love fashion history or even costume history, chances are you will have heard of Prinny - King George the IV - a man so fond of bling that he built entire bling buildings where he could wear fabulous clothes with his bling and eat outlandish food. Glass of Fashion has been to see an exhibition of some of Prinny's outfits.
• Literary T-shirts. The double-think t-shirt is pretty cool. Others leave me wanting.
• Douglas Coupland has teamed up with Penguin Books for their 75th anniversary. Speaking to the Past is seriously gorgeous stuff with typical Coupland 'little ironies'. One for the bookmarks.
• Finally, Auntie Beeb asks why we need oil painters in a war zone.

Rufus Wainwright last night was very good, but I had certain reservations. More on that later - I also have a finished object to share and some thoughts about a certain free-for-all pattern.

In My Arms

I'm off to see this guy in less than two hours' time. It'll be my fourth concert .. do I hear somebody shouting You Fangirl!!!!? Well, yes.

ETA: And here's a very topical song too..

Basic Tutorial: Dyeing Yarn with Cake Paste Dye

There are various methods you can use to dye your own yarn or project. You can handpaint hanks of yarn, microwave your dyeing project or use a big stove top pot. For actual hanks of yarn, I prefer the stove top method, but if I am dyeing actual projects, I use my oven. My Modus Operanti for (over)dyeing shawls:

I use the basic methods outlined in the links above, but opt for a cake icing dye paste which I bought in a local cake decorating shop. The paste is so concentrated that I need to use only a small amount to dye an entire shawl, thus making it a more economical choice than, say, Kool-Aid (at least if you are in the UK) or commercial food dyes available in your local supermarket. The icing paste also comes in a gazillion colours and you can mix/match to your heart's delight.

For my Echo Flowers Shawl I used half a teaspoon of paste which I dissolved with boiling water and I added citric acid as a mordant. Most dyers use vinegar as it is easier to obtain, but I happened to have some leftover citric acid from some lemonade making. The rest of the dyeing process was straight-forward and I am still very happy with the result.

Completely unrelated: how amused am I to try my hand at Quizlet and getting a B- (75%) score on my Danish language skills? I guess that is what I get for spelling words correctly instead of imitating the quiz master's spelling mistakes. Lumosity is a much better way of wasting time online in an educating and self-improving manner.

And headcold has turned into a real cold. I apologise in advance to anyone meeting me off-line in the next few days. I look and sound like I'm on the edge of death.

The Treasury Project & Thank-Yous

Maybe I am just too geeky for words, but I recently found a very awesome knitting resource: The Walker Treasury Project.

Every knitter knows that Barbara Walker’s Treasuries are indispensable. We use them constantly for designing, for help with a difficult pattern, and for pure inspiration. Sometimes, though, the mostly black-and-white and small pictures keep us from seeing the full potential of a pattern. That’s where the Walker Treasury Project comes in.

We are gathering high-quality, color photos of all the patterns in all the Treasury books (including Mosaic Knitting) and putting them on the internet as a visual aide to this wonderful collection. Help your fellow knitters by choosing a pattern from a particular book, working up a nice big swatch in a light-colored yarn, and posting it to our blog. We can help you label and categorize everything. Also, keep in mind that we’re not posting the pattern, just the picture!

I do not own any of the Treasuries (although I plan on buying them once that big lottery win becomes reality. Hmm, maybe I should start by actually entering..) but I find the entries absorbing. Imagine this lace pattern forming the main part of a stole, this twisted-stitch pattern cries out to be used on socks or maybe sleeves, and this cable-swatch is just beautiful. I could, and I have, spend hours looking through the pictures.

Thank you to everyone who left me a blog comment, a Rav message or even a Facebook thumbs up for my Echo Flowers Shawl. I am currently struggling with a head-cold (damn sinuses) and am not much online, so I'm sorry if I have not gotten back to you. I really appreciate all the kind words and I promise to write a quick introduction to how I overdye/dye those shawls of mine once I get back to my usual self. Dyeing is not difficult and the end results are lovely. Thank you once again.

Finally, I have cast on a secret birthday project. In fact, it is so secret that you can find it on my Ravelry project page (ha!). It is working up so quickly that I have spent a few hours this weekend poring over my next project. Famous last words..

FO: Echo Flowers Shawl

I began blocking my Echo Flowers shawl last night and when I had pinned it out, I looked down and felt a strange punch to the gut. Had I really made that? As it turns out, yes, I have made this and it feels so bewildering to me. This shawl is so incredibly beautiful and so intricate - and it is all my doing. Knitters are their own worst critics, I think. We all shrug and laugh when others compliment us. This little thing? Oh, I just followed a pattern... but we need to give ourselves more credit. We do not just follow a pattern. We interpret and decipher patterns written in often quite technical terms. We choose yarns, colours and textures. Yes, sometimes us 'just following a pattern' leaves us feeling unhappy with the end product, but I think we need to take more credit than we often allow ourselves.

And so with this shawl, I am so very happy to say yes, I made this.

I started knitting this back in November but it went into hibernation due to Christmas knitting and other, more pressing, knitting projects. I pulled it out about a week ago and finished knitting the edging. It was actually a relatively easy knit - just one motif you keep repeating until you decide to start the edging - but I say that with a couple of Estonian-stitch shawls behind me.

I used Fyberspates Nef Lace and I must admit I did not like it. It felt quite synthetic compared to Malabrigo and Old Maiden Aunt merino/silk, and I really did not like the variegated colours. And so I decided to overdye it using cake paste dye (as you do). The yarn did block out beautifully and the colour is super-intense.

I'm very, very, very happy with the end result. I bet you can tell.

The pattern is free (PDF) and while I was using a cobweb yarn, I have seen some lovely versions using as heavy a yarn as double knitting. If I were to make this again - okay, I absolutely will - I'd try a fingering weight just to add a bit of weight to the fabric. And use a semi-solid or a solid colour.

As of right now, all I have on my needles is a Snapdragon Tam which is one-third done. I feel another shawl coming on..