World Where You Live

This week I cast on for my Harmony cardigan for the sixth time. Let me run down the other five attempts: 1) cast on during Doctor Who, 2) cast on during knitting group, 3) cast on long-tail and ended up out of yarn 13 stitches from end, 4) cast on wrong size, and 5) cast on with seriously wonky tension. Cast-on number 6 worked, thankfully. I have had to adjust the needle size, so I am now knitting a 4-ply cardigan on size 3mm  (US 2) needles. Wish me luck. One thing is certain: Rowan Fine Milk Cotton is a quality yarn. Remember, I used the same length of yarn to cast-on (and rip-out). While the actual yarn looks a bit crinkly, the knitted fabric looks as fresh as a daisy. Just look at the photograph and think of the abuse .. I knew that FMC would be a good yarn to work with - after all, it is a staple Rowan yarn - but I'm still impressed. I am now pondering other potential FMC summer knits (Geno from Rowan 43 and Arielle from Kim Hargreaves' Misty spring to mind), but let us see how the 4-ply on 3mm needles work out for me and my sanity..

Yes, my hand is better while I still cannot knit as much as I usually do. Actually, my hand is just peachy, but the arm gets pretty painful when I've worked/knitted/typed for a few hours. I try to rest it as much as possible, but I'm also notoriously bad at "just sitting around". I need to do something!

A few links for you:

• Your Life is An Open Book. If you have a Facebook profile, you might want to reconsider how you are using Facebook. You will definitely want to check your privacy settings, and I also recommend using the ReclaimYourPrivacy widget. As an expat I find Facebook incredibly useful for keeping in touch with overseas friends and family members, so I cannot bring myself to quit Facebook, but I have locked down my profile as much as I possibly can.
• This Cate Blanchett/Alexander McQueen outfit is the most stunning thing I have seen in a very, very long time.
• This DNA/RNA necklace is pretty nice too. And more attainable.

And the rest of the day will be spent on paperwork before I suddenly become eighteen years old once more and will be screaming/singing at the top of my lungs (YT link). You never really get over your first love, do you?

Fools Gold

Despite my fears, my hand is slowly getting better. I managed a bit of knitting yesterday before settling down to watch Worried About the Boy, a BBC2 drama about Boy George's pre-fame  life (warmly recommended, particularly if you liked Velvet Goldmine. WATB is not as heady nor anywhere as clever as VG, but it explores similar ground). Completely unrelated, I have decided that this track is going to be the soundtrack to my summer..

The rest of my day is going to be spent doing chores, seeing some friends and hopefully my hand will keep on getting better. Thanks for all the well-wishes!

A Big Dose of Grrrrr

Disaster has struck - or, rather, my own clumsiness has struck. Last night I walked from our kitchen into the living room, closed the door behind me, and somehow my left hand got entangled in the door-handle. The wrist sort-of twisted around the pinkie and .. well, it was not good. I iced the wrist/pinkie immediately and bandaged the area. I also made it through work today thanks to a heady combination of pain-killers, ice-packs and assorted swearing. Sadly knitting seems to be out of the question (I managed one row during my lunchtime and it did not feel good) and I'm now wearing my left arm in a sling.

This could not have happened at a worse time as the next fortnight will be very, very busy in terms of knitting, working and socialising (and even all three activities combined). I have a shawl with a looming deadline, a 4-ply cardigan I am exceedingly keen to get started within the next five days, and a ten-hour train journey which I had planned to pass with some knitting. Oh, and a concert with my favouritest band.

Poor timing, Karie, poor timing.

If the pain down my arm continues I will seek medical advice, but for now I'm all about painkillers, ice-packs, copious swearing and therapeutic sessions of Cursed Treasure. Wish me luck.

Everything You Made by Hand

Last night I sat up finishing this little girly thing - a corsage made in Rowan Kidsilk Haze and adorned by red beads. I first tried combining old vintage white buttons and red beads, but it did not look quite right. I did like the effect of the vintage buttons in the centre of the corsage and may well use the buttons when I make another corsage. The pattern I used came from Rowan Magazine 47 and I really liked how easy it came together.

I have a few other Rowan corsage patterns kicking about and will try them out too, but this pattern can be endlessly modified, adorned and, if made slightly bigger, be turned into a fascinator. Friends have begun talking about weddings, and I really fancy making my own fascinator (because I'm slightly mad and/or refuse paying good money for something I can make myself).

(This reminds me of the recent discussion on Cargo Cult Craft about the Homemade Vs the Handmade look, by the way. How are out aesthetic tastes shaped by Ready-To-Wear goods? I remember seeing some haute couture dresses in an exhibition and being fascinated by handstitched hems. Would my imaginary handmade fascinator with its handstitched adornments look out of place at a wedding? I do not think so - and not only because my social circle in Scotland consists predominately of crafters, artists and makers)

Everything that you made by hand Everything that you know by heart

I am about to cast on for Harmony for the third time. First time I cast on during Doctor Who which was a huge mistake, because Doctor Who is incredibly awesome at the moment. Second time I cast on whilst at knitting group which is presumably why I cast on for the size two sizes up from me. Third time lucky, I hope.

(song lyrics by guesswho - YT link)

Don't Dream It's Over

It has been a day of upheaval here in Britain. Gordon Brown resigned as Prime Minister and then Britain finally got its new government five days after the election. And Neil Finn sported a moustache on BBC's Later With Jools Holland. Sadly, I'm all a-Twittering about that bit rather than the other bits..

.. I told my Other Half that I did not feel like breaking up my long-term relationship with Neil Finn (after all, it's been nearly twenty years - that is commitment, I'll have you know) but more like entering couples' therapy. My Other Half did not answer me. He is also not going with me to see The Crowdies next week. I wonder why?

Despite the upheaval and emotional turmoil (in more than one way - I am not that shallow), today has been a nice day. I was given a big box of posh chocolate because I did someone a favour. It was unexpected, but very lovely. I also have a finished object to show off (if I can decide whether it is a fascinator or a corsage).

FO: Millbrook

Ever had an idea for a garment that you really, really wanted and you cast on for it hoping that it would turn out exactly how it looked in your head? I'm happy to say that Millbrook turned out exactly the way I wanted. It is wearable, feminine (not girly) and has a strong vintage-vibe.

Of course I do not have the same body as I have in my head - I have a peasant-girl body with wide hips, short torso and big bust instead - but I still think Millbrook looks awesome on me (the buttonband does not actually gape). That is a very good thing, she says thinking of body-image issues and self-criticism.

Pattern: 115-25 Jacket with Lace Pattern by Drops Design (it is free!) Yarn: JC Rennie Supersoft in "Olive Grove". Coned and oiled for machine knitting. Used doubled. Needles: 5mm

Modifications: As previously mentioned, I did not like the original pattern as styled and presented by Drops design. So I altered a few things: I did not do YOs but M1L+M1R for the raglan increases; I shorted the sleeves to just-below-elbow-length; I crocheted loops around the neckline instead of on all edges (the neckline was too bare if I had omitted the crocheted edge entirely) and used the same yarn as for the rest of the cardigan.

The yarn is stunning. I bought it last year thanks to a tip-off from Swesser (and a huge thank you to her!). I was not too impressed whilst I was knitting as it was a coned, oiled yarn intended for machine-knitting - but once washed I just could not believe how tactile the Rennie yarn becomes. Very soft, beautifully heathered and the handle is phenomenal. I promptly ordered another cone (in an unusual colour for me) despite my best stashdown intentions. I cannot praise Rennie enough - particularly as my cardigan feels so very lightweight despite the 4ply being doubled-up.

If I were to criticise the pattern just a tiny bit, it would be the neckline. I started the garterstitch buttonband several rounds before the pattern said I should - otherwise you would end up with an odd stocking stitch section around the fronts. I have also added a few rounds of single crochets before the crochet loops and the neckline still feels a bit bare. Some might want to consider an actual collar or to start with a size smaller for the neckline to avoid the bareness.

My next project is likely to be another cardigan with a vintage feel - Harmony from Rowan 47. I like the Organic Cotton, but the shades wash me out, so I decided on Fine Milk Cotton in Water Bomb, a nice duck's-egg-blue. I'm planning on tiny red buttons and for the corsage to be teal/cream with red accents. Now to find my 2.75mm circs ..

PS. The Glasgow World Wide Knitting in Public Day has just been announced but, alas, I am working. Anyone up for a Sunday WWKIP?