Pointilism

It has been a hell of a week, quite frankly.

• A lot of work. I don't discuss work here so let's leave it at that.
• A lot of travelling across Scotland meant some truly great views from my train window.
• A lot of knitting got done on train journeys. My purple cardigan needs to be assembled and then it is done.
• Come to think of it, my red cardigan needs to be assembled too. I didn't reknit a thing, so I have no idea if I should commit to assemblage.
• My loo was finally fixed after being broken for four weeks. I was terribly excited.
• I've booked myself in for some sewing machine demonstrations/trials. I may commit to a model this decade.
• I really, really, really to catch up on sleep or my brain + body will fry.

Zzzzz...

Books Read 2011: Jasper Fforde - Shades of Grey

Years ago a good friend visited me in Copenhagen and somehow persuaded me into reading The Eyre Affair, an obscure first novel by a British writer. I had misgivings but my friend has good taste in things. Like countless others before and after me, I loved the book and Jasper Fforde is not an obscure author any more. He is more like a cult phenomenon - much in the same way as Terry Prachett (of whom I've never been a fan, incidentally) and Monty Python (who I love) he inspires devotion and fanaticism. You bond with other people over his books. You give them to friends and hope they'll come back laughing hard. Having said that, the Thursday Next novels which started with The Eyre Affair were a case of diminishing returns after the first three books and I never got into his follow-up series, Nursery Crimes. My interest in reading Shades of Grey was the unlikely combination of my friend Kirsten loving it and Adam Roberts calling it a failed high-concept sci-fi book (Pot Kettle Black, Mr Roberts). Shades is a more serious, darker book than what I expected from Fforde. Okay, so his dystopian vision is still filled with silly puns and comic asides, but the world is a sinister place where nasty things do happen to good people. The book is also more science fiction than his previous books (which were pomo-literary-comic-fantasy-detective-thriller-fiction) which is particularly noticeable in its world building. However, I wish I had known that Shades is the first of three novels, so I could have understood its pacing a lot better. The extensive world building takes up almost 2/3rds of the novel and the plot does not unfold until very, very late.

So, I had a mixed reaction to Shades of Grey but I know I shall be reading the next two novels in the series because I do love a good dystopian novel and the plot set-up is really quite intriguing even if I had to read 250+ pages about The National Colour Grid, the importance of maintaining a colour dynasty, beigemarket dealings in colour swatches, and homing slugs.

Is 'Sixthly' Even A Word?

First of all, congratulations to Ms Old Maiden Aunt whose yarn was just featured in the new Winter edition of Knitty. I particularly like how the Knitty people have made a lovely page banner out of a close-up of Lilith's yarn. The yarn was used for Palisander, a beautiful scarf by Denmark's own Signest (congratulations to you too, obviously!). Man, this knitting world is really freaking small at times.. Secondly (and just to prove my point), there is a photo of yours truly, Ms Celtic Stitcher, and SoCherry in the February edition of UK knitting magazine, Let's Knit. We were just knitting away at The Life Craft's knitting night and somehow a photo made it into a magazine. In all honesty, I am only an occasional guest at The Life Craft's knitting nights for one reason or another, but I am a huge fan of the shop and have enjoyed their hospitality on many (camera-less) occasions. It's great to see the gals (and guys!) of TLC getting national attention.

Thirdly, since Friday I have knitted 1 back, 1 sleeve and 1 front of my Purple Rain cardigan. You have to love 7mm needles and their Instant Gratification factor. I hope to have the cardigan finished by the end of the week which sounds bizarre to me after having spent five months knitting another cardigan (more on that one later). Seeing as my working week will be marked by a work-related train journey north, I should perhaps start planning my next big project..

Fourthly, I have already planned my next big project. In fact, I have planned my TWO big projects which will keep me occupied the next few weeks and then some. I recently bought some Rowan Silky Tweed in a delicious mustard yellow and my skeins are destined for the Acer cardigan by Amy Christopher (rav link). I have admired that cardigan for a long time and as the yarn is a light aranweight with excellent stitch definition, I get the feeling it'll be a match made in knitting heaven. My other planned project is Fancy from the new Rowan magazine. The photo does not show it, but the jumper has a goddamn fabulous Estonian-lace-ish stitch pattern going for it. I'm helpless in the face of Estonian-lace-ish stitch patterns, so a Fancy in chartreuse green Kidsilk Haze will be on my needles soon. I first thought of making it in black but then decided I was clearly mad.

Fifthly, friends mentioned above have persuaded me to give my red alpaca cardigan some time in the knitting basket. Time to let me get over myself and my body image. It's not the cardigan's fault that I had a few too many mince pies at Christmas nor that I'm more Christina Hendricks than Nicole Kidman body-wise. The alpaca'll probably wet-block really well too. Cough.We shall see.

Sixthly, speaking of celebs, I could not resist looking closely at the Red Carpet fashion at yesterday's Golden Globes and I loved the 1930s cut of Angelina Jolie's green dress. Very Old Hollywood and yet very current. Sigh.

Purple Rain, Purple Rain..

First, an update on my lovely Lumley cardigan. It turned out to be too small across my bust & midriff. I blame Christmas cookies, my mother's genetics, and also a pattern which - according to Rav knitters - runs very small. It's in time-out before I muster the energy to pull out the two fronts and re-knit them. My partner had a genius idea about re-knitting the fronts, incidentally, and I might just use that idea..

But before I do that, I need a project to cleanse my palate.

Just a few days ago I succumbed to some Rowan Colourscape in the January clearance sales. The colour is "Purple Rain" and it is an otherwise unreleased shade that selected John Lewis stores across Britain were selling as one-offs. I bought 6 skeins with no clear idea in my head - I just loved the deep, deep purples which my camera has clearly failed to pick up.

And now I've cast on for a Sarah Hatton pattern. I sat knitting the cardigan whilst re-watching Hot Fuzz and I actually got halfway up the back in just one evening. Just what the knitting doctor ordered. Now I hope I've cast on for the right size - after the Lumley debacle I have grown a tad paranoid.

Some links:

• A really good article from The Salon about why people love so-called "bad writing". I'm a self-confessed 'Stylemonger' (read the article for description!) but I'm also unapologetic about my dips into genre reading. Well, unapologetic unless I read fourteen Georgette Heyers in less than two weeks.
• Erica Jong on modern motherhood. The concept of that article might sound like something out of your worst nightmare but it makes some interesting points - even for this non-motherly person.
• My cake decorating skills lie somewhere between "bad" and "wonky". You can't say the same about the people who made this astounding cake.
• Five Emotions Invented by the Internet.
• Born This Way (via MeFi): "A photo/essay project for gay viewers (male and female) to submit pictures from their childhood with snapshots that capture them, innocently, showing the beginnings of their innate gay selves. It's nature, not nurture!" Disclaimer: I read this blog not so much as reinforcing stereotypes (as some MeFi contributors argued) but rather "more about what you see in the mirror, once you know what to look for" as queer people look back at their younger selves. It's about nostalgia, self-acceptance, lived lives, and identity.
• And, then, Prince singing Purple Rain.

Pause

"So sudden loss causes us to look backward - but it also forces us to look forward, to reflect on the present and the future, on the manner in which we live our lives and nurture our relationships with those who are still with us. We may ask ourselves if we've shown enough kindness and generosity and compassion to the people in our lives. Perhaps we question whether we are doing right by our children, or our community, and whether our priorities are in order. We recognize our own mortality, and are reminded that in the fleeting time we have on this earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame - but rather, how well we have loved, and what small part we have played in bettering the lives of others."
- Barack Obama, Tucson Memorial Speech, 2011.

WIP: Lumley

I finished knitting Lumley Monday night and pinned it together quickly. Hmm. Yesterday night I then crocheted the body together to get a better idea of the fit. Crochet is great if you want to seam up fast - and if you want to undo that seam really fast too. I used mercerised cotton in a contrasting colour on the seams - that way it is easy to rip out and it also lets me see how visible the eventual real seam will be and where I may have to fudge a bit due to row-gauge issues.

The back fits me perfectly but the fronts continue to give me pause for thought:

1) The fronts have a very neat fit because of my bust. The cardigan is wearable but I need to have D. take a photo of me wearing the cardigan before I can decide if the fronts are too neat for my liking.

2) The fronts curl a bit despite me steamblocking them last night before seaming. I may need to wetblock them. Alpaca can be a bit of a drama queen at times.

If the fronts do turn out to be too tight for my liking I have thought of two possible solutions - and I'd love to hear your input here. I can either:

1) rip the fronts down below the armhole shaping and do some short-rows across the bust area which will lend extra length and ease.

2) Or I can rip out both fronts and knit them a size up, although maintain the armhole shaping for the size I've already used for the back and sleeves. This'll give me extra coverage in front without sacrificing the front shaping.

You may wonder why I'm willing to rip things out and reknit a big chunk of this cardigan, but I actually really like the design and I want the finished cardigan to be one of my go-to garments. It has been a long time in the making already and I do not mind spending extra time getting it right.

I'll be crochet-seaming the sleeves today and then assembling the entire cardigan before I get D. to snap a few photos. Who knows .. it might be perfectly fine and the size issues may well just be in my head. Let's hope. Regardless, knitting this cardigan has been a real learning curve - not because it has been a difficult knit but because I've had to learn to be a far more precise and patient knitter. I'd like to think I'm all the better for it.

Also, I warmly recommend Lucy Neatby's DVDs. I've been watching and re-watching Knitting Essentials 2 for her tips on finishing techniques. She has some mind-blowing tips no matter your skill level.