Knitting In Public No More

As a blogger and a social media type, I think frequently about privacy issues. It matters to me even if my face is plastered across Ravelry and my full name is easily uncovered. Yesterday I joked I was going to sue if my little private gathering of knitters were declared 'the next cool thing' in Scottish newspapers. Well, we just ended up having our photo tweeted by some UK television personalities. I might have thought it a fun little interlude (just like when we appeared on TV) if they had actually asked our permission before taking the photo. They had not and I am not amused. I respected their privacy; it would have been nice if they had afforded me the same courtesy.

(ETA Wednesday lunchtime: They have pulled the photo with an apology. I really appreciate that. Thanks.)

And then tonight I was knitting on the bus home. A rather thuggish group of ladies congregated around me and stared as though I were juggling sharp knives. That was a very long bus ride.

I think it is time to retire my knitting in public, at least for a little while. I'm tired of being a circus performer for other people's blooming amusement.

Living in Interesting Times

Summer has arrived in Glasgow (briefly), so we Sunday in the park. We found raspberry bushes nearby and enjoyed my home-made baked goods. I sat reading 5000 Years of Textiles (edited by Jennifer Harris). The book is both a fabulous visual source-book as well as an engaging non-fiction read. I do try to have a balanced reading diet, though I do gravitate towards light reading in the summer.

The good weather even continued throughout Monday, so I was lucky enough to have an unexpected evening of outdoors knitting with a handful of friends. To our surprise, we had our photo taken by some semi-celebrities who did not even ask our permission. If knitting in public is suddenly declared the 'new cool' in a Scottish newspaper, I'm going to sue..

.. I still cannot watch the news. I was going to write a great deal about why I am so affected by the Norwegian terrorist attacks (yes, it was terrorism) - but I can't. Maybe one day I will be able to write about being Scandinavian and watch everything good about being Scandinavian getting attacked by an inadequate soul. Today I am not that eloquent.

So, some random links instead!

• How to make some very cool buttons from shrink plastic. Finally a way I can utilise my partner's artistic bend!
• GoodReads. I joined a few days ago and promptly added 796 books (686 read). Yes, I was in the library when everybody else was out partying and having fun during their formative years.
• Some very good yarn bombing/knitted graffiti. I always feel it's wrong calling it grafitti, but that's me being pedantic. Nor am I usually a fan of yarn bombing, but I like this.
• 19th C photos of Vaudeville and Burlesque performers. Since my partner fell in with the cabaret crowd here in central Scotland, he has found some rather interesting links.
• Russell Brand's surprisingly excellent tribute to Amy Winehouse. "That twerp, all eyeliner and lager dithering up Chalk Farm Road under a back-combed barnet, the lips that I'd only seen clenching a fishwife fag and dribbling curses now a portal for this holy sound."

I hope August is going to be an improvement on July. I have had enough of this month.

Reflection

Oh, Norway.

To Florence & Beyond

Meet Florence. Florence doesn't like to be photographed, so this will most likely be the only photo I'll ever take of this little thing. Take one ball of Rowan Kidsilk Haze, a pair of 4mm needles, and start charting a lace repeat. Then simplify your lace repeat. Then simplify it again. Then realise you have probably just made something that looks like it is straight from a stitch dictionary (which it is not) and then sigh. And knit.

I always get asked about my naming practices. Florence is meant to replace Larisa, so I wanted a name that was both a European city and a girl's name. That probably means that next year I will make a Geneva, followed by a Venezia, and then a Paris (perish the thought). But this is the year of Florence.

And that leaves me with nothing on the needles. Woah! I am still designing things, though, but am yet to figure out where to take two specific ideas**.. it is so frustrating! I also know that I'll be starting my winter knitting in little over a week when the Nordic Tweed book hits the shops. What can I make in a week..?

Thank you so very, very much for the fantastic response to Karise. I cannot wait to see finished Karise shawls cropping up and I simply cannot wait to see what everybody will do with the pattern (remember: it is easy to customise). I seriously love seeing what other people do with my ideas. That is so cool. Oh, and Lilith is slowly restocking her shop after the Knit Nation carnage in case anyone wants to use the original yarn.

In other knitterly news, I happened to see someone wearing a long-sleeved version of this cardigan yesterday. The cardigan is apparently knitted in one piece and then you ease in the sleeves. It is so pretty, isn't it? I did a bit more research into it and it was apparently the it knit in Denmark in 2009. Trust me to finally discover all the good bits about Denmark when I do not live there any more..

Finally, my friend Jo gave me the link to Poppytalk, a cracking little blog showcasing inspirational design, crafts, and homes. Inspirational, not aspirational - I think that is a very important distinction to make. Bearing that distinction in mind, what are your favourite inspirational blogs? I yearn for colourful, beautiful things carefully curated.

** - since one idea involves a four-different-yarns-in-one-row colourwork lace shawl, I clearly need to step away from my design table.

Stuff & Nonsense

Despite myself, I went to a gig yesterday to see this man and his new band, Pajama Club. Okay, so it is a bad photo. I was a bit too busy enjoying myself to worry too much about photographs.

Basically, I was in the third row dead-centre in a small club watching my favourite musician play new music that wasn't actually all that bad (unlike last time I saw him). Not a patch on my favourite stuff from his hand, but stuff I would actually like to listen to some more..

.. and somewhere along the way I managed to pull a muscle in my back. I think I'm getting old.

Knitterly Musings & Some Links

I have spending considerable time trying to figure out what to knit for the forthcoming winter. The last two winters have been terribly cold and I want to make things that'll keep me both cosy and relatively stylish. A bit of a tall order as I tend towards wearing five layers in the midst of winter! Pinterest has been a huge help in figuring out what to knit. I have a board called Oh, You Pretty Things! (guess why) where I pin clothes and jewellery that catch my eye. I have been fairly ruthless, so while it is not a huge selection what I have pinned really captures my taste. And so I measure all my thoughts and ideas about winter knits against that board.

Having the board helps when I fall in love with knitting patterns that are really outwith the rest of my wardrobe (or what I'm trying to steer my wardrobe towards). I am hugely in love with Wilhelmina, for instance. I love the colours, the shape, and the reindeers. And it goes with absolutely nothing I own.

Would you still knit a cardigan even if it didn't go with anything in your own wardrobe? Or am I missing a fashion trick and Wilhemina does actually work with what I perceive as my style? Yes, I need your honest opinion.

I'll return to my winter knit search, so here are some random linkage for you to ponder:

• Marie Curie hopes you'll knit a giant tea cosy in the name of charity.
• If that feels like too big a project or you want to do even more good with your knitting needles, why not join the Big Knit in making tiny hats?
• Of course Atlantis was just off the coast of Scotland.
• Tilda Swinton is the fiercest woman alive. Fact.
• Hackgate continues to thrive here in the UK (this MeFi thread is still a good primer). This weird story about a bin bag was my personal favourite daily twist in this increasingly bizarre scandal.
• And here's one for the Doctor Who fans among you.
• You know that my twenty-year long love affair with his music has died when I don't even casually stroll down Byres Road hoping for a glimpse..
• The Minefield of Female Relationships is an interesting read, though I have reservations about .. aspects.