Careful With Words

Twitter sometimes gets a reputation for being Celebrity Central, but I frequently manage to have interesting conversations with people despite the 140-character cut-off.

Yesterday we discussed women's self-image and societal pressure to emphasise external over internal qualities. We covered a lot of ground: eating disorders, women's self-enforced ignorance as a feminist issue (Ellie's line and it's a great one), patriarchal/matriarchal gender politics and much more. Mooncalf pointed out that we should not conflate ignorance with body obsession. Miss M. wrote eloquently about how body image and a need to take control could collide. Later same night I logged back into Twitter to find a whole other discussion about women's bodies was taking place. It was a discussion I found downright scary by its very ignorance of how women's bodies actually work.

I think it is time to quietly take back that whole discussion about women's rights and women's bodies. I really enjoyed the thoughtful discussion I had on Twitter with other women (and one man) but I think we should be having that discussion off-line too. It is not a call to arms - I am not the militant sort - but it is a plea that we keep having these discussions, we keep having them in public and that we keep challenging everyday sexism. Odd how it can still be a revelation to some that women are people too.

Phew. It felt good to get that off my chest.

I will now return to my fluffy little world of trying to make stripe patterns align and figuring out why I suddenly cannot make PDF files with my word-processing programmes. Here are a few random links for your everyday perusal:

• Tilt-shift photography from the London Olympics. Cue Monty Python - except these are not tiny-scale models but actual photographs using optical trickery.
• How to teach your little brother not to hack your FB page. Youtube link. It's in Dutch but has English subtitles.
• The next Beck abum will be released by Faber & Faber. Yes, the poetry publishing house. It's a collaboration between F&F and McSweeney's - and you won't actually be able to listen to the album. It's terribly clever and very much up my 'print culture/what is a book' alley.
• If you are a knitter, you will love this: Icelandic sweater generator - complete with 'design your own colourwork yoke' and gauge checker. It's free, it's online and it's awesome. I cannot remember if I have shared it before, but it is ace. Available in English, French, Russian, Icelandic and assorted Nordic languages.

Autumn/Winter 2012 Knitting. Phew.

It is mid-August and my world is calming down considerably. Late July and early August will always be a busy time for me (this is when all the new autumn/winter yarns and patterns arrive in this part of the world) and I had additional knitting deadlines this year. Well, most of the deadlines have been met - I dreamt of stitch pattern repeats one memorable night - and I can begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Huzzah! (While I remember, I have started a Ravelry group called Karie Bookish Knits. I have so much in the pipeline that it makes sense to have a group. I guess. Okay, I am quite nervous about it all, but there you go. I am silly sometimes. Go join if you are interested.)

So, what have been my favourites this season launch?

Debbie Bliss is launching a Blue-Faced Leicester Aran which is very lovely with a good range of muted colours. The yarn reminds me a bit of Texere's own brand BFL Aran but the yardage is slightly different. Again, the pattern support doesn't work for my body shape but there are tonnes of excellent patterns available for aran-weight yarn already. The yarn is spun in the UK - I'd be interested in learning if the fibres are from the UK too.

I was really pleasantly surprised by Rowan Kidsilk Haze Trio which comprises of three strands of Kidsilk Haze twisted together. I think Trio is meant to replace the now discontinued Rowan Kidsilk Aura (an aran-weight version of Kidsilk Haze) but it has a much better handle and drape than Aura. Trio looked quite hairy, but once knitted it felt and looked much silkier than I expected. The RRP is quite steep, but it comes out cheaper than buying three balls of Kidsilk Haze, so there is method to the madness. The pattern support plays with Trio's drape in oversized, casual garments. My body shape doesn't lend itself to oversized, casual garments, alas, but Trio looks like the kind of yarn that I could see Kim Hargreaves going for.

Also, the new Rowan magazine is my favourite Rowan magazine in ages. I want to make pretty much everything in there: Orkney, Skye (in a modified lady version), Tobermory, Shannon, Lundy, Ruby, Addison, Harbour Bag (free to download!) and Lewis (also free!). But I am going to start out with the Bute cardigan and my colours will be slightly different. My local John Lewis has the original cardigan on display right now and although I adore its muted greens and browns,  I will be knitting my Bute in shades of grey, white, purple and teal.

Online there has been a new Twist Collective, a new Knitty, a Cookie A garment book(!), and probably a dozen other things I haven't caught because I have been busy. Knitty is strong on socks this time which is a shame as I am not a sock knitter. I adore Cookie A's Radial shrug which is all sculptural and quirky. Predictably enough, I really like Amy Christoffers' colourwork pullover for Twist as well as Elizabeth Doherty's classy Tenaya cardigan. My favourite Twist pattern, though, is the Fortune Bay pullover with its very contemporary take on a striped pullover.

Trends? Quirky colourwork (quite traditional but with contemporary tweaks); lots of stripes in all sort of contexts; we are definitely moving away from the "buttoned at top, A-line" patterns towards unusual, but fitted (or super-oversized) shapes; a lot of marled or semi-solid yarns; traditional arans are still going but again designers are offering tweaked, contemporary versions.

Phew. And I haven't even seen everything this season has to offer just yet! More yarns and patterns are due to arrive..

Are any of you starting to plan your autumn knitting yet? Or are you still working away on unfinished Ravellenic Games projects (London 2012 was fabulous - I thought - apart from the closing ceremony)? I have a few more things to finish before I can start my Bute cardigan, but it is so nice to see all the new yarns and patterns. Although I have been stressed these past few weeks, this is really my favourite time of the knitting year.

Florence & Molly

The start of August is always the busiest time of year for me and this year is no exception. The yarn companies are beginning to launch their Autumn-Winter collections with new patterns and yarns galore - and as a result I have a thousand thingsto keep my head and hands busy. I hope to have a more in-depth look at some of my favourites soon - but before I can play favourites, I need some time to breathe and gather my thoughts. To tide things over, I thought I would share a free pattern with you.

I designed the Florence scarf last summer at the request of a well-know British department store. It takes one ball of Rowan Kidsilk Haze, it is a good introduction to knitting with fine mohair yarns, and it would make a good 'first lace project'. The scarf was very popular with the store and I thought it might also prove popular with others. I think of it as a quiet design, if that makes sense.

There are more designs to come, but I'll write about those as they get released.

In case you want something more worthwhile to read than my moans about work, my good friend* Molly Templeton has gone viral (as the kids say) with coverage ranging from Jezebel to The Atlantic Wire. Why? Molly took issue with the cover of The New York Times Book Review. It had a How-To issue in which men wrote about a wide range of topics and the ladies got to write about how to raise children and how to cook. In the words of Ms M.:

 There is nothing wrong with cooking and raising children; there are lots of things right and wonderful with these pursuits. They are also, as I’m sure I don’t need to tell you, traditionally female tasks, and when you take into consideration the VIDA stats, the history of gender imbalance in literature and journalism and the world at large, you might find yourself a little frustrated by the fact that it’s 2012 and we are still too often relegated to writing about deeply gendered topics. (Of the 18 bylined reviews and essays in the issue, five are by women.)

And so Molly decided to start The How To Tumblr which features women writing how-to articles about anything and everything under the sun.This is her call for contributions:

I’m sure there’s something you know how to do. I’m sure there are things your many brilliant friends know how to do, or something you could write about that has to do with doing a thing (most of the NYTBR pieces were, of course, book reviews). I would like to read the essays, reviews, comics, lists and more we, and they, could write in this vein -  irreverent, funny, heartbreaking, ironic, wry, snarky, sweet, clever, brilliant, silly, and everything else.

Inevitably, Molly's tumblr has turned out a whole host of fun, insightful and interesting essays . You can contribute too - Molly's project is open to women and those who identify as genderqueer/not of a binary gender.

(* how good? Handknitted-present-good!)

You are Changing Forever Anyway

I was 12 and a bookish girl who was curiously prone to catching fevers, colds, and coughs. I spent days reading in bed or curled up in the big cream chair at the far end of the living room. My dog would snore at my feet as I got lost in yet another book. I came across one of Margaret Mahy's books during one of these spells - The Tricksters. I think it was one of the very first supernatural YA books I ever came across. I lived in Nowheresville, Denmark and I had almost run out of books to read from the local library. Margaret Mahy - I kept that name in my head.

Then my local library bought Margaret Mahy's The Changeover. My life would never be the same - it was one of those books that changed you. At the very least it changed me.

The synopsis sounds fairly mundane: a teenage girl discovers her young brother is possessed by a demon and she enlists the local school prefect to help her battle the demon. Okay, the synopsis sounds pretty terrible - but the book was terrific. It was well-written (and later I'd discover the literary allusions one by one) and the real dangers lurked in every-day life beyond the surface drama of soul-stealing demons and witchcraft.

What changed me? I think I caught a glimpse of myself in the book.

I have never been good at identifying with characters in books and much of my reading pleasure derives from well-turned prose, intelligent plots and clever structures - but I think my 12-year-old self saw something of herself in Laura Chant, Mahy's teenage protagonist. Laura Chant was realistically drawn: a strong and independent girl but with a complex family life which renders her more than a bit vulnerable. Mahy also captures Laura on the cusp of becoming something more than just a daughter, a sister, and a girl. There is a strong streak of yearning throughout "The Changeover" - characters yearn to make sense of the world and move beyond petty squabbling in the school ground and the tiny shopping centre. "There is a world out there," the book whispered, "and it is yours to explore!"

I read and re-read "The Changeover" getting it out of my local library again and again. I bought the novel in English when I first set foot in Foyles some six years later. It was one of the first books I ever read in English, let alone owned. I still re-read my copy every couple of years or so. Time has not lessened my love.

And Margaret Mahy was instrumental in kick-starting my love for New Zealand. I was 24 when I travelled through New Zealand for a month and I hung out the bus window desperate to get a photo of the sign saying "Welcome to Paraparaumu" - a town mentioned in "The Changeover" as a mundane place. The mundane place seemed magical to me. I still have that photo too.

Rest in Peace, Margaret Mahy. And thank you for making a lonely teenage girl much less lonely and far bolder.

"I like to swim in deep water. I like to be where I can't feel the bottom and I have always liked that from the time I was very small, but there is always the fear of the shark sneaking up from the darkness below, and grabbing your foot. After you've been frightened of the shark for a while, you begin to tell stories about it, to take it over ... and in odd moments of life, when you have a little go at being the shark yourself, you recognise an old truth in what you are doing."

Some Thoughts On Intellectual Property

Recently I have had a series of discussion with people on the topic of paying for patterns and respecting intellectual property. These people include Alison Crowther-Smith, Kate Davies, Sarah Hatton and Helen of RipplesCrafts - and as you can imagine, these ladies had very interesting things to say on the topic (and you can see Alison's thoughts in her link). I also followed a Ravelry thread with some interest; it was called "What patterns do you resent having to pay for?" and was a meandering debate on having to pay for uninteresting patterns in knitting magazines. And then there was the Danish blog I stumbled across which was somewhat laissez-faire about offering to translate paid patterns and distributing them for free. It all made me want to sit down and write a blog post about how I see it as a knitter, as a small-scale designer, and as someone who works for a yarn company.

Today I have been sitting for two hours charting a colourwork hat. Once I am done charting, I have two different set of decreased crowns to swatch before I can sit down to knit up the sample, block it, set up a photo shoot, do some post-shoot colour correction in PhotoScape, and then I will sit down to write a pattern. Normally I would then do pattern support for knitters who are unsure about charts or who need help finding a yarn substitute. If it sounds like work, it is because it is work.

Would I be upset if people started distributing one of my pattern for free? I would. Not only would it mock the amount of hours I put into a pattern, but it would also have real-life consequences in form of unpaid bills. That is right: I rely upon my design work to pay bills. It is a job, after all.

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee had a great blog post last year in which she wrote about knitting as work and the need to combat attitudes like "Knitting isn't an industry that needs to be taken seriously. Knitting is fun, and nice and so are knitters". Her reply deserves a highlighted quote:

I think most of you like to be paid for your work, besides, people do better work when they're paid.  The exchange of money for time and effort is a good way to make sure that people have the time and attention to do a good job, and you know what makes knitting more fun? Patterns with fewer errors because a proper test knitter did a good job.

As for the seriousness of the knitting industry, I don't really see how you can imagine that there aren't a lot of people taking it seriously.  I bet your local yarn shop owner takes it super seriously, right around the time he/she has to pay the rent.  I bet yarn companies (big and small) take it seriously too.  You know who else? Designers, test knitters, tech editors... all those people take it really seriously.  For you it might be a hobby, but for a lot of people trying to support their families in this industry it would be amazing if most of us could at least agree that there could be and should be an idea of what jobs are worth what money.

This is also why I do not resent sock patterns or baby cardigans appearing in a knitting magazine. I may have indirectly paid for these patterns although I will never knit them - but I will also indirectly have kept a dozen of people in work because I paid £5 for a magazine with 15 patterns. Employment is cool.

Three times a week I work for a yarn company. I meet a lot of knitters and 99% of them are cool, fun, sweet and fabulous. Unfortunately I do meet a tiny, tiny handful of people who refuse to pay for patterns, who demand that I photocopy from a book for them, and who tear out pages of a pattern book.

I always try to explain why I cannot photocopy a pattern and why a pattern typically costs £3 - I believe it is as much about education as anything - but my brain cannot process why anyone would vandalise a book by tearing pages out of them, let alone risk getting in trouble with the police because - rest assured - security personnel will get the police out if you are caught. It is a knitting pattern. You are destroying private property because of a knitting pattern. This is not about a lack of knowledge - this is wilful theft.

Knitters love to talk about 'handmade' and 'slow fashion' and 'shop locally' - why not include 'valuing intellectual property' (though it needs to sound snappier). I don't want to start a discussion about copyright because every country is different (and, in some cases local copyright laws were written in response to antiquated technologies and are in dire need of being updated). I would, however, like to open a discussion about best practices, about moral obligations, and about communal education.

In fact, I would love to read your blog post about this.

Wip-ping Along

These days I struggle to write eloquently about what I am knitting. It used to be that I could snap a photo, link to a pattern and wax lyrically about the process. As I now tend to design my own patterns and work on things that will not be unveiled for another six months .. well, it kills the sharing bug a bit. But let's see if I cannot circumvent the whole "cannot show & cannot tell" thing.

Pictured: a hat. This hat design (along with the matching fingerless gloves) was the first design I sketched when I started working on my Doggerland collection. It sums up the whole collection for me: a controlled colour palette, very  clean and geometric lines, and that little hint of the natural world to it.

I am knitting the sample in Rowan Creative Focus Worsted. I set out to design Doggerland using yarns from the North Sea/North Atlantic region but I could not resist the wonderful light grey - Nickel sh 401 - when I saw it. The CFW also had two other colours that were exactly what I wanted, so even though all the other Doggerland designs will be knitted using local-to-me yarns, this hat & gloves set will be slightly different.

On the plus side, it should be easy to find local-to-you substitutes with a worsted weight.

I should finish the hat this week and begin work on the gloves. After then I will start to work on a mini-collection in collaboration with a well-known indie yarn dyer. I cannot say much more at this point - mostly because we are still working out the finer details.

So, I am kept busy.

But I do find time to work on something that has nowt to do with collections.

This is a little black shawl which may or may not end up a free download. I have been knitting it at knitting groups lately as it is marvellously portable.

I am using Lopi Einband, a fantastically sticky and rough-and-tumble lace yarn from Iceland. I bought in Denmark some three years ago and I never really knew what I wanted to make with it as it is not your standard soft, drapey lace yarn.

So, it is now becoming a straightforward triangular shawl with easy pattern repeats and chevrons (I am currently obsessed by chevrons). I don't expect the shawl to be finished anytime soon as it's just a for-pleasure knit.

Speaking of for-pleasure knitting.. I plan on making this beautiful cardigan for myself as soon as I have cleared my table of work knitting. And anyone who dreams of making an Icelandic jumper will do well to look at this website (esp. if you dream of designing one for yourself)

Finally, a big congratulations to Vivienne who won the copy of Coronation Knits from my give-away. Huzzah!