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October 31, 2005
Holly
Holly, started 18 Sept 05 finished 26 Sept 05
Pattern: My own, available here
Yarn: Cashmerino Aran
Sexy. Sleek. Sophisticated. And that’s just my beautiful sister, Isy, who was kind and patient enough to model while I snapped.
Posted by Amelia at 01:00 PM | Comments (20)
October 29, 2005
The Restorative Power of Lace
Every so often life throws up a year which seems adamantly to want to teach us something. Eighteen months, around 2001-02, were nothing but death. My singing uncle, Peter; Grampa; dear Tricky our beloved cat (seen to the left eternally sleeping on a striped pillow); beautiful Theo. This year is about other things. Illness. Injury. Frailty. Uncertainty. One can’t help but worry.
I’ve caught references to the healing power of lace at various points over the last year, but never really took much notice, being a pragmatic person, hardly spiritual on any level unless you count cosmic angst. But the lace of Ene has been a shelter. This is my first experience of lace-weight yarn (it’s rich, sumptuous berry tones, with blues from summer-sky to lapis thrown in, a precious gift from Jacqueline), using Addi Turbos for the smooth join. The ‘jag’ in the Inox circular was making me curse. The Addis don’t have much of a point, but who among us does, most of the time? I appreciate the balancing-act of yarn and the slippery needle which forces me to be light of touch, fleet of finger. It’s not difficult, a mere knack, which requires just sufficient concentration that it’s impossible to think of anything else.
I am slowing myself down as the rows get shorter. The shawl is going to be beautiful, and as I knit I realise it ‘belongs’ to someone else who is much closer than I to this year’s themes.
A garment knit by a friend is like a hug. This is my elegant Turtleneck Shrug, made for me by Blossom, for the Stitch Ya Neck Out swap.
I love it. The stitches are so neat and even, it has this soft halo of fuzz, and I swear it even has some residual warmth from Alabama. And do you see how beautiful it is with the blue of my t-shirt? Also Blossom! Thank you so much my dear, sweet girl... My parcel made me so happy! And thank you too so very much to Jacqueline and Kris for showing us all such a good time.
And for no other reason than the picture has been lying around for too long, my first necklace.
Tomorrow, a meme (hold onto your hats)!
Posted by Amelia at 03:43 PM | Comments (14)
October 26, 2005
So long
It’s been so long... food poisoning really kills a girl’s will to write, and then the domain was down for a couple of days. Things seem to be getting back on an even keel (those sound like famous last words) and I’ve some catching up to do: let me show you one of my favourite recent FOs.
Jemima, started 27 Sept 05 finished 9 Oct 05
Pattern: My own – available here
Yarn: RYC Cashsoft DK
After some tweaking (the first attempt at the neckline was far too wide), it takes all my ingenuity to come up with anything else to wear. It’s a DK yarn, but I knit it at an aran guage, and it’s made a fine, drapy fabric which is perfect for this alarmingly mild autumn.
I like the buttons best of all. From left to right, Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddleduck and Tom Kitten. This was also my first attempt at a tubular cast-on (this is a progress pic I never got around to posting).
Ah the pictures. Despite what I may have said previously, it turns out that when one is tired, it is possible to take 60 pictures and find not a flattering one. I don‘t care though, because I do love this jumper.
Posted by Amelia at 08:06 AM | Comments (63)
October 19, 2005
Catch-up
Recently, in the evenings when I get home all I really feel like doing is to sit, and knit. So the poor blog has been somewhat neglected of late.
I realise as I start to write this that it is just a day or two over one year now since the inaugural post on this blog. It took a while to see that my subject would be knitting. It’s been a wonderful year. Without this little space, and the people who drop by and so kindly add their comments, or reveal themselves silently through visitor stats, I don’t believe I would ever have even tried to design for myself. So you see, you only have yourselves to blame; commenters and lurkers alike, I thank you heartily.
Here’s a brief summary of some recent yarn-related activities before a couple of new garments are revealed later.
Backyard Leaves scarf, started 27 August 05 finished 17 September 05
Pattern: available in Scarf Style
First, I’m happy to announce that my scarf for the Stitch Ya Neck Out exchange for the beautiful and patient Annie, is not only finished but in the post. To make up for my tardiness I included a little present I picked up from Kerrie at the Knit and Stitch show on Friday. And some chocolate. The pattern was beautiful, compelling to knit, an education in itself. I managed to squeeze out an extra repeat from the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino: believe me it was a squeeze – I had no more that a few metres of yarn left at the end. I think it’s going to look beautiful on Annie.
The show on Friday was something of a crush. I was disappointed to have missed Tracy, Polly, Amelia and Mary on Friday, but I ran into Pauline and Kate and shopped with them for a while. It was lovely to have some company, but after lunch I had to break away: it was starting to get crowded, elbows were coming out, and I needed to focus on my retail needs.
I bought this:
Twelve balls of 100% merino washable DK in the reddest, reddest red, by Elle yarns (a South African company I hadn’t come across before). The price was right for buying in quantity, and it’s working up quickly into a bulky, boxy little jacket (two strands together). The woven stitch pattern is fun, very easy knitting and a great effect. I bought six balls each in ivory and black too, for the Anna Sui skirt from Fall 05 Vogue Knitting. When I got home I had sudden fears that I had under-purchased: lovely Noo, a favourite knitter, came to the rescue, graciously picking up for me on Sunday what I had failed to bring home with me on Friday.
Aside from this bulk purchase, I was hugely restrained. This is partly due to the fact that I seemed to have been stricken with some kind of selective show blindness, and completely missed some of the stalls that other bloggers have written about. I was longing to find a stall selling a swift, but must have walked past the Handweaver's Studio stand in a daze. Alas it will have to wait for another time.
From the top: two skeins of Colinette Skye in Toscana for a scarf. I’m hoping it can be manly enough for my step-father – we’ll wait and see. Two skeins of Alchemy Bamboo. Gina and Austin at Alchemy were charming, and particularly endeared themselves to me by asking if I was a designer and could they take my details (one thing about the Sargeant – he’ll get you noticed). Two skeins of Lorna’s Laces from Get Knitted, because I couldn’t stop going back and squeezing them. The colourway is ‘Aslan’, and hopefully in such subtle colours pooling shouldn’t be too annoying.
I want to show you my new current love too, Ene’s scarf in some delicious berry-coloured laceweight gifted to me by the huge-hearted and ridiculously generous Jacqueline, and my Turtleneck Shrug, exquisite, from Blossom, but my stamina is failing. Soon, soon.
Oh, quickly, before I go, a word to the wise: if you are, like me, prone to sudden and urgent desires for chocolate-based puddings (US: desserts), you may wish to avoid investigating Norma’s Microwave Chocolate Cake. I found the link via Margene on Saturday. By Tuesday night, I had made the recipe twice. If you are strong, and decide to give it a try, you may be interested to know that the microwave film etc is optional (I didn’t have such a thing, so skipped the film and didn’t turn the cake out, just served it by the spoonful from the bowl I cooked it in). Warm, with nothing more than a drizzle of single cream, it is sublime. This may be my downfall.
Posted by Amelia at 08:18 AM | Comments (29)
October 12, 2005
Silly meme
Uncanny.
Anna needs...
1. ... to be excused from class today.
2. ... a fun club.
3. ... a feeling of success.
4. ... a new coat, but her mother has no money and the stores are empty.
5. ... to grow up a bit.
6. ... more sophisticated drugs.
Google “[your name] needs” and list the best. Via Larissa.
Posted by Amelia at 10:56 PM | Comments (22)
Friday
If you’re at the Knitting and Stitching show on Friday and see me, please come and say, “Hello”. I’ll be there by myself and so pleased to meet you.
Posted by Amelia at 01:17 PM | Comments (8)
October 06, 2005
3,600 sph
Officer, I had no idea how fast I was knitting.
I was composing (in my head of course) replies to the comments I received which asked how I manage to knit so much (along the lines of ‘it’s a combination of the continental technique and a lack of social life’) when I decided to investigate the world speed knitting record. 257 stitches over three minutes (using DK yarn, stocking stitch, 4mm needles, and a row length of 60 sts), or 85 stitches per minute. I‘ve got a sleeve on the needles which was 56 sts wide last night, using DK yarn, and 5mm needles, but I decided that was near enough to do a time trial. I did two trials, timed by the patient Mr Raitte, and both times knit about 180 sts over three minutes. And you know, after the second trial I realised I was sitting differently to how I normally sit, and knit far more fluently (and faster) when I sit ‘up’ rather than leaning back as I had been. But by that time we had realised that I wasn’t presenting a serious threat to the world record holder. However with proper training...
For those who asked: it’s a combination of the continental method (a sexual euphemism if ever I heard one), and neither children nor social life. I usually get in three hours or more a night - that’s nearly 11,000 stitches, I now know - and more on weekends.
Posted by Amelia at 08:24 AM | Comments (15)
October 03, 2005
Pippa
Pippa, started 11 Aug 05 finished 18 Sept 05
Pattern: My own – available here
Yarn: Baby Cashmerino
I like Pippa. She is sober and refined, sensible, cultured, thoughtful. She knows her way around a horse, and plays piano. She has a delicate ankle, and a firm will. She is quiet, but not shy, affable and without guile.
What I most like about this cardigan is that I can wear it to the office without looking the least bit ‘homespun’. Sgt Pepper has some stiff competition for title of most-wardrobe-enhancing knit this autumn.
Next, I am tackling mountains, acres, rather, fields of stocking stitch. You see I’ve taken up ‘The Booker Challenge’, the challenge being to read the shortlist for the Man Booker Prize between the announcement of the list and the winner being announced. Competitive reading in the workplace.
As with competitive sports, in competitive reading I lag fearfully, but join in and have a go regardless. I have already done far better than last year when I managed all of one measly book. This year I am playing by slightly amended rules: I do not have to finish any book. I think of it as a ‘knock-out’ tournament, and it’s really quite scientific. Simply put, if Book B is sufficiently interesting to keep me from Book A, Book A is out of the running and it’s Book C’s turn to go up against Book B. Life being too short for ploughing through dull novels.
So far I have read three-quarters of Julian Barnes’s Arthur & George, which was knocked-out by Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, which I read to the end. They have seen me through a sweater-dress and the front and back of the world’s simplest raglan. I am starting A Long, Long Way with a sleeve: it’s a close call which will be finished first. For Heaven’s sakes, I’m running out of stocking stitch ideas, and I lack the co-ordination to read while doing any other stitch. If I can find the knitting to keep me going, I could potentially finish two whole more books by the 19th.
Talk amongst yourselves.
Posted by Amelia at 11:10 PM | Comments (50)