Damn, Knit & Blast It

When the waiter bought us our drinks and some olives, while sitting outside a restaurant, by a lake, having an impulsive treat of a meal out, I don’t think Ben was expecting me to go into sudden raptures about the cocktail sticks that accompanied the olives!

I must be the most deeply sad woman alive. And , the most obscurely focused on knitting.

“Look at those! Look at the turned ends! They are perfect miniature Brittany Birch needles!” I gushed.

Ben rolled his eyes.

“Just eat the bloody olives! If you like them so much take a couple home.”

Poor man - he has a lot to put up with

2 of the 4 cocktail sticks went in my purse - unused of course!

This is what a Brittany Birch needle looks like….

and here’s my fabulous cocktail sticks miniature knitting needles..

OK no idea of scale there…

This is Barbie’s current WIP, on hand made wooden needle with “jewelled ends” and a pound coin to give scale…

(OK - They are cocktail sticks with Rowan beads rammed on the end! )

She keeps complaining the needles are rough and snag - that’s why she hasn’t done much.

And here is the bag she keeps all her knitting in…

It’s from a pattern in Knits for Barbie, which I reviewed here a while ago, made with embroidery thread!

I asked Barbie to model with the new needles. She just said,

“Shhhh! Come back later! I’ve got to finish my row!”

I left them in her bag for her….

Look at that….Who’d have though Barbie would knit English style???

Just when I thought I could raid my obese stash for a new project, I remembered…

…In Israel, I had also started Geno from Rowan 43 (the current summer issue). “Gosh”, thinks Susan. “Israel was an unexpected knitting watershed!”

To remind you, that’s this top…

from this mag

If you remember, I had done one pattern repeat on the beach then put it aside because I wanted something needing less concentration.

I had got this far….

Proud of my “one WIP at a time” reputation, I resolved to finish Geno before moving on.

The lace is complicated (for me, anyway) but made much easier by virtue of being charted. Even so, Ben was forbidden to speak, breath, squeak, break wind or otherwise distract me during knit rows. He was permitted to do all of the above during the plain purl rows but he chose to play safe and just stayed quiet - wise man.

Even though this cardigan is in 4 ply it seemed to grow quickly - I was at the armhole in no time.

“Great”, I thought, “I’ll Write out my rows and the decreases in my notebook and crack on….”

Bugger!

The pattern said, “decrease blah blah for the arm hole then, when 15 rows less than the back shoulder shaping have been worked do blah, blah, blah….”

I had been so taken with the lace that I had started on one of the lacy fronts. I hadn’t done the back so had no idea how many rows was “15 less than to the shoulder shaping”.

There was nothing for it, I had to do the plain, boring, stocking stitch back before I could continue.

My beautiful lace was slipped onto a stitch holder to free up my bamboo needles and I valiantly launched into a sea of stocking stitch. As you may have guessed, I prefer knitting that demands a little more attention!

Fortunately, I had decided to have my car serviced before starting my new job. (Bare with me - this is relevant!) I’ll need to drive regularly to Bristol (320 mile round trip) as part of the new job and it made sense to have the car in tip tip shape before doing so. (Talk about temptation - Get Knitted are a few miles down the road from work!)

My 4 year service was due - I usually drop the car off and wait while they do the service…

….the lady who booked my in was very concerned, “The 4 year service is a very long one - you’ll be waiting at least two and a half hours, will you be OK???”, she said.

“It’ll be fine, I’ll bring my knitting, sit in your comfy chairs and drink your coffee!”, I replied.

“OH, I remember, you’re the knitting lady!”

Yup - I’ve knitted and waited there before!

What better opportunity to get a boring back out of the way - most of it at least!

The Mazda garage was as good as it’s word. In just under 2.5 hours I had a serviced, valeted car to start my new job with and a boring back nearly done. Happy, Happy

BTW - have I told you about my lovely little car?

Her name insElsie…(because her registration starts with “L.C.”)

She’s a Mazda MX5 Arctic and I love her to bits. (Soft top sports car for those non-car orientated out there!) She makes driving up and down the country for work a bonus, not a chore.

So enough car stuff - I now have a back…

Once I had the back, I could finish the left front….

Then I could start the next front…for which I had already done the deep, dull rib for at Guilty Knitters while I was far too busy chatting to think about lace patterns!

I’m now here on the second front….

(it’s on a holder ‘cos I needed the needles to do some of the plain sleeve at Guilty Knitters !)

I’m not sure how much knitting time the new job will let me have, but I promise - I’m working on it!!

Would you believe I have finished another garment??!!

I kinda twiddled with this one while I was working on Frappe and, all of a sudden, it was done! This hasn’t happened to me before. Finishing almost without noticing, I mean - I’ve finished the odd garment in my time!

It’s Glace of course….

…Started on the beach in Israel….

……worked on further while pondering Frappe’s collar…

………..barely touched while enslaved in Cardiff…

…………and suddenly finished while watching Die hard 4! OK. OK.That film is not high culture but it got my needles clicking!!

Ta daaaaah!!!

I love the construction of this top - all one piece, just worked up the front and down the back.

I do wish Martin Storey would sort out his sizing though. I made the smallest, 32″ size. My tension is about half a stitch too tight so It should be too small! It is ever so slightly smaller than the specs in the book.
It’s slightly too big on me!
This is supposed to be a size 8 (UK sizing) There isn’t a smaller size. I could work it out for a size 6 if I wanted another one but should I have to?

***I’m sorry but I’m going to have to rant!***

I’m getting pretty tired of hearing constant calls to cater for larger ladies in knitting patterns and clothing stores. Perfectly valid requests! All that seems to be happening is “vanity sizing” making a size 8 bigger so some silly size 10 woman can feel good about herself “fitting in a size 8″. Where does that leave a naturally slightly built woman like me? Dropped off the bottom of the clothing size scale - that’s where. When I can find a size 8 in the stores, it often swamps me (especially at the top )

Where are the cries to cater for small women? Probably stifled by the helpful suggestion that “you look in the children’s department”. I am not a child. I have a womanly, albeit athletic, shape. I have not seen many business suits in the children’s department recently and my tastes moved on from pink glitter and Barbie on my t-shirts several decades ago.

I really don’t think it’s too much to ask for patterns to fit the sizes they claim to fit and cover a range for smaller and larger ladies - not just the ones in the middle!

***rant over** (I feel better now)

Now I’ve ranted I have to confess that I didn’t check the specs against my measurements, so I’m partly to blame. Strange really as I did do a tension swatch! (I didn’t want to end up in Israel with it coming out the wrong tension and no alternative needles with me!)

It looks OK from the back…

The side is a bit “gapey”…

Hmmm
Note to Self:”Hold stomach in more for photos….”

I think it’ll be OK - especially with thicker stuff underneath when it’s colder.

I’m gonna have to find something else to knit now…..what do I have in my ginourmous stash that just has to be knit up??

I was just looking at a Knitting Forum and saw a query about Rowan Tapestry.

“I’ll add my two-penny’s worth into that thread”, I thought, “Where’s those piccies I used to blog about Ben’s “Serge” jumper I made in Tapestry?”

I couldn’t find the pictures.

I couldn’t find the blog post about the jumper.

I could find Ben and the jumper so I knew I hadn’t gone completely ga-ga and started fantasising knitting projects!

The truth dawned on me that this was a “Pre Blog Project” that had never been photographed or blogged

How could I not have blogged this? It’s a rather successful jumper!

Ben was duly stuffed into the jumper, flung against the wall and photographed before he could protest.

So this is Serge …

…From Rowan magazine No. 40 . This one from Winter 2006…

The garment itself was very easy to knit - a basic, round neck men’s jumper with minimal shaping. The interest can from the self striping yarn and the “flaps and straps” details. Oh Dear, I’m making sound like bondage wear!

The Straps and Flaps are knitted separately and sewn into the seams as you make up the garment.

This is the shoulder flap,

and here’s the waist and wrist straps,

There wasn’t much information in the pattern about how to attach these so I improvised and sewed them into the seams. I also put a few stitches behind the shoulder flap to stop it pulling out of place with wear. (And to stop Ben resting his had under it in a Napoleon like fashion! )

The Tapestry yarn is a mix of pure wool and 30% Soy bean protein. Sounds odd but does feel good to me. It’s quite loosely spun so does have a tendency to split if you’re careless and can snap it you tug at it - this didn’t happen to me but I know some tight knitters had issues.
The other important subject to cover about this yarn is itchyness. Ben is not a fuss-pot about itchy yarns and does not have especially sensitive skin. When he first put this jumper on, he lasted less than 10 minutes before tearing at his neck and having to take it off because it irritated him so much. I was horrified! That’s a big jumper and a lot of knitting to be unwearable.
I stiffled my sobs and gently hand washed it and added some fabric softener. This has improved it greatly and it is now wearable, but only with a T-shirt under it. I really wouldn’t recommend this yarn for next to the skin.

Serge is now 2 years old and has been regularly worn and washed. It’s a little pilled but still looking good!

It’s finally sewn up.

As you may have guessed, I didn’t do much sewing up on Frappe while I was enslaved I mean staying with Carol last week.

The rest of the sewing went without incident once I sat down and did it.

So here she is finished…

I think she looks rather smart. A bit big maybe? I made the smallest size - I’m telling myself I’ll be wearing more when it’s cold enough to need a cardi

You think I could wear it for the “Not Totally Formal” days at work??
BTW check out the eye protection - I’d like to blame Carol for burning my retinas with her evil acrylic but the truth is, I’m needing my glasses more and more - I forgot I had them on for the photo shoot - old age! Arrrhhhg!

Want to see the back? I’m not sure about the joining in the collar at the centre back - I think I should have grafted it somehow - it’s a bit stiff and pointy…

Whilst in Cardiff, Carol took me to Claire Grove Buttons - a treasure trove of all thing buttony. After about an hour of running around the shop saying, “Oh have you seen this one” to each other, Carol and I decided on these buttons for Frappe…

I thought they picked up the pattern in the knitting perfectly.

This week I visited Cardiff to see my sister Carol and her lovely hubby Steve. I discovered Carol’s dark secret - a crime against knitting!

Carol’s interest in knitting has been rekindled since I made her a gift of a kit to make some Regia self patterning socks.

Carol completed them with a tiny amount of help from me and our Mum when visiting.

Rather good I think!

Before the socks she had made a very cute little bear…

Carol was really taken with the sock yarn so when we visited Get Knitted in Bristol, where Carol bought some yarn to make a cushion cover.

This too, turned out beautifully

All good so far - what has the poor woman done to offend my knitterly sensibilities?

I found out from a source close to Carol (who’s name will not be mentioned for fear of reprisals) that she had another, unfinished knitting project lurking in a dark corner, shamefully hidden from me!

I made the near fatal mistake of asking about “The Charity Jumper”….

…out came a carrier bag of knitted pieces that needed to be sewn up….

……There was a reason it was kept in a dark corner….

HOW BRIGHT???!!!!

There it was in all it’s toxic, neon glory.
“Where did you manage to buy neon acrylic?”, I gasped - Convinced it has been outlawed for the last 10 years under the Geneva convention…

“Oh, I’m not sure.” said Carol “It’s quite an old pattern for an appeal for African children by Anne Diamond for Good Morning Britain”

That show went off the air in 1992 - I was holding 15 year old, antique neon acrylic!

As I felt my retinas beginning to burn, Carol went for the coup de grace, “All it needs is sewing up then the poor little children can wear it…”

I nearly pointed out that the “poor little children” would now be about 25 and have families of their own. I could feel Carol’s family silently imploring me to finish the glowing creature that had sat in the corner like a fifth member of the family for so many years…

“Shall I sew it up while I’m here?” I heard myself say.

It was perfectly knitted but there were so many ends!

I felt I had become Cinderella - only it was my attractive, real sister and not an ugly step sister, who was working my fingers to the bone! I was sustained only by huge, frequent helpings of tea, coffee, biscuits, cake, chocolate, tea cakes, fruit and other snacks while I worked. It was pure Hell, I tell you

Just when I’d finished sewing, taken off my eye protection and thought my enslavement was complete, we had this…

Carol said, “I’m sure it’ll fit you. It’ll look great with your tan! Lets take a picture…”

Here you are readers - proof of my big sister’s “cruelty” and neon acrylic crimes against knitting…

I could understand that Steve needed protection when inspecting the finished creation…

But it was getting serious when the little bear couldn’t take it!

I can’t believe I still haven’t finished Frappe.

I finished knitting the collar and kinda stalled. I have been horrendously busy, so when I’ve had time to knit, I’m too tired to work out a fiddely-diddley construction job! I have learnt from bitter experience not to attempt sewing up when tired - sleeves can end up protruding from chest cavities like an erupting alien!

So what’s fiddley on the lovely, easy Frappe? I’ll show you…

This is one side of the collar - the knitting is straight forward, increasing from 2 stitches left on a safety pin when you do the front. There is some decreasing at the back of the neck on the collar so I left the stitches on the holder and thought I’d do that once I’d seen how it sewed up a little - better than making it too long or too short then trying to squish it to fit! The only thing to beware of is not to twist and strain those two stitches when you’re whipping up the collar.

These two here…

I was faced with sewing the collar, “without stretching” according to the pattern, onto the body.
It lay on my dining room table for three days with me wondering how it fitted together and what stitch to use to sew it.

I noticed that these two bits kinda fitted so I stuck a pin in there and the rest sort of followed on…

I also cheated a bit
I was in London and popped into Liberty’s, so see if they had any “to die for” end of sale yarn (because I really need yarn - NOT!).

They had a completed Frappe on display I investigated the collar fully and stole all the techniques for attaching it. Basically, slip stitch up the sides until the back of the neck and mattress stitch across the back of the neck with the seam facing away from your neck (under the collar).

The slip stitch worked really well, just picking up the bumps at the end of the rows like this…

I think I made quite a neat job, once I finally sat down and sewed it!

Right side of collar, wrong side of jacket…

Wrong side of collar, right side of jacket…

And this is how far it has got today…I have a sleeve!

In case you’re wondering what I did on those few days I was too tired to sew my brain was occupied, pondering the collar?

I picked up some easy knitting. I accidentally did rather a lot of Glace!

I’ve just had a terrific week.

After some serious looking, I’ve been offered a super job. My days of idleness and knitting are numbered! As an IT consultant, I expect that I’ll have to do some travelling but I promise my knitting will be my constant companion. I’ll keep you posted on the trial of trying to fit knitting into the working week!

Then, as if that wasn’t enough, I jumped on a plane for a week in Israel with Ben. Ben was on a two week training course for his work, in Tel Aviv, so I joined him for the weekend and the second week.

Don’t worry - I’m getting to the knitting bits!

So what knitting to take to Israel? Too damn much - that’s what!

Security at the Israeli airports is seriously strict. I wasn’t going to risk anything long and pointy for the flight - even bamboo. I decided to play it very safe and take some short bamboo DPNs ( that were as threatening as 4 cocktail sticks) and a ball of sock yarn. I only have one set of bamboo DPNs in 2.5mm so I had to find a pattern to fit…

I decided to follow the thousands of other knitters before me and do Hedera by Cookie A. free from Knitty.

I chose Nature’s Palette in colour “Owl’s Clover” from my stash - OK, it’s a very recent addition to my stash. I made a heroic dive across the room and intercepted it on the way to the dustbin when Jane (a fellow Guilty Knitter) was having a stash purge.

Jane. I love your stash purges!! Thank you!!

I started the sock and had it on the needles before I left - just in case the security guard’s English didn’t include the word “knitting”…I could imagine me trying to explain, with much handwaving and no Hebrew, what it was all for!

It all got buried in the bottom of my carry on bag, stuffed in a little pink makeup case…

The good news is that no one batted an eyelid at my knitting at security or on the flight. Unfortunately, I fell asleep both ways for large portions of the flight so I have only managed this much!

Not much to show for 10 hours of flying!! It’s a fun pattern so far - this will be my “travelling sock” now I’m back.

So. Beach knitting…

Several people I know were horrified at the notion of knitting amongst the sand, sea, sweat and greasy suntan lotion. It does take some forethought. I have learnt from (sticky) experience that Kidsilk Haze and sweaty hands are a match made in Hell.

I didn’t want to take Frappe because I was easily going to be onto the making up stage - knitting is one thing - pins, darning needles, sewing on the beach? I’m not quite that insane.

I have found that cotton is very good on a beach - it doesn’t stick to your hands or attract sand. I also have managed to accrue 67 balls of Jaeger Siena in my stash

Subbing the Siena for 4ply cotton, I threw all the yarn, pattern and needles in the case to make Geno from Rowan 43 - in fact it’s the only design I really like from that mag! Lacey front, plain back - lots of choice of what to knit!

I love the Lace on this…

I then had a pang - it’s a bit fine…I’ll just throw 7 balls of Silk Cotton and the needles and the pattern for Glace from RYC Summer delights into the suitcase - you never know…

Thats’s this one - from the cover …

I seriously thought I needed to take enough yarn to complete a cardigan, a singlet and a pair of socks! No wonder my case weighed a ton!

So did I finish all these projects on the beach?

Of course I didn’t!

I managed this much of the lace - one whole pattern repeat - for Geno before deciding that being hunched over a lace pattern chart on a beautiful sun drenched beach was not the best use of my sun tanning potential!

I switched to Glace - There’s 18 cms of 2×2 rib to start Glace - much more suntan friendly!
I managed this…

The sun in Israel was very strong - I tan really easily and rarely burn but even I had to take a couple of days off from the beach.

I explored up the coast, while Ben was busy working , to the port of Jaffa and drank freshly squeezed Jaffa orange juice in a the flea market of Jaffa! I poked around the port and thought, “is that an abandoned knitting project?”

Ben and I took a day trip to Jerusalem - Oh what a fascinating, historical place! We barely scratched the surface in a day. I did, however find a sculpture to world peace…call me obsessed but all I could see was a giant ball of wool!

Frappe is storming along… I’m whizzing up the last sleeve today. Unfortunately there’s nothing interesting or exciting to tell or show you about it - quick, easy, looks good so far.

So in the absence of exciting knitting news, want to see my latest embellished Poohs?

(For anyone confused by that question see my post “The Embellishment of Pooh” for how I came to doodle on an E. H. Shepard drawing of Pooh Bear. )

I have been watching far too much Star Trek whilst knitting…therefore I felt compelled to try a “Spock Pooh”!

He is supposed to be phasering a wibbley orange alien who is disintegrating on the right of the picture…not sure this one worked too well!

Then of course, I realised I hadn’t had a “Knitting Pooh”!

Knitting Pooh is wearing a Noro bobble hat, an Aran Jumper and hand dyed variegated socks! He is knitting from Rowan’s little known book “Knitting Bear Knits”…

Ben felt left out at this point and had to embellish a Pooh to reflect his current game - Bioshock.

That’s a Big Daddy and a little Sister….(play about 40 hours of the game if you feel the need to understand what’s going on here!!)

The standard of Poohs is ramping up now. I needed inspiration…I looked out of the window and saw my veggie patch…

This is my current favourite - Allotment Pooh!

Allotment Pooh is inspecting his carrots and radishes, runnerbeans in the background and a hanging basket on the right (hmmm the basket doesn’t quite work huh?) I was really pleased with the garden fork he’s holding!

I tried to show Thug my art work - apart from being blind, he really was just too sleepy to care!

OK - I admit it - it’s a thinly veiled excuse for cute cat photo!