Damn, Knit & Blast It

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!

Some body stole my Mojo!

My knitting Mojo, I mean.

You may have noticed that I’ve slowed down blogging…and knitting. Partly because I first injured my arm then had an incredibly painful upset tum. All I was capable of was slumping in front of the TV under a duvet and not knitting. This is the woman who in January, managed to make an entire Bowie jumper while prostrate with the flu.

The real trouble is, I’ve just not felt like knitting. Maybe a couple of weeks has been enough to break the habit?

It seems I’m not alone in suffering a “Summer Knitting Slump” though. Quite a few knitters I’ve talked to have either slowed down or switched to other hobbies. I blame the weather. It’s too warm to lust after big warm jumpers and too grey and drizzly here (classic British summer weather ) to inspire cute little cotton tops.

Maybe I’ve discovered a new syndrome - “Summer Knitting Slump” or “SKS”???

I think I’ve been doing too many things for other people or using up yarn on projects that don’t excite me.

I need to try and rediscover my Mojo.

I have been struggling through what should be a quick and rewarding little project.

I picked up recently a skein of Colinette Giotto in a sale basket - It was a bargain. I had to have it…It’s the colourway “Monet”. Perfectly named. I could see the Waterlilies in the skein!

The yarn is a delicious little “sweetie” - when I was little, if I was very good I was rewarded with a “sweetie” - usually tooth-rottingly delicious sweets - I consider a skein of yarn to be a much healthier option!

I’m going to go look for my Mojo on my balcony - it’s a sunny day, the flowers are looking great, I have a big mug of coffee and a Stephen Fry podcast to listen to.

If combining that perfect knitting environment and a skein of beautiful Giotto doesn’t give me the kick I need I’m going to have to seek out therapy - or the Summer yarn sales at least!!

I promise to blog what I achieved very soon…

Have you ever had a yarn related accident?

Have you ever had a yarn buying accident?

I have. I made big Ebay boo boo

I occasionally sell unwanted yarn on Ebay and often browse the knitting section just to window shop. I need more yarn like a hole in the head

Sometimes, if I spot a real bargain, I’ll put in a bid to see if I “get lucky”.

On one of these window shopping expeditions, I spotted 14 balls of Black Rowan Kid Classic, complete with the pattern book.

“Oh, what a bargain! There’s a super pattern in Kim Hargreaves’ Heartfelt called Emily I can make with that!

I bid, a very reasonable amount and won! I paid and a couple of days later my yarn arrived.

Hmmm….That’s a bit fuzzy for Kid Classic…

The ball bands said Kid SOFT!!

I must stress at this point - the seller (who was completely honest and above board) had described the Yarn as Kid Soft. And shown a picture of 14 balls of Kid Soft. And shown a picture of the Kid Soft Booklet. And the title of the Ebay listing said KID SOFT.

So why the bloody hell did I read KID CLASSIC?? I am an idiot - it’s the only possible explanation!

Here is the mountain of fuzzy blackness…

For those of you confused by the difference between Kid Soft and Kid Classic (or if like me you read them as exactly the same thing!)…

Kid Classic is

• Lightweight Aran
• 70% lambswool, 26% kid mohair, and 4% nylon
• knits to 18-19 sts x 23-25 rows
• on 5-5.5mm / 6-5UK / 8-9US needles.

Kid Soft is

• Heavier than Aran (but lighter than Chunky)
• 35% extra fine Merino, 40% kid mohair and 25% nylon
• knits to 15-17 sts x 20-22 rows
• on 5-5.5mm / 6-5UK / 8-9US needles.

Weirdly, Kid Soft and Kid Classic were launched at the same time (about Winter 2000) - subsequent Rowan magazines are chock full of patterns for Kid Classic but there is not one pattern in the Rowan Mags for Kid Soft?? Why launch a yarn and not put it in the mags?

The extra mohair in the Kid Soft makes is very fuzzy and “mohairy”. The differences with gauge will make it hard to swap for kid classic without getting a very dense fabric. And the fuzz would disguise any pretty stitch patterns or detailing.

I looked through the accompanying pattern book - It’s by Kim Hargreaves too! The pattern book was published in 2000 but as ever with Kim, several of the designs are very wearable - who wouldn’t need a plain fuzzy black jumper huh?

With 14 balls I have enough yarn to make a huge coat and a shorter jumper…I’m going to be knitting a lot of black this summer…

My apologies - this post isn’t about knitting! You may think we are crazy but it is at least creative…

It’s about doodling on shopping lists. And an excuse to show you some doodles and record them for posterity.

So what is this about? Traditionally, in our home, Ben has always adorned my shopping lists with little doodles of the items I need to buy - the man draws a wicked loo roll! This has developed into what I’m about to show you.

I have a magnetic notepad for my shopping list on my fridge. It has this cute line drawing of Pooh Bear on the top of each page. He’s by Ernest H Shepard - “Edward Bear Reading Newspaper”

“Nothing worthy of a blog post there!”, I hear you cry.

“Bear” with me on this one… (Sorry - I can’t resist a pun)

Ben likes to doodle….

I found this “Dwarf Pooh” adorning the fridge…

I had to retaliate….

I created “Ben Pooh” (OK - funnier if you know Ben and what a geek he is!)

He was followed by Punk Pooh by Ben

“Hmmmm”, I thought - “I’m being outdone - time to raise the game…”

I introduced colour and created my masterpiece - Disco Pooh…

the escalation continues with Ben’s Orc Pooh

and the latest by me, Lego Pooh

There are about 20 pages left on the pad - the challenge is going to be coming up with 20 more original “Poohable” ideas!

I had a surprise last weekend!

I was whisked away to Edinburgh for a romantic birthday weekend by the lovely Ben. (My birthday weekend was also known by some people as “Easter” this year!)

We had a lovely time and did all the tourist spots, and importantly for a knitting blog, visited a couple of yarn shops!

Ben has always been very stubborn that “he doesn’t feel the cold” and “I don’t need a pair of gloves or a hat” and “Scarves are for wimps”. We got 10 mins out of the hotel on our first night in Edinburgh when a huge icy blast of wind nearly froze the hatless, gloveless, scarfless Ben to the spot. I was dressed in 6 layers and and pretty much in an outfit fit for skiing at minus 25 degrees - I was warm and toasty (and bearing a marked resemblance to the Michelin Man!!)

My Snug Hat and Snuzzle Scarf were vital accessories when we braved the open top bus trip around the city! It was so bloody cold! And yes… I’m a big kid. I insisted on sitting at the front, on the top deck so I could “drive”

Ben finally relented and agreed he needed a hat and gloves - can you imagine my frustration as a knitter - we had to go buy a hat and gloves! I wanted to knit them for him!

Here he is suitably kitted out in nasty shop bought, not hand knitted, items of warmification…

I could have knitted him something much better….

He’s still holding out on the scarf….it’ll take a trek to the Alps to shift him on that one.

Once suitably attired, Ben partially redeemed himself by indulging my need to visit MCA Direct’s shop in Howe Street. If you’re looking for it it’s called “McAree Brothers”. It’s a wonderful shop, a huge range of the well known brands such as Rowan, Gedifra, Patons, Sirdar, Twilley’s - helpful staff and a big fire to sit by (and park boyfriends by) and warm up. I was very strong and managed to resist the urge to buy - I have a gazzilion project in waiting!

The next knit shop was K1 Yarns in West Bow. A small but beautifully formed shop. It was a treasure trove of unusual and exclusive yarns plus a few of the well known ones. Lots of yarn was displayed in little enamelled buckets - so cute!

I ended up hypnotised by a sample square of Habu A-60 Shosenshi yarn that had been knitted and washed. The yarn is facinating - 100% linen coated with Viscose for strength.

It looks like shredded paper packaging!!

I was seriously intrigued. The assistant in the shop did a fine selling job - telling me all about the yarn, how it was washable, pointing out the generous yardage (over 1000 meters!) and showing me a popular pattern by the shop’s owner, Katharine Walker, called Cricket. An interesting Tank top type thingy with an overlapping back and two “tails”.

I tried to be strong…

…£30 on a wierd, strange yarn I’ve not tried before was a lot…

…I really have too much yarn and waiting projects already…

…”I’ll treat you for your birthday if you like”, said the lovely Ben - Who was instantly forgiven for all hat and glove related crimes against knitting!

Thanks for a fab weekend Ben!

I’ve been doing more unknitting. Or frogging, or unravelling, or unpicking to give it a few other names (that’s just the polite ones).

This time I was unknitting Keats. I thought I’d show you a quicker way of actually unravelling the knitting….

All I did was start a section off then thread the end of the yarn onto my ball winder. I then folded the knitting into a bunch so I could hold the unravelling edge in my fist and wound furiously. The ball winder did all the pulling out for me - I have to say - it was strangely enjoyable!

I still had to wind the yarn from the ball into skeins on my swift. I did this by pulling the centre of the ball and winding it on to the swift and tying it like I showed you in my last post. If your winder doesn’t make centre pull balls you could always poke a needle through the centre to let the ball spin round freely.
I was just finishing off this stage and had a lovely collection of Skeins hung over the back of the chair like this …

…when Ben came in and said,

“Yum! you’ve knitted me Super Noodles!”

It transpired that, as a student, these were a major food group for him

I had to admit, there was a striking similarity! I tried to tempt him to eat them….

I just managed to rescue my yarn and wash, dry and reball it before he doused it in ketchup and devoured it…I’m not convinced that Pure Merino Wool would taste worse than Super Noodles!

Not much exciting to tell you on the knitting front. I’m still knitting Hildegard and slogging up the front - One side done up to the shoulder and just starting the other side of the V neck….I’d forgotten what a time consuming pattern it was!

You can also see how the ball of silk just falls apart as you are working too - a bit annoying but it is because it’s silk - all silky soft and slippery

I’ve also had “Mother’s Day Duties” to perform. For a treat, Mum and I visited The Imperial War Museum - they had a fantastic exhibition called “The Children’s War” about the effect of WW2 on children in Britain. For Mum (who was a war baby) it was a huge nostalgia trip - I, of course, got excited by all the references to knitting!

I had to take a photo of this poster to show you all!

Surely there’s a sock yarn company out there who will want to use this??

I was bored watching TV last night and doing some channel chopping while knitting.

I stumbled upon the opening 5 minutes of the 1958 Richard Burton film Look Back In Anger.

The landlady collected her newspapers from the drenched (it was raining) paper boy, complained bitterly that they were wet, then announced, “Time for a good read….”

With the aid of Sky+ I managed to snap a close up of the headline that had titillated her interest.

Should be a warning to all of us Knitters!