Chunky Wool Hit; Chunky Wool Miss

After swooning over my friend Heather's Rowan Colourscape Chunky at a recent Sunday meet-up, I took the plunge and bought a couple of skeins for myself. Not cheap at £10.95 per skein, but lovely, lovely, lovely wool. I'm really happy with the texture, it is very even and consistent and has a nice "rolled" feel to it which tames it well. Happy to spend this on a Christmas present for someone who doesn't read this blog. Or if you do, just smile and act surprised. Pretty please!
This is the colourway "Northern Lights" and I'm knitting it into a scarf which has a lot in common with Sarah Hatton's Tainted Scarf. Ravelry link

The colours are pretty and it's knitting really nicely into the pattern. I'm just over half-way at the moment. Chunky Wool - Hit!!!

I've had some Naturwolle Handgesponnen in my stash for some time (Jan 2006). I decided I would work it into another pattern from the Colourscape Chunky Collection, a waistcoat called Valour- Ravelry link . Loving the pattern, loving the yarn, but unlike the Colourscape, this yarn runs thick and thin. Now I'm no expert, but I'd hazard that this is because it's handgesponnen. Anyway, the swatch looked gorge (yes I did swatch!) although I had to go down 1mm in needle size, but the garment is not knitting up well. You know that quirky characterful look you get in slubby yarn in garter stitch and stocking stitch? Well it just looks like you can't knit very well when done in k3 p1 rib. Yes, the pattern has you swatch in st st then work in rib.I've deliberated for a couple of days but I've known in my heart since Friday that it has to go. Froggy Mac Rip Rip.

Chunky Wool- Miss.

Must find another pattern for this lovely stuff. There's a nice short-sleeved cardigan in the pattern book which would work and I have enough yarn for. Very Noro-tastic. But if I'm cold enough for a bulky top I'm too cold for short sleeves. Short sleeved cardigans for me are for light cover-ups when it's just a little bit cool, not for winter warmers.

Anyway, the good news is that the Christmas gift is the one which is going well. I'm working to a bit of a schedule here. As for the Ingeborg Michels Handgesponnen, if it has languished in my stash for two years plus, it can wait a little longer for the ideal project . x K

Visit to New Lanark

The thundering River Clyde

Last weekend we had a lovely visit to New Lanark Heritage Site to soak up some local history and to do some wool shopping of course. It was one of those very cold, very crisp autumn days with blue skies and lovely light while it lasts. I love those types of days.

The last time I visited the place was with an exchange trip of 45 French teenagers and their teachers. It's always the way, isn't it? You don't explore what's on your doorstep until you have visitors to show round. So, to rectify that (and did I mention the wool shopping?) we took a wee run over to have a good look round.

After refreshing our memories about Robert Owen and watching a man unblock a weir full of weeds, we jumped into the shop and browsed for a good while before plumping for 20 balls of Donegal Silk Tweed DK in shade Cobalt. Actually it might have been a canal lock he was unblocking, but it's always interesting to watch someone else work...

I am making Brier from Rowan 36 with the yarn. Normally now I'd link to the Rowan page and show you but the Rowan site is out of commission at the moment. Did I sound measured, composed and calm there? Did I fool you even for a minute?

I can give a Ravelry reference though for Rav members Brier on Ravelry .

And, of course, thank-you very much for all the kind comments about our TV appearance. Aww shucks!!! x K

STV's Five Thirty Show, best episode ever!

Got a spare four minutes?

If so, get on over to STV Five Thirty Show Monday 6th October part two and watch a wee segment on Glasgow Knit n Stitch meetup, sponsored by Stitching Time Hamilton!

It's on between 04:09 and 08:26, just after an item about e-books.

Don't we look swell!!! I'm just amazed that after about 1 hour 45 mins filming they distilled it down to four minutes plus, and even more amazed they didn't feature more of the knitted objects we brought. Anyway, not to panic, here's the link.

http://video.stv.tv/bc/catchup-TheFiveThirtyShowPart2-20081006-1743/

Some of what I'm saying doesn't make sense because of they way it has been edited, but some would say, no change there. Plus, I haven't been knitting for 9 months. SRSLY?

I think we all come over well, and even the panning shots round the room are nice.

And I didn't shout at the telly! x K

Autumn of Socks

Thanks for all the constructive comments about the virtual glasses try-on. I've left the comments open in case you still want to say something, hint hint family members by birth and marriage! It seems as if there is a short-list of favoured looks, and it was very nice and heartening to see that a few liked the ones which ressemble my current choice. Thank-you.

Ok, Autumn of Socks.

Autumn of Socks because yes, it's autumn, but also because I can feel my sock binge drawing to a close. The light is dimming on the sock-fest. The winds of change are blowing in. I will finish the ones on the needles, but they may be my last for some time.


I've finished the Dublin Bay socks in Regia Bamboo for myself (Ravved but not blogged) and some more Regia Galaxy socks to send to Santa for DH. They are in shades of blue this time and turned out nice and swirly, just like the black-grey ones. I can't remember if I said this before and I can't be bothered searching my archives, but apparently the secret is to cast on more than 60 sts if you want the swirls to form.




















And in other news, STV's Five Thirty Show came to the Tron Theatre the other night to our Glasgow Knit n Stitch get-together!
The segment will be broadcast sometime this week apparently, I'll let you know when it will be aired and give the link to the Playback feature on their web-site.
I'll be really interested to see how it's all edited down and how it all comes over.
There's a fair chance Yours Truly will have a speaking part because I demonstrated the basic knit stitch to the presenter.
I can tell you now I will cringe at my posture and will be shouting at the screen, "Sit up straight, Kathleen!!!!!" x K

Glasses glasses spectacles glasses

Just been trying out a marvelous feature on the Specsavers website.
You upload a head and shoulders shot of yourself, and identify the centre of your pupils, then the software crops it and lets you "try on" loads of different glasses.

http://www.specsavers.co.uk/try


Quiksilver 9 are about the closest to my current pair, but I feel like a change because I'm fed up of the "barely there" look.

Do you think I'm roughly on the right track with these samples? Honesty please. (Maybe not b-r-u-t-a-l honesty!)You can go anonymous if it will help you be candid ;-)

And yes, I did "try on" loads of different styles as well, including plenty I didn't think I'd like, just for comparison's sake.

Maybe you've never seen me in glasses before, ha ha! I usually wear contact lenses. x K

Socks on Rocks!

Here's a pair of boot-socks for me made in Regia Crazy Color 6 faedig, shade "Passion". Wheet whew! Who knew such passion could be found in thick socks?

The pattern is called Prism and is a slip-stitch pattern by Jaya Srikrishnan and is available as a free download on Ravelry or via this link over at Socknitters. The pattern is written for 4-ply so I had to do some adjustments and trial-and-error on that first leg.

One small modification: I continued slipping every third stitch on the heel flap although I didn't let the slipped stitches float, I purled them up the next row, whereas elsewhere on the pattern you stitch them up after three rows.

This was my first time knitting a sock on two circulars and it worked out pretty well apart from times when I wasn't paying close enough attention to which needle end I grabbed and ended up in contortions. I think next time I'm knitting a thicker sock I'll try the magic loop method. BTW I say thicker sock because I don't have any circs below, say 3mm.

Thanks for your kind comments on here and via email on my Simply Sausage lace socks in the last post. x K

Simply Lovely Lace Socks # Take Two

Ok, to quickly get you up to speed.

In 2006 I started a pair of Simply Lovely Lace Socks by Karen Baumer from Interweave Knits Spring 2006 in Opal Uni yarn.
I knitted two at once on lots of dpns until the cuff was as long as I wanted for ankle socks, then laid them to the one side for a-a-a-ages, having fallen out of love with socks again, and not having enjoyed knitting into the back of every knit stitch.

In summer 2007 I decided to give them a new lease of life and made them into fingerless gloves for myself, which actually involved quite a lot of knitting the lace pattern I hadn't enjoyed, and a lot of fudging and making it happen, but I was very happy with the results.

Now fast forward to summer 2008 when during a sock binge I realised that I hadn't actually ever worn my fingerless gloves for real, only in poses for blog posts/ Flickr.
So I fished them out, frogged the handy and thumby bit of the glove, rolled that crazy, tangly stuff and put it aside and did what I should've done in the first place, which was knit on the rest of the sock in stocking stitch. Dunno why that option didn't occur to me last year, maybe just because I was so out of the sock knitting mentality. Fortunately I had plenty of the Opal Uni left.

I am delighted with the results, and they will get much more wear out of these sockazitos than from a pair of opera gloves.

Here are a few photos for your perusal. Two things to look out for are 1) Look at all of the autumn leaves starting to hit the grass and 2) Look at my sausagey feet in the second-last photo. It was taken at a weird angle, but my feet and ankles are very sausagey in real life as well, I must confess.


Thank-you for the kind comments about last week's Dark Galaxy socks. x K

Something to "plank"

DH and I have decided to have a "recession proof" Christmas.

The upside of this is it is very liberating and lifts the obligation to buy a few extra not really wanted gifts just because the pile looks too small. One or two handmade or lovingly selected presents shared in our own home.
The downside is, well there isn't really a downside, there will be other years to splash out !
You never know, I may even accomplish some stash-busting.
I must find a place to store these Christmas socks now where I will remember where I put them. I don't need to find too inventive a hiding place because he has seen them and tried them on several times for the custom fit.
These are knitted in Regia Galaxy in Granit purchased from GetKnitted. Each sock used about 40g worth of yarn. I'm really pleased with them because they are a good balance of sober enough to wear but with a little visual interest to keep the knitter sane. The yarn feels lovely too.
The sock-binge continues and I should have some lady socks to show you soon. Happy Knitting x K

Beautiful yarn

Now, it's not much that gets me over to the Far East but I was pleased to make an exception to go over and check out a trunk show of beautiful hand-painted and hand-spun yarns made by my friend Tigerlilith .
She has a web presence as well as the fact that some qualities and colourways are available from K1 yarns .

I selected some 2-ply laceweight, seen here in blue, or Aegean to be precise. It feels divine, being made from baby alpaca, silk and cashmere. DH was pawing it for ages when I showed him.
Next to that is some superwash merino 4-ply sock-yarn in Violets, which is a perfect name to encompass all the shades of purple in this one.
Sitting on top is my little "Emergency yarn" loyalty key-ring gift, he he.



Next up we have some more of the Merino Superwash 4-ply, this time in the special K1 colourway- predominantly damson with bottle green in places. I've always liked this one when I've seen it online so I took the plunge when I saw how lovely it was in the flesh as it were.
The last Old Maiden Aunt offering is a bamboo-merino blend in Neptune. I am always magnetically pulled towards this type of colour combo and the hand of the yarn is just yummy.

I hadn't been to the Edinburgh branch of K1 Yarns before, so while I was there I took the chance to pick up some of the Noro Kureyon sock yarn I'd been hearing about too.

If you fancy getting your hands on some Old Maiden Aunt yarns, some of the remaining items from the trunk show have been loaded to the web shop as above, so go on over and feast your eyes! x K

Knitted gifts

more animals

From head to toes

No more head-gear for the time being, I'm in the throes of a sock binge!

Buying sock yarn, buying 2 point something needles by the dozen and hell yeah, even doing some actual sock knitting. I really do go in phases.

For moi some Dublin Bay socks by Ryan Morrissey at Mossy Cottage Knits (free download) made from Regia Bamboo Color in girly colours.

For DH some plain vanilla socks in Regia Galaxy in black and tones of grey. Not too boring though, cos you get some swirly galaxy things emerging as long as you cast on 60 or more stitches.

And some shopping from Stitching Time in Hamilton.

Jawoll Silk from Lang Yarns; Wool Craft Superwash Sock Yarn in blue-burgundy-green, Regia Design Line Kaffe Fassett; Wool Craft Superwash Sock Yarn in bluey-greeny. Fairly sedate colours so I can knit them for either of us, depending on who's being good.

Oh yes, and I've also bought the Galaxy yarn in three other colours. So far. x K

Final headscarf of the season

No, it's not some lingerie I've been running up in my spare time, it's my latest (and probably last of the year) headscarf.
This time it has been done in crochet. Man, crochet eats up your yarn! This took 1.5 balls of Adriafil Swing which is 100% mercerised cotton.
To be honest, it's a little bit boardy because I hooked it on a 3mm hook which was maybe a little small, but I have good dense, substantial fabric now. Not the world's drapiest, but it does mould to the shape of head at least, it's not THAT firm.
I'm chuffed with this for a number of reasons. I love the yarn, I figured out how to make it all by myself and then I looked it up on the interwebs and I have been doing the increases at each end properly.
However, I have only been doing 2 turning chain at the beginning of each row when convention dictates it's 3 turning chain for British trebles. Live and learn.
Last time I posted something similar I was recommended to say "ties" for the little strings which hold it on. If you remember I couldn't work out how to spell tie-er (which sounds like tyre, nothing like tier of a wedding cake). Ties is good, but I'm still holding out a glimmer of hope one of you brainy folk can give me a variation. Happy crafting, K x

Tip of crochet headscarf

Learned to increase during the course of this project.
Chain edging; looks neater when teased into shape!

Close-up of crochet fabric

Hello sailor!

When stylist Gok Wan said the sailor look was going to be big this summer and every summer, I doubt this is what he had in mind!

This is my latest headscarf. (I know, I don't what the addiction is, I'm also hooking one at the moment.)

It's made from white, tomato and navy Patons 100% 4ply coton, which is the same stuff as the Adamas.

There's a little crochet shell border which isn't too well-seen in the pictures.

I needed it today to keep the sun from frying my hair in scorchio Galloway. xK

It's Hip Knits, Jim, but not as we know it!

Firstly thank-you for the kind comments about the Adamas headscarf.

Ok, now, a knitting-related excursion.
Last week we paid a visit to Shambellie House in New Galloway , which is hosting a temporary exhibition called Hip Knits but which has nothing to do with what we think of when we hear the expression HipKnits. They were also very liberal with the expression "Get Knitted" too, both of which I thought would stir up legal connotations, but anyway, to the exhibition.

Well, it was quite nice. Damned by faint praise? Yeah. I knew it would be a small exhibition because I had visited the museum before and new which room the temporary items are housed in, so it wasn't that. It was that the only two pieces of hand-knitting in the room were 1) a stringy very avant-garde Vivienne Westwood drapey thingy and 2) the jumper I was wearing.

Granted, it didn't spell out in the publicity blurb there would be hand-knitting, but I (wrongly) assumed so, particularly with them bandying words like Hip Knits and Get Knitted on their pamphlets and posters etc. Ah, the power of language!

So, it was virtually all machine knits, some of which were very nice, but left me feeling a bit meh. I wouldn't say, don't go to the exhibition, but I would say,"Don't travel long distances and/ or come with high expectations!"

I look some pictures, but as flash was not allowed they didn't turn out well enough to blog. Just picture a generic-looking Pringle Argyle in baby-pink and black in a size 8. Ah, the power of the mind, I'm sure you're "looking" at the exact same picture as me! x K

User-friendly version?

A user-friendly version of the comparison DH made, mentioned in last post?

Missus wummin is not unlike the girl styled on the cover of the latest Rowan, although she is facing the opposite diro.

Contessa in Profile Wearing Heid Bunnet

Ok, here are some outdoor shots of me wearing the Adamas Headscarf.
I'm loving it and may well work up to a shawl sized one in an animal fibre.
DH took these photos, reckons his handiwork is very reminiscent of the type of composition Renaissance painters did of ladies of high birth in profile over-looking the Tuscan landscape.
Perhaps this Portrait of Battista Sforza by Piero della Francesca 1466
which we saw in the Galleria delgi Uffizi in Florence during our honeymoon will give you the idea, although I think he means a genre rather than one specific picture.
Anyway, Adamas heid bunnet; enjoy. x K

Coughed up

Ok, after much deliberation I've coughed up and signed up for a Pro Account at Flickr so I can load more than 200 photos.

For the last wee while some of my photos have not been visible cos I had exceeded the 200 mark. (They pop up again when you take the plunge and pay.) I had been swithering because I don't grudge paying the £13 or so for this year, but I can't imagine I'll want to go back to a free account so it's a commitment for the foreseeable.

Anyway, you may notice that I am loading quite a lot of completed projects on Ravelry over the next while, I've not become a prolific knitting robot, it's just I've got the Flickr space to load the photos now. Some of them date back a good couple of years.

And in case you didn't know, my Flickr name is KEDkrafty. x K

Adamas lace headscarf

Can I apologise now if the spacing on this post is weird, it's jumping about like a mad thing.

Hiya, knitting up a storm during the school holidays!
Here are the specs of my latest finished object, all being well I'll have some action shots in a couple of days' time.

So this is Miriam L. Felton's Adamas shawl pattern, done to headscarf size.

This is available as a Free Ravelry pdf download
You can get this as a free pattern on Mim Knits website as well, linky .

It's a lovely clear, well-written and charted neck-down triangular shawl, stop after as many repeats as you like, no fancy maths to make the border chart work. I did three repeats of the main chart.

My only small reservation is you knew this was coming, didn't you? ;-) that at the beginning you cast on five and start your increases from there. This is fine, but it just means you have a wee small section at the beginning where you don't get the garter ridges on the back neck (or in my case with the headscarf, front head). If you have ever knitted an Evelyn A Clark shawl design you will know what I mean. You start with k2 and do tricks with mirrors so that your wee garter ridges are consistent.

I made it with Patons 100% Cotton 4ply in shade #02708, Tomato. I enjoyed working with this yarn, it's a mercerised cotton and has a nice sheen, and it feels so much finer than Rowan 4ply cotton for example, which I used to make a Previous Headscarf . He he, very link happy tonight!

I weighed it when it was finished, and it was 33g so that means I must have used in the region of 100m to make it.

If you see some strings at the top, it's not unsecured ends, it's little I-cords I've done as straps. I've tried half a dozen times to spell tie-er, the thing you tie it on with, but I can't seem to spell it, any suggestions?

ETA: I used my new Addi Lace Needles in 3.25mm size which I bought from Outback Yarns which is the knitting department in the Gem Shop, King Street, Castle Douglas.

Loving the written patten, loving the way it knitted up, loving the yarn. Happy KEDkrafty.

Purchase sufficient yarn...

...as dyelots may vary.
You said it, sister!

A couple of years ago I bought three balls of the SWTC Oasis 100% Soysilk in HK Handknit Edinburgh as I fell in love with the colour.
I thought at the time it would make a nice Clapotis. Actually I still do, but don't laugh, at the time I thought Clapotis was too hard and I couldn't get my head round the pattern. (Thanks to Ravelry I now think Clapotis is a cake walk.)

Fast forward one year and Get Knitted are having a big sale on SWTC Oasis 100% Soysilk.
I say to myself, it's not going to become a Clapotis so I'll buy some more and then I'll have enough for a summer top. Now obviously I know that there will be subtle variations in the shade due to different dyelots of the same colour NAPA VALLEY.
So I receive my 8 balls of it in cheapy looking ball bands and feel a kind of disappointment with a vague feeling that the 3 balls I have in my stash (right down at the bottom, inaccessible) are much nicer. I think my memory is playing tricks with me, and try to shake off the feeling that if I had seen this batch in a shop I'd have walked on by.

So now we're up to the present time and I'm ready to make myself a summer top. I haul out the original lot and it is a DOZEN TIMES NICER than the second batch! My lingering sense of disappointment was right. The second batch (left)goes like this PURPLE>OLIVE>PURPLE>GOLD.
The first batch goes like this PURPLE>LILAC>GOLD>WHEAT>PEPPERMINT>OLIVE. The colour transition is much more subtle in my original balls and overall lighter and fresher.
Can you see the difference in the photos?
And in the first batch the yarn is about 1/2mm thinner, which may seem nothing, but in my massive 12 stitch swatches for your delectation, version one on the right is 1 1/2 stitches narrower.
Needless to say I'll work with more than one ball at once. Boo hoo, I wish they were all like batch one on the right. I thought I was safe enough because I'd seen the yarn IRL.
Take heed of my salutory tale!
x K