Jane's Probably Knitting

Autumn Syllabus

2008-08-20T21:46:00.006+01:00

I don't know about you, but around my way it feels like summer is drawing to a close even before it's started. There's a definite 'Back to school' feel to the air which has set my mind to wandering. When I started this blog I wanted to use it to track the things that I have learned and the way that I have developed as a fibre artist. I've been looking at my recent posts and feel that I've got stuck in a bit of a rut, largely populated by socks and mittens. I've made brief forays into the land of lace and big baggy jumpers but if you have a look at my list of finished objects it is dominated by the small stuff.

And here we have a good example. Despite my Spring Forward socks being the very last thing I cast on recently I have already finished the first one.There is something so comfortable about a delicious yarn and an intuitive pattern which makes round after round fall from the needles and before you know it there's a sock!

The interesting texture belies the simplicity of the stitch pattern.

Having all my knitting books in one place has meant that I have had a golden opportunity to sit down and think about a few projects that I would like to get under my belt during the rest of the year which will take me out of my comfort zone and build on my existing skills. Here is a range of projects which have made my short list.

I have been thinking about having another go at felting for some time.I have a nice stash of very feltable wool upstairs and need to start using it. After I saw Kathryn's beautiful felted bag while I was teaching the sock class I just had to have this book.

And this is the bag in question...

If I can felt to a decent standard the family may be able to look forward to felted slippers for Christmas...

I have become very attached to my drop spindles recently but think it's time to apply a bit of theory to my practice before I get fixed in potentially bad habits. Who else to use as my guide than Priscilla Gibson Roberts who is a passionate advocate for the use of the hand spindle. She also meets my needs for looking at social history as her work is very much grounded in traditional techniques.

How could any serious knitting syllabus not include spending some time with Elizabeth Zimmermann? My garment knitting is currently confined to cosy but not particularly elegant or fitted top down raglan snuggling jumpers. These are fine but I think it's time I learned to move on to something more interesting. Learning from Elizabeth Zimmermann isn't just about how to follow a pattern and practice complex techniques, she encourages knitters to think for themselves - although she makes no apologies for being very opinionated!

I am particularly drawn to the elegant construction of her hybrid sweater.

Diving once more into the historical side of knitting I'd really like to knit myself a proper traditional gansey. As you may recall if you have read this blog for some time I made a gansey with traditional Cornish motifs on it for my friend Leon in Australia. He loves this garment and wears it day in day out in the winter. I am very proud of it but have to admit that I knitted it when I was a much less well informed knitter and made it in the flat, in pieces, without the underarm gussets. This time I want to make one in the traditional way, in the round using all the right traditional techniques.

I do now, however, that I don't find crew necks particularly comfortable so I am planning to take a pattern from this wonderful book. I love the photographs. Doesn't this little ragged band look like they are just about to start a jolly good playground scuffle?

Rather than a round necked, long sleeved navy gansey I plan to adapt mine in the style of the Herring Girls whose ganseys would be of non traditional colours, often buttoned at the neck and with elbow length sleeves.

Here's another photo from the book for good measure.

You just don't get faces like that any more do you? This man was the sole survivor of a lifeboat tragedy where the other 12 of the crew died. I fancy I can see it written in his expression.

Moving on, I really want to try to incorporate techniques such as cabling into my knitting but am definitely not the shape that would look good in an aran jumper.

Enter More Big Girl Knits - patterns that work for the curvy girl who wants to knit interesting things that fit.

Not only is there loads of good technical information about how to knit to fit your body shape,whatever size you may be, it also has gorgeous projects like this which I hear calling my name!
Finally, there are very few days in London when really warm knitwear is called for so I want to start making pieces that are wearable without suffocating myself so I thought I might try a waistcoat or two. In the US I understand they are called vests which as we Brits know is a piece of gentleman's' underwear that the prudent man is chary of shedding any time before the end of May.
To suit me, a waistcoat has to have a strong vertical line which I think this Japanese inspired design does quite well.
I think I have probably planned my knitting life for the next year as I know that between all these projects I will be wanting to continue to knit socks and mittens and maybe even gloves... As a designer I know that this is my niche and I have plans for more designs for submission to publications or to publish myself. I am developing a reasonably full programme of teaching too which means that one way or another life is going to be very full and interesting!

Tomorrow I am off to Wales for my nephew's 9th birthday. I am going to try to be good and take only works in progress.

I'll fess up on how I got on when I get back!

The wisdom of knitters

2008-08-17T22:13:00.003+01:00

I hope my commenters are feeling pleased with themselves. You were all absolutely right, rather than get bogged down in my morass of work in progress I needed to focus in on getting at least one thing finished - and here we have them - the Scroll Lace Socks by Bowerbird Knits are finished. Despite the fact that they was about twice as much knitting in them as an average pair of socks the pattern was easily memorised and flowed very well.

This finishing lark is quite addictive so I also put the finishing touches to these socks for my niece. The last pair I made for her are lovingly folded in her drawer but she did admit that she finds them a bit scratchy so the search began for yarn for a princess. The yarn I ended up choosing was Yarn Yard Merino Tencel which is very warm and soft. I do hope that she likes them. I will soon find out as I am off to Wales to see them next weekend for my nephew's 9th birthday. I love visiting at this time of year, not only for the birthday celebrations but also for the Talybont show where this year the sheep should be back after last year's blue tongue scares.

This week I have been beavering away on my works in progress. I have started the second sleeve of my charcoal jumper, finished the first bobbin of my green merino silk spinning and reached the final flutter of my flutter scarf. One more good bobbin full should finish the thing! How exciting.

Finally, I have to fess up. All this hard work deserved a small reward.... So, I have cast on for a new sock. This is Spring Forward from the latest Knitty in Sanguine Gryphon Eithos yarn in the shade Parmenides. It's lovely soft, lustrous merino and is knitting up very nicely I think.

I'm now off to get on with my charcoal jumper. Honest....

Test of endurance

2008-08-12T21:19:00.005+01:00

Spurred on by the feeling of accomplishment from working on my stash and books, this weekend I turned my attention to my knitting needles and works in progress. I am now the smug owner of sorted and stored straight, dpn and circular needles all in one place and under control.

Would that the works in progress were as disciplined. It has dawned on me that the majority of my projects are in that difficult middle phase where the cast on enthusiasm has departed and the end seems too far off to act as an incentive. I have spent the last few days knitting up a storm yet the end remains tantalisingly out of reach on all fronts. I wish I had the focus and strength of will to concentrate on a project at a time and systematically tick them off but sadly I have the attention span of a gnat and need to rotate them every so often. Progress is therefore not always visible to the naked eye. They also make for extraordinarily dull photography. Take a snooze inducing tour with me....

First we have the scroll lace socks which are past the point of no return but still requiring a foot.

I'm starting to get a vague scent of home with these but I am at the point of wondering what possessed me to embark on a pair of 80 stitch extra long socks on 2mm needles.

They are a positive sprint when I compare them to my Thermal, which despite the investment of another couple of hours knitting is managing to defy the laws of physics and actually get shorter the longer that I work on it. There is so much work wrapped up in this and the fabric feels so soft and lovely that I will press on...

There was something in the blustery wind at the weekend which carried with it foreshadowing of autumn which lent working on my squishy and slouchy grey jumper a sense of renewed urgency. This, in contrast responds well to a bit of hard work and lo and behold we have a sleeve! I just have to brace myself for the other one and the collar....

I seem to have been knitting away on my Mrs Trellis shawl forever and it is certainly growing more quickly than it did when I started. I have, however, only done 15 of the 30 pattern repeats and then there's the border. This one is going to run and run...

Spinning has been happening too but all I have to show you is another 29g skein of yarn for my Flutter. Are you still awake? I'm starting to flag...

By this time I had spent so much of the weekend glued to the sofa it was very likely that my backside had grown roots so it was time to hop up and get a bit of exercise on the wheel. I've done about a metre and a bit of the entrelac scarf and have run out of green yarn so have started spinning the next 100g of Menthe. It really is the most beautiful stuff to spin...

I am rather proud of myself that I have managed to make tangible progress on most of my projects, if we don't think about the Thermal, and have resisted the temptation to cast on something new although things have been buzzing through my head all the time.

I'm also impressed that you have managed to read this far without dropping off so here is our reward. Saturday's post was very kind.

First she brought me this beautiful Elemental from the very lovely and talented Ambermoggie.

She is an Air Elemental representing inspiration and ideas. She has a woodpecker feather in her hair. These birds live on what they find in the wood as I use wood to bring ideas into fruition with spindle, wheel and needles. I think she is beautiful and just perfect for me. She is a drop spindler herself and has taken up residence with my spindles.

The final thing I have to show you may not be suitable for those of a nervous disposition. If you are easily excited please look away now, for your own protection. May I present the knitting geek book to end all knitting geek books.

There really is no hope for me...

Bits and pieces and booby gussets

2008-08-09T09:46:00.005+01:00

It's been a bit of a whirlwind of a week. All good, and mostly fibre related but has all shot by in a bit of a blur. What have I been doing?

Earlier this week I taught a Sock Masterclass for Socktopus Alice. I had four students and was delighted to discover that two of them had taken one of my beginners' classes and have been hooked on socks ever since.i don't think I could have been paid a higher compliment. So hello to Kathryn, Ali, Nora and Sarah. It was a pleasure to spend time with you all and I hope you enjoyed the class.

Below is a picture of the class project we worked on - a supremely useful cup holder, inspired by the mildly controversial pattern in the recent Guardian supplement, as a way to demonstrate a few fun colour work techniques.

I will be teaching this class at Iknit next Saturday and I believe there are still places left if anyone is interested, or in desperate need of a cup holder...

Another wonderful thing about the class was that all the participants are accomplished knitters in their own right and I always learn something from them.Kathryn had the most fabulous felted bag so of course I dashed home and ordered the book, and the handles.... I may limber up this weekend with some felted slippers.... I am like an impatient child.

I have, amazingly enough found time for a bit of knitting. It is with great delight and relief that I present the final happy couple from the Summer Pick 'n' Mix series. Phew! This is the Haystack sock again, done in a completely different colour combination to show how much the colour choice alters the look of the sock, she says, stating the blindingly obvious.

I have also been working away on the entrelac scarf. With 7.5mm needles this project is galloping along.I am going to have to get the rest of the fibre on the wheel before I run out! I estimate I should have plenty enough to make a long enough scarf for swishing about purposes. I have to say that I love the fabric - it's so gloriously uneven and random but,thanks to Natalie's colour sense, holds together perfectly.

Remember how I said, only last week that I was alarmed by how many knitting books I had? Ahem... Yesterday, my friend Anne and I decided that we needed an afternoon off so we made an appointment to visit the Felicity J Warne textile art bookshop in Enfield. I have met Felicity at various fibre shows and festivals and whilst I know that she only brings a small selection of books with her I had no idea what an Aladdin's cave of wonderful things her shop is. It is tucked away in a residential street so there is no way that you would know it was there unless told. In addition to all the textile art and design books she also has a good collection of womens' and social history books.

It's wonderful to meet someone who is passionate and knowledgeable about their work, and makes a good cup of tea too!

I was reasonably restrained in my purchases, limiting myself to half a dozen books that I couldn't possibly go home with out. This is the prize of my haul. I have been looking for this book for ages as it combines knitting and social history but has always been prohibitively expensive on Amazon. Felicity's pricing policy is knowledgeable but very fair.

This book is the social history of Hand Knitting and Spinning in New Zealand and I haven't been able to put it down. It has the usual complement of wonderful old photographs....

Of Mary McDonald knitting a jumper on long double pointed needles.

Of Jean Drummond whose hands are a blur of movement as she couldn't wait for the camera to complete its exposure to continue working on her sock.

Of course, whilst I aspire to be a serious minded social historian, when faced with a photo such as this, of course I have to giggle and point at the bosom gussets.

Oh dear....

The great British summer - with added ferrets

2008-08-03T23:57:00.006+01:00

This weekend I spent doing my bit for spreading the knitting word by teaching in the Big Knit tent at the Innocent Village Fete in Regent's Park. The Innocent smoothie company do a charity promotion annually where they get people to knit little hats for their smoothie bottles for Help the Aged. At this point my utilitarian streak pops up and asks what the point of knitting hats for bottles which have no apparent use is .However, as a way to teach the basics of knitting they are a good quick project so the event was a lot of fun with a purpose!

The weather wasn't particularly kind, especially on Sunday. The hats in this photo were dripping from a heavy shower.In the end we resigned ourselves to being either wet or steaming!

Of course, there were opportunities for other entertainment. On Saturday I had a long lunch with Sally and Justine from the Miss Flip Knits podcast. My stomach ached from laughing by the time we had reported late for duty.

On Sunday Gerard from IKnit and I sneaked away, via the free gin tent (we were wet and chilled,it was medicinal) to the ferret racing.

For the uninitiated this is a ferret.

In theory these creatures are supposed to run through these ferret assault courses. In reality they are clearly so well fed that they are not motivated by the food reward at the end. In spite of the man with the megaphone. We were a little underwhelmed.
With all these distractions there hasn't been much spinning and knitting going on at Yarn Archive HQ.

I did, however, ply the first bump of the July Yarn Yard club yarn.

And I have started the entrelac scarf. I'm very pleased with how it is looking.

Even from the back. I think the rustic look of this pattern is a perfect partner for handspun. These calm closeups are deceptive, however. This small patch of knitting is the product of a frenzy of swatching, ripping and discarded needles. I started off with 48 stitches on 5.5mm needles. Much later it is now 24 stitches on 7.5mm needles.

It's now got the sort of drape that I am looking for and is narrow enough so that with luck and a fair wind I will get enough length to be good and swishy.

Must get going on the rest of the roving.

Greens are good for you

2008-07-31T00:51:00.003+01:00

When we have an extended period of warm weather I find myself living more and more in the garden, spending less and less time within the confines of four walls. This means that essentials have to follow me out into my favourite corner. I think the wheel looks quite at home.

Of course, other essentials have to come too.

As you may have noticed, my Yarn Yard merino silk is now on my bobbin. I am aiming for a double knit sort of weight and, as I am planning an entrelac shawl, I don't want my colour runs to be too long. I want random squares of colour rather than half stripes of colour blocks. I am, as you can see, stripping the roving down into pencil sized pieces and predrafting.

The single is starting to look like this:
Keeping an even yet thicker single than I have become accustomed to spinning is quite a challenge but I'm learning to adjust the wheel so that it works with me in this quest. I am also planning to do a normal two ply finish on this yarn as I want as many pairings of colour throughout the yarn as possible to give maximum interest to the entrelac.

Now I've stated my intentions, I'm a little nervous about what the final product will look like but it's all part of the learning process isn't it?

What would Miss Deborah say?

2008-07-28T21:56:00.007+01:00

Before doing anything else you must have a look at what Karen at Cornflower has done with her Cranfords! I think they look absolutely gorgeous and love the way that Karen has gently subverted them. I'm not sure what Miss Deborah, the moral arbiter of Cranford would say about them but I think Miss Mattie, her sister would harbour a quiet desire for a pair just like them.

Miss Deborah may well be better disposed towards this little corner of the world which has become my knitting haven in these hot, sultry days. This seat, tucked under the back fence of my garden gets the sun in the morning but by the evening when I come home provides some really welcome cool shade. She might also look benignly on my 'bower' which is entirely utilitarian. You may spot bean, cucumber, tomato, raspberry and aubergine plants. The rest are herbs for teas and cooking. Even the golden rod can be used as a dye plant. Standing sentinel at the edges of the path are two bush basil plants which throw up a wonderful scent when you brush through them. Also helpful in discouraging insects....

Spending an hour in active stillness means that the garden wildlife forgets that you are there, the blackbirds scold their newly fledged broods, a bumblebee is dropped from the air by an invisible spider's thread ,brushes itself down and carries on its way. Miss Deborah would surely smile on my quiet industry as I turn the heel on a sock and ply a spindle of yarn.

She might also be mildly impressed by my patience and fortitude. My June Yarn Yard fibre club parcel came on Saturday (warning for Club members who haven't received theirs yet, a photo does appear at the end of this post so look away if you want a surprise).

It took all my self control not to abandon my current spinning project and start on this but I resisted. I was spinning sock weight yarn from Crown Mountain Farms .Superwash Merino in their 'And the beat goes on' colourway. It's a randomly dyed roving with a fair bit of the white showing through. I divided the roving in half and then heavily edited it to remove some of the white. This I did by eye rather than weight which rather came back to haunt me later...

Over the weekend I set myself two tasks. Finish spinning this yarn and carry on with decluttering and reorganising my house. All day on Saturday I span, and span and span. The pile of roving never seemed to get any smaller. All day on Saturday I carried piles of books upstairs and down, made heaps of things for charity shops, Freecycle and recycling and the place seemed to look more of a mess than when I started.

By the end of Sunday I had plied and skeined all of my yarn and out of interest put it on the scales as it seemed an enormous amount. I had just made 176g of sock yarn, about 600m of the stuff. No wonder I felt like I'd just pedalled up the Champs Elysee with the winners of the Tour de France. I'd forgotten how generous the Crown Mountain Farm portions are and would have realised had I thought to weigh it first! I do love it though, and it is infinitely better than the same yarn that I made a year ago.

Rather too much of it for socks though...

By the end of Sunday all my knitting books were gathered together on shelves and I am starting to see floor and table space that has been hidden for a chasteningly long time.I'm even more chastened now that I can see how many knitting books I have.

Here is a small selection.I hope that you will agree that I deserve to play with my new fibre now. I really couldn't be happier with it. As I said to Natalie, if I could have sent her a telepathic message of the fibre and colour that I most desired it couldn't have been better. Merino silk in a wonderful blend of bright grass green and brooding greys inspired by a gathering thunderstorm.

It has made me rethink a project. I was planning to make another entrelac shawl with two skeins of a green and one of a pink and green blend.I've been dithering over it, however, worrying that I wouldn't have enough yarn and also that the green tones in the contrast yarn were too bluish.

I think the two club yarn skeins work just perfectly with the green to create a dramatic shawl which will work beautifully with my largely black winter wardrobe. I can see myself wearing it really clearly.

Must go - I have to start spinning!

Spin Span Spun

2008-07-24T22:47:00.005+01:00

When I came back from the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival I was so excited about all the yarn and spindles and such that I quite forgot some of the more offbeat things that followed me home. During my pitiful attempts at decluttering at the weekend I came across this little gem that I had quite overlooked. Therein hangs the tale, I fear, of why my decluttering wasn't the transformation of my living space that I imagined. I am easily sidetracked by the lost objects that come to the surface when a few layers are removed.

Anyway, this lovely little book came from the Society for Creative Anachronism (who else?) and contains 'Fact and Folklore for Spinners and Weavers and is by Beth Hochberg.

It contains an apparently random selection of interesting little snippets so I thought I'd share a couple that caught my eye.

' When unmarried Hungarian girls would wait for the young men to come and court them, they sat in a group and spun with the handspindle. If a girl dropped her spindle while the boys were there, one of them could demand a kiss from her'

With my performance with a drop spindle it would appear that I am in for a lot of lip action should I happen to visit Hungary.

'While a silkworm is spinning its cocoon, the nearby area should be kept free of loud noises. If there is a sudden noise, the silkworm may stop spinning, and not begin again'.

Gives a new meaning to 'Shhhh, I'm counting....'

The Roman poet Catullus (54BC) describes spinning with a distaff and spindle.

Their hands duly plied the eternal task;

The loaded distaff in the left hand placed

With spongy coils of snow white wool was graced;

From these the right hand lengthy fibres drew

Which into thread 'neath nimble fingers grew.

At intervals a gentle touch was give

By which the twirling whorl was onward driven;

Then when the sinking spindle touched the ground,

The new made thread around the spire was wound,

Until the clasp within the nipping cleft

Held fast the newly finished length of weft'

I was sitting out in my garden for an hour this evening, peacefully spinning yarn for my flutter scarf on my drop spindle and this poem really brought home to me the connection to women over thousands of years who have all made yarn to clothe their families and earn their livings, all from this simplest of all tools.

The simplest of tools can also be the most beautiful. Take a look at this.

It's a tiny, foldable niddy noddy from Sublime Spindles made to my exact specifications in apple wood. I wanted a niddy noddy that would break down and fold flat so that I could carry t around with my spindles and fibre and needles and not make an awkward parcel like my fixed one does. It's only 8 inches long so it stows away really easily. I couldn't recommend the service highly enough.

And finally, in case you think I am so busy wafting around reading poetry and playing with my new toys, allow me to introduce the latest Pick 'n' Mix sock to get its partner.Meet the Battenbergs! Its probably the most complex pattern of all the Pick 'n' Mix socks but goes pretty fast once you get into the swing of it. Its the pattern that makes me smile the most I think because its so.... cheesy.

Maybe not the right choice of word for a sock but you know what I mean...

Midsummer Miscellany

2008-07-21T01:39:00.008+01:00

I've just had one of those weekends where I've been left to my own devices to potter around house and garden doing a bit of this and a bit of that and my knitting and spinning progress rather reflects this... What I should be doing, I might add is to have a major declutter of the house but I've been easing myself in gradually with frequent fibre related 'incentive breaks'.

First up is the Coriolis sock - as you can see I have gone for the full spiral effect which is quite effective I think. I am really glad that I persevered with this project as I have learned an enormous amount and have produced my first toe up flap and gusset heel with the best wrap and turns that I have ever done. I think the secret of this book is to treat it like a huge buffet and only fill your plate with the things that you want.

I think it helps to be an experienced sock knitter and to be very clear about what fits my foot so that I could say things like ' How many stitches in the arch expansion? That's ridiculous, I only need 20.' or when faced with two pages of calculations to find the number of stitches to add to the 'arch wings' I could be bold and say 'Feh! I'll put in 3 each side.' You'll be pleased to know that the sock fits very well!
The last task is to learn the 'Sewn Bind Off' and then sock number one will be finished. I'm glad I made a note every time I winged it or sock two would be a sorry affair.

Being at home meant that I could do a little more wheel spinning. About a year ago I spun the yarn for my first ever hand spun socks in Crown Mountain Farm merino roving in their 'Wild Thing' colourway. I was very proud of them but knew that they were quite unevenly spun, the majority being so over spun that I don't think they will wear out - ever! I thought it was a good time, what with having a new wheel (Did I tell you I have a new wheel?) to see if I could assess my improvement as a spinner by using their roving for another pair of socks. I chose 'And the Beat Goes On.' and so far it is looking like this:

The roving comes in very generous 8oz hanks so I am only spinning up about two thirds of it which should be more than enough for a respectably long pair of socks. So far so good...

I've also been using the last skein of yarn that I spun up to add to my Flutter scarf. As you can see, the first side is done, complete with 'flutter'.

I now have to 'unzip' the crochet provisional cast on and knit on another side to match the first. I have always struggled with crochet cast ons, invariably picking the waste yarn from the loops stitch by laborious stitch. I tried the Lucy Neatby method this time and an quietly confident.

Do you think I will finally get it right? Stay tuned for the next update...

Despite having my wheel at hand, I am still drawn to spindle spinning, especially for finer, more delicate work. I also wanted to show you the latest addition to my spindle flock, a 20g Bosworth mini in Bloodwood from P & M Fibrecrafts. I wanted to be able to ply directly from both bobbins using the 'Under two Flowerpots' method which should be fun.

In case you were concerned that with all this flitting from project to project nothing is being finished I give you my Socks that Rock socks. I'm very pleased with them as the yarn didn't misbehave too badly. I also did an offset slip stitch on the heel which it shows up to good effect.
Finally, I am very excited to report that I won the Intermediate Sprint on the Tour de France KAL for my Le Germolene shawl. I felt a twinge of guilt as I had made very poor progress on it through the 'difficult second week', adding about three hard won rows to my total, bringing it up to 73. There's nothing like a bit of success as a motivator and now I am on target to break through the 100 rows barrier tonight.

I may even shave my legs. Does chocolate count as a performance enhancing drug?

I lost my heart to a Romney shearling

2008-07-18T22:58:00.002+01:00

After managing to prepare my 'Mule' fleece without too many mishaps I plucked up the courage to work on the half a Romney shearling fleece that I bought from HGVPilot on Ravelry. Although the Romney as an adult fleece is considered to be suitable for carpets, upholstery and outer garments at best, this fleece, coming as it does from a youngster who has never been shorn before, felt a great deal softer than the mule so I treated it very gently and it more than repaid my efforts.

Look at this - it looks like a weird underwater coral formation with the lanolin removed from all but the tips of the locks. Having read other people's comments about preparing the fleece I didn't want to use carders on it.

I pulled away a few locks, just to examine them, fascinated by the effect of the crimp, started to tease apart the tips and fluff them out a bit.
Then I got out my lightest Bosworth spindle, a 19 gram zebra wood and started to play with it. I was stunned at how easily and finely it spun straight from the lock into this beautifully silky single. It was quite addictive and I admit to sitting up into the wee small hours one night this week just because I was so transfixed with this stuff. It really was another one of those 'eureka' moments when a set of new skills and materials come together just perfectly.

Here is the spindle sitting next to the spindle of mule fibre to give you an idea of the contrast between the two.

I am planning to spin up another spindle of this fibre then ply them together. It is wonderful to just sit and pull locks from the bag, enjoying the tactile pleasure and getting an even more immediate sense of transforming fleece into yarn. I think I would like this to be a two ply yarn which I think I will leave in its original colour as it is such a clear, creamy white and make a little winter shoulder shawl.

This makes me quite unreasonably happy!

Knitter launches second career as weather forecaster

2008-07-16T20:29:00.005+01:00

When I designed these socks for Natalie at the Yarn Yard I mentioned that the idea came from the unpredictability of the British summer. These socks needed to be in fun, summery colours for slipping on the feet when the weather was less than tropical.

Oh how right I was.I don't know about your part of the country but where I live we have hardly had more than a couple of sunny hours together before a cloud comes over, the wind gets up and it starts to rain. Steamy and sweaty one minute, brrrr the next!

Natalie has now recovered from her post Woolfest exhaustion, has had a lovely little break and is now back at her dyepot. To complement her array of yarns she is offering this pattern free to anyone who would like to ask her for it. Just slide on over to her site and drop her a note.We'll also be linking it up on Ravelry.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Natalie firstly for dying all the beautiful yarns that I have used but also for being such a good and encouraging friend and for putting up with my occasional insecure moments as I launch my designs on an unsuspecting world!

I'll be particularly interested in seeing pictures of any socks that people make from this little 'recipe book' as there are so may opportunities for making the pattern your own. It would be good to see if anyone comes up with cuff patterns of their own that they would like to share with us. Go on, have a dabble with designing yourself!

You will also be relieved to know, I am sure that I am still working through my examples, making them mates. Here is the blue bargello complete with other half. Two more orphans to go then I'll have finished. That's if I don't have another idea for a colour combination and start all over again - I find them quite addictive.

I really like this pair. I understand that it is one of Natalie's most popular sock club pairings and I can see why. Enough contrast to make the design stand out but perfectly matched to sit beautifully together.

I do hope you enjoy a little summer pick 'n ' mix yourself.

Tipcats, Buzzers and a pain in the Coriolis

2008-07-14T22:04:00.003+01:00

This weekend I spent on the Isle of Wight with my dad. Dad is in his eighties so I like to drop in on him every so often just to make sure everything is OK. He is fiercely independent so would never let on if he was struggling so I need to go and see for myself.

It's also a wonderful opportunity to get some uninterrupted knitting and spinning time. As it's a flying visit I only really need a change of underwear and a toothbrush ....plus at least four knitting and spinning projects...

For the train journey and ferry I need something portable and fairly mindless so I chose some Socks that Rock lightweight merino in one of last year's Rockin' Sock Club shades for some plain, ordinary socks.

I am in two minds about Socks that Rock. On the one hand (or foot) they use a lovely base yarn which is springy and plump and a joy to knit with.They also use colours that look fabulous in the skein. On the other hand they are ruinously expensive ( I didn't rejoin the sock club after last year) and are quite well known for some rather spectacular pooling and flashing. I think I was quite lucky with these socks.They sorted the colours out into fairly organised stripes with only a bit of a shuffle around the instep. I'm very pleased with them and they have the sort of feel in the hand that makes you want to gallop on with them.

I also attempted a little drop spindling on the train as I had plenty of room and not too many fellow passengers to annoy. It went pretty well. Over the weekend I knocked out another mini skein of pink yarn but it looked almost identical to the last one so I won't bore you with that...

Here is one of my favourite knitting spots in dad's garden. We sat out there for ages watching the potatoes and courgettes grow and speculating about the contents of the neighbour's washing line.

Most of the time I'm with dad we sit and chat or do quiz crosswords or watch the television so Le Germolene shawl was a good accompaniment to that, still requiring occasional visits to the stitch dictionary for patterns not yet entirely memorised but simple enough to be able to hold a conversation at the same time. To be honest, the most that is required of me is to listen. Dad was in good reminiscing mode and was telling me stories about his childhood in the north east of England and his adolescence in the south.

Evidently tipcats are a sort of wooden thingummy that you put on the ground, hit with a stick to make them jump up then hit them like a rounders ball and run like in cricket. Or something like that. Buzzers on the other hand are simply wads of newspaper wedged into the bottom of an unsuspecting neighbour's drainpipe and set fire too. Apparently they make a most satisfactory whooshing noise as the oxygen is sucked down the pipe like a chimney, bringing the enraged householder to the door with cries of 'I know your dad', at the backs of a gang of little boys running away in their short trousers and boots. Young people today...

Despite all this excitement I did manage to add a few more rows to the shawl bringing my total to 74 rows. I fear I am making a bit of heavy weather of this shawl - at this rate I'll be still doing it next time the Tour comes round. More like Windy Miller on his tricycle than a sleek and fit member of Team Credit Agricole. Wait for me - I'm coming...

Finally, I brought a project for when dad was 'resting his eyes' or pottering about in the garden. Something that requires a bit of concentration. I was planning to tackle Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters. Now I was terribly excited when this book came out as being both a keen sock knitter and a geek it seemed like my dream book. However, every time I opened it, usually after a challenging day at work I would read a couple of pages and be overcome with the need to take a powder and lie down. I really found the book difficult to follow.

Today, however,I refused to be beaten. I was going to make the Coriolis socks. One of the first things that I struggled with in this book was navigating my way round it. To make this one standard architecture I calculated that I needed to regularly visit eight different sections of the book so be warned, come at this book armed with plenty of bookmarks, don't be forced to tear up a leaflet for a Paul Weller concert like me.

After visiting four sections I had achieved this:

I was ready to give up already but dad was still 'breathing deeply' so I pressed on and eventually this emerged. A whirlpool toe. I think it's really pretty. It may have been worth the effort...

The whole concept of the book can be summed up in one sentence. 'You can put the arch expansion stitches anywhere you like.' With the Coriolis they are added in a swirl that sweeps across the arch of the foot. It's very pretty and very simple to do. I have finished it.

I will let you know how I get on with the heel turn and flap - I may be some time. I think I amgoing to learn to love this book as it is larded with ideas and options for changing the construction of socks but I find the layout confusing and the concepts, which are in essence very simple, overdescribed to the point of incomprehensibility. Perhaps when the second printing comes out they will remove every other word and it will become a work of genius. It is, however, despite these shortcomings, an absolute goldmine for sock knitting tips and tricks and does invite the reader to start thinking and experimenting for themselves.I've already got an idea I want to try out...

The yarn,by the way is Shelridge Farm Soft Touch Ultra Heathered in Opal. I've had it for ages but I can't think why as it's lovely. It's the sort of yarn that makes you think of toasting your feet in front of a log fire in a little cottage miles from nowhere, practical but pretty.

So, that was my weekend. Dad is on fine form, I did lots of knitting and spinning. Life is good.

The Off White Album

2008-07-10T22:54:00.008+01:00

Today's post will consist of a series of beige blobs, each representing a significant landmark in my education as a fibre artist (honest).

You may remember that I bought a fleece at Woolfest. I asked the very helpful women at the Woolclip to advise me and help me choose a good beginner's fleece. They came up with this 'mule', a cross breed of a Blue Faced Leicester Ram with a Swaledale ewe.

According to In Sheep's Clothing; a handspinner's guide to wool by Nola and Jane Fournier ' The fleece is semi lustrous with a fine, wavy crimp that gives good loft...The comparatively light, airy feel of this long wool fleece makes it a good choice for the production of hard wearing but warm knitted and woven outerwear.' In other words, merino it ain't but it's robust enough to stand up to the heavy paws of the novice fleece processor!

And here it is, in all it's unwashed glory. When they rolled it out on the table, and rolled,and rolled.... I could see that this was a clean, open fleece. when you plunge your hands into this they come out feeling all coated in lanolin but not in an unpleasant way. The corner of my hallway where the fleece is currently sitting, smells vaguely of sheep.But not in a bad way...

Having heard a whole range of opinions on how best to wash the fleece I took the softly softly approach and separated out some of the nicest, cleanest looking fleece, zipped it up in a lingerie bag and poured very hot water and washing up liquid all over it and left it to soak till the water cooled and repeated the process. I did it once more with clean hot water then hung it on the line to dry.

May joy be unconfined, it turned into this!

There are still some yellowy, lanolin filled patches but to my delight most of it has turned into this white, fluffy cloud.

Out came the hand carders that I bought at last year's Woolfest and hadn't yet used and after a few tangled moments managed to produce these rolags. Now, I'm not pretending that they in any way compare to the beautiful basketful that I saw the other week at Woolfest but I love them as only the person who made them can.

Then, out came my largest Bosworth spindle and soon we had yarn. The book was entirely correct. This wool has a very robust, woolly feel to it. I am spinning at what, when plied will probably be a good DK or Aran weight so maybe a hat for one of my least sensitive friends?

I find it very difficult to express the intense pleasure I have in looking at this little scrap of spun yarn. I am quite overwhelmed that I made it from the rawest of raw materials, straight off a sheep's back!

Working with this fleece has given me the courage to tackle my Romney shearling fleece. I have some drying as we speak so I'll tell you how I get on with it shortly.

As this is an entirely spinning related entry I thought I would share with you my continued progress with my spindle spun Flutter scarf. Here is another small skein of merino tencel, spun and navajo plied on spindles ready to be knitted up into the scarf. I've now used up the skein in the photo and am half way through the increase rows to create the fluted edge of the first half. I should finish that part with the next mini skein so I will show you how it's shaping up them. Right now I thought you might like a bit of colour before this blog started to look like studies of clouds by J M Turner.

Finally, I have another 'first' to share. Here is the first yarn spun on my new Little Gem. 100g merino bamboo roving by Bonkers Fibres in the colourway 'Pavoreal'. I think it the best bit of spinning I have ever done and am also pleased that the fibre and colours come together to form such a 'grown up' skein of yarn. There are about 400m of a light fingering/ sock weight yarn which is a bit too drapey to use for socks so I will probably make a shawl or wrap out of it.

I have another couple of skeins of this roving so I could do quite a large project if I wanted.

Any suggestions?

By George, I think she's got it! (TdeF content)

2008-07-08T20:06:00.002+01:00

Well, perseverance has it's reward - I have finally produced a scrap of lace worth looking at. This is half the width of the shawl with 38 rows completed. There are four stitch patterns plus some dividing stitches with one pattern repeating over two rows with pattern stitches back and front (yes, genuine lace!), one pattern repeating over four rows and two over twenty which makes it easy to keep track of things.

Here is a slightly closer view, minus the festoon of stitch markers and T pins.

The ideas behind the stitch patterns are,from left to right, tyre tracks for the sprinters, a winding path representing the mountain stages for les Maillots aux Pois Rouges, more tyre tracks then some diamond shapes to represent the Peleton. Finally, the lines of stacked eyelets represent the rows of riders in the Grand Depart. The patterns are mirrored on the other side of the stole.

Now it's just a question of how much stamina I have to complete as much as possible before the end of the tour. Anyone seen my helmet?

Bread and butter... and possibly cake

2008-07-07T23:18:00.008+01:00

With all the distractions and excitements of the last couple of weeks it's very peaceful to slink quietly into my comfort zone and knit away on a pair of socks. While I was at Woolfest I really was too busy running around, chatting and shopping to do much knitting and since I've been back I've been distracted by my new wheel, and fleece and lace knitting...

However, thanks to my friends at London Transport there has been some sock knitting! The green and pink little arrows socks are finished. I used one of last year's Yarn Yard club yarn sets for this to show how different the stitch looks by using yarns with very little contrast compared with the in your face pink and orange versions! They also got a different toe treatment.

The Blue Bargello Socks are also made from a last year's Yarn Yard Sock Club set and again show how different the design looks in a low contrast set of yarns. I also gave them different heels and toes.

The Summer Pick 'n' Mix is now with Natalie so everyone who signed up for it at Woolfest should be getting it e-mailed to them as a .pdf file very soon.I do hope that you enjoy knitting them.

You won't be surprised either that I wasn't able to come away from the Yarn Yard stall without a little bit of sock yarn. The top skein is a merino tencel in a lovely almost semi solid of dark and lighter brownish pinks. Next we have three mini skeins which I can use for future colour work projects. I'm a bit short of Yarn Yard neutrals because I think Natalie's real passion is for vibrant colour - like the skein at the bottom. The photo doesn't really do it justice as it's a sort of orange over yellow to give a sort of shimmery, shot silk effect. I definitely think we should have more yarn done this way (hint, hint, Natalie!) I'm sure it will be particularly good for showing off texture in a lace or twisted stitch pattern.
I wasn't entirely monogamous in my sock yarn buying, however. How could I resist these beautiful semi solid Blue Faced Leicester and nylon skeins at a bargain price of £24 for the three from Knitwitches?
I was also seduced by these books from Felicity J Warne who has an amazing collection textile and costume books.
The first is about spinning for sock knitting. Nothing like combining my two passions. The second is a fascinating history of socks and stockings which Laura and I fell on with great enthusiasm, reading chunks of it at each other and waving around ever more bizarre examples of extravagant ancient stockings. Made my socks look positively pedestrian.

Speaking of my socks, I'm very pleased to be able to tell you that I am going to be teaching sock knitting again in various places around London this summer and autumn.

You can book up for a Quick and Dirty Summertime Special introduction to sock knitting or a Midsummer Masterclass hosted by the charming Alice of Socktopus. Details are here. Alice promises us cake. Incidentally, she is also hosting spinning and toe up sock knitting classes by the multi talented Diane Mullholland too so book up quickly before places are all gone.

I will also be teaching at Iknit and Loop soon so keep an eye on their websites for more details. It would be lovely to see you.

The Tour De France Knitalong is off ... ou est Le Germolene?

2008-07-06T19:20:00.004+01:00

Yes, it's that time of year again. The Tour De France got underway yesterday which signals the beginning of the Tour De France Knitalong. Why is it that you always imagine that you have more time to prepare than you actually do then the day dawns and you are squeezing yourself into your metaphorical Lycra cycling shorts and studying the map only minutes before Le Grand Depart?

I have been planning my entry for some time. When Team Credit Agricole were discussing our entries I mentioned that I wanted to try proper lace knitting but was sure I was going to be falling off my imaginary bike rather often and asked for good remedies for gravel rash. Someone suggested Germolene so I decided that my project would be called Le Germolene. Now I remember that Germolene is a rather revolting shade of pink and was certainly not intending to spend hours sweating over something that would end up looking like a giant tongue. However, someone reminded me that Germolene comes in rather elegant little blue and cream tins.

I discussed my ideas with Natalie from the Yarn Yard and look what she came up with, a lovely semi solid lace weight yarn with subtle shades of blue and cream.

Luckily the yarn arrived on Saturday morning so I was able to wind half of it into a ball ready for the off. Half of it, mind you, is still 1000m so I felt like I'd had a jolly good cycle before I even picked up a needle.

In another fit of bravura I decided that not only was I going to have my first go with very fine lace weight knitting, I was going to design my own pattern. Whilst I had some vague ideas in my head I hadn't actually sat down and planned anything out. I hastily grabbed a couple of my favourite source books for lace patterns.

The shawl is going to be rectangular with motifs representing the King of the Mountains, the Time Trial, the Peleton and Le Grand Depart, surrounded by a knitted on border of celebratory bunting. I've chosen my stitch patterns, drafted out the design and cast on. Swatches, in this circumstance, I thought, are for wimps. Oh Dear. Just wait for me to fall off really badly.

I cast on just over a hundred stitches and worked a couple of rows. How could anyone possibly enjoy knitting with this stuff? I was hanging on to it so tight I was exhausted... I almost gave up then and there but in the spirit of the King of the Mountains I pressed on and have produced... a whole inch of crumpled fabric, lousy with stitch markers. Not much sign of creative symbolism there...

I've already hopped off a couple of times to mend a couple of punctures as I couldn't bear to get off the bike and start again. Surely things can only get better....