Another dress

I'm making good progress with my Christie Johnstone dress! The hem is curling like crazy but I plan to do some applied i-cord all around it to stop it doing that while I'm wearing it, it shouldn't be so bad after a good block in any case.

I'm currently resisting the urge to watch Downton Abbey, I fancied collecting a few episodes in the box and binge watching them... Not sure if that's going to happen though!

Other than knitting I'm nice and busy in the studio with some commissioned work.. There's a load to do in fact, I have all these pretty circular paintings that I need to get photographed and uploaded. I'll chip away at it :)

September

Sorry if all the photos here are crammed in, I'm on my phone writing this, in the bath as it happens... Rich always tells me I'll drop the phone in the bath one of these days but I like to court that risk.

So! Since my last post I have been doing a slightly weird lone KAL to the Great British Bake Off (knitting a pair of socks a week), I've had to call time on that this week however, as I'm getting pain in my wrist from the dpns and tight gauge. I've amassed a small collection of socks though and intend to continue, albeit at a slower pace because hand knitted socks really are the business.

I made 'Sprouting' by Beata Jezek - gorgeous pattern and gorgeous Hedgehog Fibres yarn. Knitting these made me realise that while HF sock yarn is super soft and amazing, I actually prefer a more sheepy yarn to knit with. True to my impulsive form I sold my stash of HF sock (very quickly!) on Rav, folk LOVE that yarn, it is super easy to move on if you change your mind. I used the proceeds to secure another round of HF Twist Club. The Twist is Blue Faced Leicester, a lovely breed of yarn to knit with...

Hey! I finished my vintage inspired cardi!!!

Much excitement here about that. It turned out absolutely perfect, I love it and couldn't be happier with the result. Only took me 4 months... But it's not all about speed is it? It's the journey or something like that.

Rose City Rollers socks in HF Twist, the pink's a club colourway, the lighter CC is Monet Light. These were the pair of socks which really made my wrist pain flare up. I knit them on 2.25mm dpns, the tighter gauge makes them snug and comfy but like I said, it hurt my wrist to knit!!

Sea glass, sea pottery, sea shells!!! The boys and I went to Wales last week with my family (poor Rich had to work). We had a lovely time, my sister Sam and I got a bit addicted to sea glass hunting though. I also got a bit hooked on a funny LOTR video from YouTube (Taking the hobbits to Isengard), I'd never seen it before and it made me cry with laughter, it was played many times while we were away - only watch this if you have a silly sense of humour, I showed it to Rich and he was not amused!

Oblique the third. Yes, I have knitted this pattern 3 times. Is knitted even a word? Anyway, it was a great project, the yarn was so much fun to knit with, I am a little addicted to HF yarns at the moment. Colourway is Birthday Cake, two different dyelots.

Last week's Bake Off socks. HF yarn and unknown cream coloured wool. 

Till next time, I'm going to work on my Christie Johnstone dress for the time being, possibly with some socks on the side. 

August

I'm acquiring yarn a lot less rapidly at the moment, a couple of pretty club skeins and a couple of impulsive buys. It's so easy to buy and hoard yarn and I'm finding that it's not for me, that I feel guilty for wasting money and bad that I haven't the time to knit my stash! 

To be fair, this stash of mine isn't too bad (I think I'm around the 50 mark) but I'm going to work on it, particularly rediscovering yarns I've been holding on to for years. I'm not imposing any purchase bans, just trying to exercise restraint and good sense. I can buy yarn if it helps me knit up some stashed yarn too (I'm planning a big Rowan knit which will use some super old stash!).

I've become very nosey on Ravelry in terms of looking at peoples' stashed yarns, some people have hundreds! One lady had over 1000!! I say, whatever makes you happy - less seems to work for me at the moment.

Throwback Thursday

Ooh, so there's not been an awful lot of anything (except painting) going on here lately. I've been having problems with my wrists and had to take a break from knitting. Feeling much better after a week off but still a little unsure about what the problem was as it felt as though my upper back/neck/shoulders were the problem which then affected my arms. Should have been to see the physio really, that always helps. Fingers crossed though that it'll stay gone whatever the problem was.

Here's a Throwback Thursday in any case (till I have some nice things to show).

So, this was all the way back in 2010! The pattern is Manu by Kate Davies and the (beautiful) cardigan has been sat half unravelled in my knitting basket for a couple of years now. I really should finish unravelling it and put the yarn to good use.
Its an odd sort of cardigan/yarn story really and probably a massive overshare or as they say on Mumsnet, TMI (too much information!). Basically not long after I'd finished knitting this cardigan, I wore it on an unintentional night out. It was the association of what I was wearing that night with what happened that meant I couldn't wear the cardigan any more because it reminded me of everything and made me feel so ashamed. Oh, and before you imagine lots of horrendous things, it was a self-inflicted alcohol horror night. Back in 2009-10 I used to drink most days and it was my number one favourite thing in the entire world, I was getting quite over fond of it at the time of the incident, and a bit weirdly sneaky, just doing things like getting another drink quietly while Rich was out of the room, having a secret pointless one before bed. I'd also had a few events where I'd go absolutely bananas & flip out and behave very oddly (like trying to climb out of the upstairs window with a 10 foot drop below me), I only remembered snippets of these events, they were very disturbing both for myself and for those around me.
And before you think 'just stop drinking when you've had enough', I would have loved to do that, but the thought would literally never even cross my mind. It was extremely odd and very annoying (the genuine lack of control over myself). I used to feel so sad every morning and wish I could have the willpower not to drink so I could wake up without a hangover!
On cardigan night I (accidentally - because I never once thought I should have a coke/go home/stop drinking) ended up completely legless, vomitarama, ambulance called (this was the final nail in my booze coffin the morning after - I have never in my life felt so ashamed of myself), apparently I threw a punch at some poor girl who was trying to help me as well. Through all this my friend Little Rach stayed by my side and helped get me home. Heaven only knows why but she remained my friend after 'Fright Night', her forgiveness when I phoned to apologise the afternoon after that night was truly humbling. (Thanks Rach, and Kate and Rich - my guardians the other times I had a major alcohol-related black-out/flip-out event).

I swore the morning after that I would never touch booze again (oddly/luckily I'm actually frightened of it now) and have been 5 years sober as of a couple of weeks ago. I really should do something with that yarn...

Hashtags

I keep seeing the hashtag 'yarnporn' everywhere and wonder if I'm the only person who finds it a bit creepy, like people are supposed to be literally getting off on gorgeous yarn like those people who are in love with and have relationships with inanimate objects? I know I'm definitely reading too much into it, it just sounds so gross to me, like it could be a specialist section on an actual porn site. Sad, stuck-up old me, I use the hashtag 'lovelyyarn'!

Feeling much better about painting in general, the commissions are finished and it's time to move on to getting some pieces done for a lovely lady in Australia. Fun!

Here are my greeny-blue skeins, much more greeny-blue-deep plum than pictured. Can't wait to see how they knit up (these are my own hand dyeing efforts).

 And on to the expert dyeing... This is a Rose City Rollers sock I'm knitting in Hedgehog Fibres sock (24 Carat colourway), I have never knit with anything so soft before in my life, it is absolutely amazing, not to mention the wonderful brown/gold of the yarn (it's got quite a 1970s sort of vibe to it).
This sock should be quick to knit, technically I should have finished the pair already, but I've lost one of my wooden dpns and am using a smaller metal one in its place (yuck) and I'm also feeling quite focused on my colourwork cardigan, more of which I will share on Wednesday.

A skein or two

So, to begin with, here's a beauty I was lucky enough to win in a competition. It's from the wonderful Life in the Long Grass yarn company and is a ridiculously gorgeous little skein. Ha ha, Rich came home from work and I showed him my green skein (see below) and then he caught sight of the LITLG one and was amazed by it (thinking I'd dyed it!), ha ha... Erm, no, that one was done by a professional!

But I'm very, very pleased with my skeins, the yarn I used is very soft and squashy, like a little cushion (BFL + nylon sock yarn). I will probably make a couple of changes when I do the next batch, little things like tying the yarn up myself, it was a little loose and I do like a neat skein.
This will be an excellent and fun way to amuse myself creatively during the day as it's something I can easily do while the kids are around. It's interesting because although I've only been doing it a few days and have only done a couple of batches, it's already feeding back into the studio and helping me with my painting in the evenings (I've been at rock bottom with my painting mojo over the last few weeks).

Throwback Thursday

Lovely knitting from 2011, I was wearing this cardigan the other day and it's worn well over the last 4 years. It's a cardigan version of one of the patterns from A Stitch in Time, the wonderful vintage pattern book by Susan Crawford, pattern page here - It Cannot Fail to Please.

Doing dyeing

So all the hand-dyeing stuff arrived yesterday. I was excited to get started but was also pretty nervous, what if everything I dyed was horrible!?

Anyway, I cracked right on and I did it! It was so much fun. Mixing up the dyes was a little bit like mixing oils from dry pigments but not as easy because I had no idea what the final colour would be like, it was sort of like watercolours in a way but again, not as easy. Lots of fun though, did I mention that?.
I did two types of dyeing, the hand-painted sort and the traditional dye bath sort. I liked both but found hand-painting quite tricky, the sections I wanted to be lighter came out lighter in a 'the dye hasn't been applied properly' sort of way but I'll see how it knits up.

 I had to have a massive clean-up before I started anything... Our kitchen gets pretty chaotic on a daily basis.

Can you see the squishy soft yarn in the above photo? Hedgehog Fibres again (another impulse buy)! It's their Kidslik Lace and ooh, it's so lovely, I'm so glad I snagged two skeins. I'm planning on knitting a gorgeous summer cardigan with it, double-stranded,one strand Kidsilk, one strand sock weight. The cardigan is called Celastrina, it's light, floaty and empire-line (my favourite style).

The pink! The rust! The mossy tones... Just perfection. Will be back with my imperfect little skeins in the next few days, oh, and a couple of small stash enhancements too.

The 30 day knitting challenge in one post because I am lazy

Questions and idea from the hero complex via Helenknitsuk's blog (a Ravelry contact who knits amazing blankets).

What was your first finished project? 
It was a scarf for Rich that I knit with DK yarn on ridiculously thin needles, totally wrong for the yarn weight so it took ages to grow and it was stiff and starchy - too short to boot! Not fun to knit and it didn't make me want to try another project afterwards. It was only a couple of years later when I had to take a lot of time off work with a back injury that I discovered Erika Knight, crochet, and then Ysolda Teague (whose patterns made me want to learn properly).

What is currently on your needles?
A pair of socks (Vestigial by Beata Jezek) and a reverse-engineered cardigan inspired by a vintage one I saw on Susan Crawford's blog here. It's the colourwork one at the end.

Do you have any other WIPs (works in progress)?
I'd love to say no but I've been very cast-on happy this year (I usually prefer to have just one, two at a stretch). I started a version of Ásta Sóllilja in January and it was a total disaster, lots of re-knitting later the fit still wasn't right. I definitley needed to adjust my needle size as it was coming out massive even though I tested my gauge. It got warmer so I moved on to lighter projects and my Ásta Sóllilja is currently stashed away with some moth repellent sachets from Lakeland. I wanted to make a dress version, fitted like Kate's Cold Snap (without the amazing bum shaping although I'm tempted to try it).
I also have a laceweight dress I'm working on, I bought a kit from J&S, it's called Laebrack, was designed by Margaret Stuart, and is really beautiful. My dress version is based on my much loved Betty Mouat Dress and is intended to be a lighter summer version with cap sleeves.

How did you learn how to knit?
My mum taught me when I was about 6. I was given a little knitting kit by Father Christmas, I remember it had red plastic needles and green wool. I can remember knitting in the car & pulling in to our street.

How long did it take from the time your learned how to knit, to finish your first project?
What, from when I first learnt? Ha, probably about 19 years! But from cast on date, probably about 6 months.

What is your favourite piece that you’ve knit?
The Betty Mouat dress, it is perfection.

Your least favourite?
I've had so many it's hard to choose. I remember a hat by Ysolda that didn't work for me, it kept popping off my head because I'd knit it too small! Also the first hat I ever knit (Urchin by Ysolda), I just couldn't understand short rows at all... I bodged it and it did not work at all. I gave up.

What’s your most challenging project?
The Betty Mouat dress or that flippin' Urchin hat!

What fibre or yarn do you love working with?
Wool is a real favourite but I also love alpaca bend yarns, they're so soft! My favourite yarn at at the moment is Shetland Spindrift by Jamieson's of Shetland.

Do you have a favourite pattern or designer?
I've been a fan of Kate Davies for years, she's a fascinating (& funny - ha ha, but not weird funny) woman who writes a brilliant blog. She has such an original way of approaching the whole pattern writing thing, I can wholeheartedly recommend this podcast interview with Kate by the wonderful Jo of Shiny Bees for a fascinating insight into Kate's process.
Her background is in academia, she was a lecturer in (something quite particular and clever) for years until she had a very serious stroke and was unable to work, in fact her whole life changed after that stroke. Her blog then focused on her slow (continuous) recovery, she is so honest and brave (and never self-pitying) and as she began to recover she started to design more patterns (she had designed several popular patterns before her stroke). I learnt an awful lot about strokes through reading Kate's blog. I had no idea of the catastrophic effect a stroke can have and how long they take to recover from, also the permanent effects folk are left with post-stroke.

Do you have a “Knitter Hero” or someone that is just way too awesome for their own good? Do share!
See above. K.D. is the only hero!

Where do you keep your stash? Post pictures!
I keep some of it stacked and quite visible, I'd like to say that this helps me to get it knitted up but I can't say that it does to be honest. The rest is split between a couple of Laura Ashley boxes, an old bread bin and a wicker mending basket. I'd love to have a pretty glass-fronted cabinet like some knitters do but we haven't the space at the moment, also I'd only fill it and in reality, hoarding yarn (while it's very nice) does make me a little unhappy, it's just a bit excessive for me personally. I can't seem to help myself at the moment and am trying to do better :)

Do you have yarn that you love but can’t find a project for?
Yes! I have this wonderful discontinued Rowan yarn, Soft Lux. It has a metal thread running through it and a tiny bit of angora blended in too. Very soft, hopefully the angora came from well treated rabbits too. It is definitely going to be a cardigan one day.

What’s the worst yarn/fibre that you’ve worked with and why?
I'm not super keen on working with 100% acrylic yarn or superwash wool, it can be a little sweaty for my hands. Or should I say, it makes my hands sweaty? Either way... It's great for gift knits though, that way the recipient can bung it in the washing machine - excellent for non-knitters.

What was your least favourite pattern and why?
I hate anything top-down, I find it fiddly and I don't like the way my stitches look as though they're upside down. I've started a few top-down cardigans and dresses and I always end up unravelling them as the techniques annoy me.  I've also accidentally bought top-down patterns impulsively. I also dislike patterns with massive wodges of text when a small chart would suffice. I've been spoilt by working almost exclusively on Kate Davies patterns!

Have you ever had a knitting related injury?
Yes, luckily only wrist strains from knitting too much - interestingly both times I was knitting with acrylic yarn. Annoying because they stop me knitting and if I'm knitting that hard I strain my wrist then I've probably got a gift deadline! I read on Ravelry about someone's husband sitting on a dpn once, apparently it went right into his bum cheek (ouch!).

Have you ever had a project that you loved become ruined? What’s the story behind it? 
My first perfect cardigan (Mrs Darcy - all the rage at the time of knitting) which was knit in a teddy-bear shade of Rowan's discontinued Soft Lux, it was such a lovely garment. I put it in the washing machine! I didn't understand about felting but I did after that episode. I was absolutely gutted because it was the first thing I'd knit which actually fitted me, it also took ages to knit (Sept 2008 - March 2009!).



Do you knit English or Continental?
I knit a weird Georgie-style English, I don't loop my working yarn over any of my fingers, I have an annoying pick-up/drop way of throwing the yarn. I have thought about learning to knit 'properly' but can never be bothered to do it - I knit fairly slowly but I'm happy as I do it so I don't see the problem.

Do you watch films and/or listen to podcasts while knitting? What are your favourite things to knit to?
I like to knit in bed at the end of the day while I listen to The World Tonight on Radio 4, I also love the Shiny Bees podcast - that's a favourite knitting podcast of mine. I love to knit and watch films and TV programmes too although it has to be simple if we're watching a film because Rich likes to have the lights off.

Do you knit in public? Was anyone offended/incredibly happy/curious that you were doing so?
People are always happy to see me knitting and generally always comment on it. People like to tell me of the things they used to make when they knitted & speculate on what it is I'm making.
I try not to knit in inappropriate places although I'd dearly love to be able to - wedding services and wakes are the best examples. I just like to knit as I sit and chat, I can knit and look at people so I don't see the problem, it's perfectly social unlike people staring at their phone screens (I hate that). And when I say I'd dearly love to be able to knit in these sorts of settings I'm not lying, I have a real compulsion to knit and get annoyed that I've missed out on knitting time. I feel fidgety!

Do you knit gifts for friends and family for the holidays or birthdays?
Occasionally, mainly for my two sisters. I'm not crazy for gift knitting though, I would probably be more keen if I was a faster knitter.

Have you ever stricken someone off your to-knit-for list because they didn’t appreciate/take care of your last knitted gift to them?
No but I really would.

If you had the supplies (and patience) for it, what project would you start today?
I'd love to get cracking on my fair isle dress but I have to finish a couple of other things first and write up colour charts for it (I can't work from symbol charts, they hurt my eyes!). Plus, that will be a fun project for when it turns colder.
 
Have you ever made your own pattern or dyed your own yarn? How did it turn out?
I made my own pattern once, it turned out OK, could have been worse. It was a little shrug and I wore it a few times! I really want to try yarn dyeing, hence my new blog and Instagram.

Do you have a knitting book or a place where you keep patterns, ideas, size measurements? Post a picture of it!
I did buy a special knitting book from True Brit Knits, I really like using it, it reminds me of school stationary, plus it has a little ruler in the back, very useful because my tape measures never seem to be where I left them.

Have you ever been a part, or wanted to be a part of a knit-a-long? What was it? If not, why?
I've done a few on Ravelry, they're a really fun way to stay motivated through the knitting of a pattern. I like the forums on Ravelry... Funnily enough, that's how my Betty Mouat dress came about as there was a Betty Mouat KAL in March last year in the Kate Davies (Love) group.

How do you acquire most of yarn? Online retailers, local yarn shops, swaps, or large chain craft stores? What’s your favourite?
Generally online as its easier, Hedgehog Fibres, Jamieson's of Shetland and Jamieson & Smith are favourites. Having one of those smartphones can be quite lethal in terms of impulse yarn purchases.

Do you do any other crafts besides knitting? What are they, and did learning to knit come before or after learning these other crafts?
No other crafts, unless you count painting but I count that as my job.

Do you have any tips, or things that you’ve learned from knitting?
Just check your numbers. If I was a better knitter I would tell you to swatch but I don't swatch, I can't be bothered, I'd rather chance it & start with a sleeve. I knit by eye a lot of the time these days and can see when something's off and won't fit me. To be fair, I made a lot of mistakes over the years but I don't care, I still prefer not to swatch.

What’s your name on Ravelry? If you don’t have a Ravelry account, why?
It's very original, it's georgievinsun! I absolutely love Ravelry except when perverts sign up and ask me kinky questions about my knitted dresses (has happened a few times, I'm being serious, I find it gross).

My Byggleton

So this was intended to be Bygglier than it ended up. I think I got lazy halfway though and a bit overconfident that the yarn would stretch (it was really stretchy as I was knitting that lace pattern...). Anyway, long story short, after blocking, the sleeves were not going to go round my arms very well once seamed. This is typical of me, I wish it wasn't but I still slip up like this from time to time. Anyway! I didn't unravel it, I just knit a couple of stockinette strips and seamed them in, it's the sort of thing that only knitters will really notice in any case and I'm quite contented with the finished object, it feels very nice to wear (magically light yet warm) and it looks pretty nice. The pattern is Lyttleton by Kate Davies, yarn details below.

The yarn is just stunning, as ever. It's Hedgehog Fibres Silk/Merino Singles in the Pollen colourway. I swear I have got to delete my Instagram accounts and leave the HF updates list! Do you know that this year I was intending to de-stash (in the sense that I would knit all my stashed yarn rather then sell it) and I was also intending not to buy any more new yarn. I gave away all the acrylic & the stuff I didn't swoon over when I opened my yarn boxes, I spent maybe one month, possibly two not buying more yarn and then I got HF fever.. I need the antibodies.

I did add my leftover skeins of Pollen to my trade/sell page on Ravelry but changed my mind after a couple of days and put them back in my stash, I quite fancy knitting a Pollination scarf at some point, probably a bit thinner than the pattern suggests so I can get the length I need from my leftovers. So much yarn, so little time. Half the fun of knitting & collecting yarn is planning though, isn't it?