This is meant to be just a quick post, so I will spare you the gory details. But as I have an assignment just about due, I have naturally been knitting instead. I now have half a sleeve as well as the completed back piece completed for my 40’s jumper.
See…
…sleeve.
Filed under Knitting, Works In Progress
I am now around a third of the way through the armhole shaping of the first panel of my current jumper knitting project. Pictured below, for those who don’t recall it or haven’t seen it yet, this pic is from the pattern booklet.
So far all is going well. Though this morning I found an oddity in the way the shaping is written. I want to avoid calling it an error, as it was consistent over some four or five rows. Whilst i felt it was wrong, i could easily see what was needed and it was easily fudged first go. If I were to alter the way in which I work and think about casting-off stitches at the beginning of rows, then the instructions would be correct. So I have just made a note of it for future reference. Had I been more inexperienced, I would begin to think my way of working and counting my cast-off stitches must be incorrect. But this is not a problem I have encounter in any other pattern. I know I have not explained this well, at all. But I am not certain it is worth it (I tried to explain it to my housemate – also a very experienced knitter – and I failed spectacularly, it was very hard though the issue is simple) for something so isolated. If others begin using the pattern too then I will make the effort.
Errrm, here is a shot to show where I am up to.
The cables are looking nice. They are worked every row, to my surprise, I expected right side rows to be the only ones with crossings. It is a simple enough pattern though, so no hardship. Also there are areas of around five rows with no cable crossings at all, between sections of around nine rows where the crossing occur every row. So I guess you do get breaks, and anyhow, there is only two and a half repeats total. It’s no biggie when you put it like that. Heh, I wonder if I will still feel that way at this point in the next panel.
Filed under Uncategorized
Just a quick update to show I am actually getting somewhere. My vintage jumper knitting project is looking a little bigger now. I am just about ready for armhole shaping, but I think I have a cable cross to come first.
The indoors garden is only going half as well as I had hoped. Only the mustard is sprouting. This is understandable as the seeds were all very old. But I had hoped that maybe two out of four would take. Oh well, at least I know now.
Filed under General Happenings, Knitting, Works In Progress
I’m having a relaxed day today, it is lovely. I’ve slept in, flooffed away the last of my morning, popped on my new Erstwilder brooch, then set out to trawl a local op shop. It just seemed a good start to a fairly aimless day. I came away with some interesting vinyl records and a cute pinstripe pencil skirt, so yeah, good.
Now I’m getting in a few rows of knitting while I test out a new local bakery cafe. I have been meaning to get to Lift for some time and I’m not disappointed now that I’m here. The staff are lovely and everything looks tasty and exciting. I’ve just polished off a homemade chicken and leek pie with salad. I’m not usually a side salad fan, but this one I liked, I actually ate it all! The pie was impressive, I don’t ordinarily go in for those either, but it helps when the person recommending it to you is the one who made it (and is proud of their work). It was especially flaky on top and good and chunky inside. What’s not to love?
So now I’m knitting away, sipping on an in-house soda, pine mint, and contemplating finding room for a homemade eclair and a cold drip coffee. Perhaps to take away, that doesn’t sound do bad, right?
Filed under General Happenings, Knitting, Works In Progress
Looks like there may be call for a small tea party or crafternoon tea around here in the near future. I have, rather randomly, decided to do a bit of sprouting again. It’s been at least 2 years since I did it last. That’s a long time between cress cream cheese cucumber finger sandwiches!
That is cress on the left and mustard on the right, another classy sandwich favorite.
I have some spring onion and baby spinach going too. I haven’t sprouted those before. I’m unsure yet if I’ll cut them young for use in salads and sangas, or if I’ll turn them over to my housemate Miss Betsy for replanting in her slightly more legitimate garden.
Filed under General Happenings
I have decided to knit myself a land-girl type short-sleeved jumper from the 40’s. It is something I have been meaning to do for a while, and I have given a lot of thought to just what I wanted. I began by exploring all the patterns available online (via Ravelry, of course), there is not an awful lot of them out there, but a fair range I suppose. I could not quite decide. I then realised that I had far more patterns sitting in my own personal physical stash than was to be found on-line. So, I began my search again there. This time I found plenty that were right, but this one stood out. It has all the elements I was looking for, deep waist-band ribbing, puffed set-in sleeves, demure neckline and just enough all-over texture to stop me getting bored (ribbing and cables in this case will do just fine).
This pattern is one I have had marinading in my stash for such a long time that I do not any loner recall if the booklet this is from is one I inherited from my Nana’s stash, or if it is one I picked up at a thrift store. Not that it matters really. So, I don’t like carrying about vintage patterns in my WIP bag, this is something that is not very likely to surprise to any of you. So you won’t be shocked to hear I tried to scan this baby so I could tuck away a PDF of it onto my tablet. Since completing a lace shawl from a PDF pattern stored on my tablet, it has become my fave way to roll, and it happened very quickly! Buuuuut… all attempts to scan have so far ended in strange pages, oddly sized and with only some of the pattern visible alongside large blank spaces. Gah! I gave up. Hey, I just wanted to be able to knit, so a photocopy is fine. Really. Except that means I have been shy about sharing the pattern. Understandable really, who’d want a dodgy copy of this anyway? Well, me apparently, seeing as that is what I am still using a week after I gave up on trying to scan the pattern nicely.
What I am getting at in this over long preamble here, is that I have decided to share my rather unattractive copy of this rather lovely pattern with the world. Or at least, those who find it and decide they want to knit it too. One of these days I will get up from my knitting long enough to fix this mess, but for now it is at least serviceable. Well, I think so.
With luck I will continue in this motivated industry of mine, such as it is, and even manage to blog my progress. Who knows? For now, I shall just leave you with a picture from the pattern booklet (at the top of this post) so you can see what it ought to look like when finished. Currently my WIP does not look like much, as I have only completed the back half of the waist band. And of course, I will leave you with the pattern link too, at the bottom of this post. Hey, if you do decide to join me in giving it a go, old-fashioned instructions and all, let me know how you go wont you?
Filed under Knitting, Patterns, Vintage, Works In Progress
Test post sent from WordPress app on my new mobile phone. Let’s see how it goes.
Dodgy impromptu pic of my WIP taken on this mornings bus ride to work. Yay for commute knit-blogging!
Filed under General Happenings, Knitting, Works In Progress
I promised myself I’d knit more mindfully this year. I want to really see something for my efforts this winter ya know? Well. Today’s Yarn Harlot post has me feeling nervous. Not a good sign. But perhaps it is better that I work through my doubts now rather than after many more hours knitting. This is supposed to be a mindfully knitted project after all. Some of my concerns I’ll hash out below. I am going to be doing some measuring, by the looks of it.
The article in question
Is it OK that I have been knitting to my actual measurements rather than with some ease? Maybe not. After I realised I had done it, I told myself I like ‘em fitted and this will ensure the cables don’t sit all contracted. Well, I DO like ‘em fitted, that is true. I just do not know if zero ease is the best thing for this project, I guess I need to do some research on that. I am not sure I even know how much ease this pattern is written for. Oh wait, there is a schematic in the pattern, so I will be able to figure it out. Good, that is a start.
When I tried this on (as best I could though there is only a back piece and I was alone at the time) it seemed to run short. Yes, I did cut out many inches from the pattern length. On purpose too. But I am very very very short-waisted, so much so that you just about cannot imagine. Still, I was aiming for hip length and don’t seem to be getting there, not quite. And yes, before you ask, I DID swatch and I did measure myself correctly. So I think the problem could lie perhaps in my ‘hip length’ idea. I have thought about it since, and what I really want is a length that will cover the top of my jeans well even when I am seated. Probably I need my cardi to do more than just reach my hip point. This, I think, also requires a further investigation.
Cable Close-Up
These seem like very reasonable concerns now I have put them out there. I believe I was trying to quash them before. And you know what else, I think this is the real reason I have stalled on cast-ing on for the two front pieces. Yup, the whole project has lain dormant in my project bag for about 2 weeks. I have been distracting myself with knitting baby socks, lots of them (I’ll show ’em off at a later date). I know 2 weeks is not a huge stall, as far as these things go, but it was nagging at me. Why did I keep putting it off when I had sailed through the first piece? Sure, it was a tad tricky but I did it quickly and enjoyed it. Hmmmm, I think I know now. I had a hidden fear of my continuing being a waste of time, but could not know for sure with the unacknowledged issues unaddressed.
Well, I feel a bit better. But I am no closer to finishing a cardigan that fits, I may even be further. 
I’ll have to get back to you on this one.
Filed under Knitting, Works In Progress
I have been looking for a piggy bank for a while. Just a little something to put my 5 cent coins in and keep on my desk in the office. Well, it has been ages now, it seems I was down on the designs out there. They were all too girly, sparkly or expensive for my tastes. I just wanted something simple and preferably not an actual pig. Heh. Well, I have one finally and wouldn’t you know it, pigs! Yup, not just a pig, but a whole stack of ’em.
These guys are so bad I had no choice but to declare them to be good. It helps that the price was right too. Two bucks at the dollar store on George Street (Brisbane), SCORE!
Filed under Uncategorized
Oh yes I can. Made up about 100 grams of these last night to take along to the Insubordiknit workshop this weekend.
‘Taint they nommy?
These bad boys are wool and silk. Two shades of grey and a touch of black merino, a teeny bit of white tussah and a handful of rainbow dyed rods to be more specific.
This is a blend I have wanted to make up for some time (and I know I will do it again to better effect too). The original idea was to make a classy looking tweed that was also fun and wearable next to my hypersensitive skin. Something that on closer inspection would reveal itself to be far less traditional than the tweed tag will initially suggest.
Anyhow, I love these and they were fun to make. Which is just as well, because if I am taking them to the workshop (an art yarn workshop may I remind you) they will end up as a yarn of crazy. Classy, is probably not a look I will be striving for this weekend and this is not a bad thing. Besides, it will give me an excuse to make up this blend again, I’d like more variety in the grey shades next time anyhow.
Filed under Uncategorized
Stitches Anomalous 