21 March: Still knitting

As well as the current interest in low-tech weaving, there is still knitting going on. This shawl has just been finished -


- and it was bright and (just) warm enough to take it into the garden to photograph.

It's knitted from a pattern in Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls by Martha Waterman, in my own handspun green merino/silk and grey wool/silk; as I had never knitted a half-circle shawl before, I wanted to see how the shaping worked. Also I wanted something to knit while watching TV, and to take to the Guild meetings, where talking takes priority over following a complicated pattern.

It's a nice shape and size - 50" across, 25" deep - enough to keep the back and shoulders warm without the long tails of a triangular shawl dangling in everything. Just right for a little old lady, and I'm none of those 3 things.

26 November: ABC Wednesday - S

So, it seems suitable to join ABC Wednesday on the letter S. Specially since there's been snow and, as I'm scared of slipping, there's been singularly little walking.

There are several subjects for S - some socks are currently on the needles -


And I've just finished a Danish-style shawl -


In this cold weather, I've been doing quite a lot of spinning - Here are some of the many recent skeins -


The tweedy grey (right front) is a wool/silk mix, the blue-purple is a merino/silk mix, and the grey and black at the back are Shetland. I have 500 gms each of the purple and the grey Shetland, and 810 gms of the tweedy stuff; so far, I've only spun about 300 gms of the kilo of black Shetland.

Some of the Shetland, along with some skeins soon to be dyed in subtle or sensational colours, is destined for a stranded sweater presently in the design stage (i.e. scribbled notes in my sketch-book). It will be steeked and Scandinavian-influenced; it may also be snazzy, splendid, stunning, or even sensational. We shall have to wait and see.

6 October: Insulation

Here's the small scarf-shawl I cast on a few days ago -

The yarn is about 18 w.p.i., spun from some BFL I dyed last November. I like the way the stripes blur as the rows get longer.

This is intended as a scarf more than a shawl, though I'm using a standard shawl shape. As the yarn is quite attention-grabbing by itself, I thought I'd use a fairly simple stitch pattern, so chose Garter Lace. But it's still fairly difficult to keep the right number of stitches on the needle - I keep forgetting the odd "yarn over". So not exactly TV knitting, as it needs a little concentration.

It promises to be a soft and cosy way to keep my neck warm now the chilly winds are coming in off the North Sea. This year we've had more east winds than in any of the past 6 years - is this the way climate change is working?

5 October: Shawl

The shawl was washed and spread out to dry, not stretched and pinned. That seemed cruel to nice soft wool.

Here it is on a hanger -


And on a very un-Twiggy-like model -


It's interesting, but I'm not likely to wear it. And it didn't reduce the yarn stash much, either, as it weighs just under 10 ounces.

I'm trying out a different shape, a triangle starting in the middle of the long side, to make a more scarf-like item, working in the Garter Lace stitch pattern from Martha Waterman's excellent "Traditional knitted lace shawls". I'm using some BFL that I dyed last November - pieces of fibre dyed in charcoal, violet, jade, hyacinth and turquoise, then the colours spun in sequence. For some reason it's not easy to keep the number of stitches right, and it certainly needs concentration. There might be a photo soon.

29 September: Shawl and socks

The knitting has progressed; the two major projects near completion. Here's a photo of the shawl, knitting finished, tidying up to do, then blocking -

Shawl blocking or dressing seems to be quite complicated, from my reading on Ravelry - involving wires, lots and lots of pins, and a large area to spread it out. My effort will certainly need to be stretched out, as it is too small at the moment. I used a pattern (shock! horror!) for this, as I wanted to understand the shape, and I am not experienced at lace knitting. I am now planning a smaller project to my own design.

The waistcoat has been considered, and a decision made about the edge treatment; a start has been made on the front band, with about 350 stitches on the needle (small beer when compared with the 890 or so rows in the shawl border).

Having done these 2 larger projects, both of which needed full attention all the time to avoid mistakes (and I didn't!), I wanted to have something no-brain on the needles. So, yet another pair of socks, this time very plain, for DH, so a matching pair, using some Trekking sock yarn I dyed recently -

The green touches looked a bit odd in the skein, but they make the dull brown a little more interesting in the fabric. And the pale grey should match his new beard nicely....