The Wool Palace

Water, water everywhere

I'm in the knitting doldrums at the moment.  More specifically I'm in the sock knitting doldrums.

Remember these?

They are no more.  Everyone I showed them to liked them but I just couldn't settle with them.  I like the pattern, I like the yarn but not together.  Off to the ball winder they went.

Then I tried these.

Cherry Tree Hill again, this time in 'Old Rose'.  Gorgeous colourway, much more vibrant than the picture shows.  The pattern is Broadripple, adapted for a non-stretch yarn.  I thought these were a go - as you can see I even turned the heel.  Then last night I put it on and realised that I couldn't live with the flashing/pooling business going on.  The ball winder is seeing a lot of work at the moment.

In fact I got so fed up winding I decided it was time for somebody else to put in some time.

This is Opal Petticoat, bought on a cone from Get Knitted last year.  Will this be the yarn that puts the wind back in my sails?  Only time will tell.

Today we had one of those days which was just how you want a family day out to be, but that rarely happens.  I don't know about you but we often set out with the best of intentions, only to end up in a mess of tiredness and hunger which inevitably leads to bickering and sulking - not just from the children either.

We decided to go to the Hayward Gallery for the Dan Flavin retrospective which we all thoroughly enjoyed.  No photos were allowed, but I managed to sneak one of Sam on the stairwell, lit by the light from one of the installations.

A tip from the Wool Palace.  A 9 year old boy in Heelys and a gallery full of flourescent light tubes, many on the floor or at foot level, make for some nervous moments and require some heavy handed parental intervention.  On the other hand it was fun to see people do a double take as Sam glided past in what appeared to be a normal pair of trainers.

Once we were done we headed over the river.  I had to stop and take a photo of these beautiful dogs.

Can you imagine how much exercise they must need?

After the peace and quiet of the exhibition the New Year celebrations in Chinatown were a bit of a shock to the system.

Once we'd got used to the crush we went with the flow and saw plenty of dancing and drumming. 

When we'd had enough we retreated for delicious dim sum then caught the tube home again, with no tantrums, bickering or squabbling. 

How was your weekend?

All together now

Thank you so much for all the lovely comments about Tubey.  I'm blown away.  If I haven't replied to you I will very soon.

There's a bit of a joining mood sweeping the blogs at the moment.  Now that the festive season is over maybe we are all emerging from our cocoons of family and friends and are ready to rejoin the knitting world.  Whatever, I've caught the fever too.

First up, I couldn't say no to a bit of sporting spirit.

I'm planning on being a bit crafty and combining this with Book of the Month, so my Olympic project will be from February's Book on the Month.  I'm also thinking that Book of the Month needs a button, although I'm not sure how to make one.  Buttons are on my mind right now, thanks to these ladies, who have a button for everyone.

See?

And again

Forget the knitting, the button making alone deserves a medal.

Today was also the sign up for one of my favourite exchanges, Sockapalooza, or to give it its correct Round 3 title, Sockapaloooza.

This promises to be even bigger and better this time round.  What's not to like about knitting a pair of socks?  Knitting for someone else also provides a great excuse to try out new yarn and patterns.  I'm a bit hazy on the time difference, but I think you've still got time to sign up.

Or, if you don't fancy knitting socks, what about getting rid of that sock yarn you just know you won't use?  Even better, you'll get something back.  I don't think there's a button for this one, but I've managed to get past that and sign up for this as well.

There you go, surely there's something there for every taste?  What are you waiting for?  Please don't say a button.

Ed late:  Inspired by Yvonne, I've had a go at creating a button for any Liberty knitters joining in the Knitting Olympics.  Be gentle with me, it's my first button.  Any technical advice gratefully received!  Is it just me, or is it a bit big?

I tried again and got this, which seems smaller but needs to be compressed.  I'm just getting to grips with PSP X.  I think I need some more practice.

Mind the gap

So the whale didn't make it, poor thing.

Sam languished another day but had recovered sufficiently by today for us to pop out for a late tapas lunch.  The weather has been lovely this weekend, very sunny.  Toby was off climbing all day yesterday, coming home with lots of funny stories to tell me, like almost being swept away by a wave.  Oh, how I laughed.  Today he was on hand to help me with my Tubey photoshoot.

Finishing Tubey sort of crept up on me.  She's a very simple knit so I have tended to work on her some evenings while watching TV and at Liberty knitting nights.  She also came along to Narnia and King Kong with me and was very co-operative, although there were a few mixed up stitches during the last hour or so of King Kong.  When I was at Liberty on Thursday the girls were asking me how much more I had to do and it was then that I realised that I was pretty much done.  Sure enough, by Friday night all the ends were sewn in and we were finished.

I am very happy with this jumper.  The fit is great and very flattering.  I knitted the third size up which feels fine.  I could probably have got away with the second size as the ribbing is very stretchy, but I think the arms would have been a little tight.  The edges are rolling slightly but a light blocking should sort that out.  The Cashmerino Aran was wonderful to knit with and is soft enough to wear next to my skin with no itchiness whatsoever.  I have heard mutterings of pilling with this yarn - anyone had any problems with this? 

As you can probably see from the photo I made the arms quite a bit shorter.  As it will be a fairly warm garment I thought a shorter length of arm would make if slightly cooler to wear, making it something that could be worn in the spring on its own as well as in winter under a coat.  I finished the arms about 10cm below my elbow which is almost 12cm shorter than the pattern suggests.  I also ended up making the body quite a bit shorter.  This was unintentional, I just tried it on and stopped when it looked right.  However on measuring my body piece measured 42cm, which is about 5cm shorter than the pattern.

I love the neckline; the back of the shrug like top rolls under but doesn't feel bulky or uncomfortable.

With all the shortening going on it will be no surprise to hear that I had quite a bit of yarn left over.  I bought 12 balls as suggested and have 68g left, just over one ball.  I also went down a needle size to get gauge which suited me fine as I don't have any 5mm dpns.

So there you have it, a very enjoyable simple and effective knit.  The pattern is well written and easy to follow but do make sure you take the stretchiness into account when calculating your measurements.  I've worn it for the last 3 days and my sister wants one of her own as does Josie; it looks like there could be plenty more Tubeys at the Wool Palace this year.

Moby Dick

I had big plans for today.  I was going to spoil myself, go for a run, then go and see Brokeback Mountain on my own.  Sam had been invited to a birthday party after school and Josie was going to a friend's house, then to Brownies, so I had the whole day free.  After the film Toby and I were going to spend a couple of hours together without the children.

We dropped them off early at school this morning as we had to be somewhere at 8.45.  I went to give Sam a kiss goodbye and noticed that he was burning up.  Sigh.

Drop Josie off, back home with Sam, cancel the appointment, try not to sulk too much about the film.  Maybe it will still be on next Friday?  Then at lunchtime, I see this on the news.  I must be a very bad mother as I had a little sulk that I couldn't go and see that either. (I didn't want to see it suffering, at lunchtime it seemed quite healthy).

I did manage to finish Tubey - pictures coming soon.

Hisss

I feel I have the perfect balance of projects on the go at present.  Jaywalkers for commuting knitting, Tubey for easy, in front of the telly knitting and the Feather and Fan shawl for those times when I want something a bit more challenging. 

The problem is that they don't really make for very good 'in progress' shots.  Tubey is getting longer, but otherwise looks pretty much the same and being black, that's not that interesting.  The shawl is getting larger but is lace so just looks like a larger, more crumpled version of the last photo.  Jaywalkers don't see to have changed, which is probably because I haven't done any work on them, but we'll skip over that for now shall we?

At the weekend I decided I wanted to do something quick and cheerful to add some variety to things.  I saw the Steek Boa on Mary-Lou's blog and decided to have a go, seeing as she'd been nice enough to post some directions.

This is the perfect weekend project.  Get together some yarns of co-ordinating yarns with different textures.  I used 2 strands of KSH in a deep red, some Rowanspun 4 ply in dusky pink, Yorkshire Tweed DK in red, Knitpicks Radiance Wave in a bright red and a mystery tweedy purple aran weight that I think might be Jaeger.

Mary-Lou suggested 10mm needles but I only had 9mm so that's what I used.  First you knit up a long skinny scarf with a ribbing section in the middle.  Mary-Lou's was 60 inches long.  I only had enough yarn to make it to 50 inches but I was happy with that.

Then you cast off the middle 5 stitches.  I followed Mary-Lou's advice to backstitch along the edge stitches to add some stability.

Then it's just a matter of dropping the remaining stitches off the needles and unravelling them back to the cast on edge.

You end up with loads of loops

which you then cut in half to create a long fringe.

I was very pleased with the end result.

Thank you Mary-Lou for such a quick and fun knit.  I've worn it quite a bit since the weekend and it's drawn some admiring compliments.  I'm already thinking about a brown and green version - maybe next weekend?

And the award goes to...

Well of course, it had to be Jaywalkers didn't it?

Do you ever get a yarn that you really like but just won't suit any pattern?  This Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn (Serengeti colourway) is causing me problems.  I've cast on four different socks in this yarn and each time I just feel 'blah' about the results.  I can't put my finger on the reason why - the colours are good, the yarn feels lovely and knits up evenly - but every time I am underwhelmed with the results.  I was hoping that Jaywalker would be the one to pick me up out of the slump but I'm not so sure.  I'm happier than I was with the previous attempt but I'm still not feeling the love.  I'm sticking with it in the hopes that all will be solved after I turn the heel but if I'm honest, there's a voice of dissent in my head.  If that voice was able to offer me an alternative rather than just whingeing, I might listen but right now I am ignoring it.  Maybe after the heel I will regret that decision.

And if you're wondering how long it will be until we get to that point, I knit socks for me to 7 inches before starting the heel.  After Tracy asked in the comments I went back and measured some of my completed socks as I couldn't remember how long I knit the leg.  I have a few that measure closer to 6 inches, but I think I must have got a bit impatient with those.  7 inches plus heel is the most comfortable fit for me.  If I'm knitting for the children I shorten it to 5 inches and for Toby I do 9 inches, which is why I try and keep his socks to a couple of pairs a year. 

I think I'm about 4 inches into Jaywalker number 1, so in a couple of days I should be able to return a verdict on whether this will be the sock that finally provides a home for the Serengeti CTH.

Bitty

I've been off work for the past couple of days with a mild bug.  Not pleasant but not so severe as to prevent me from taking advantage of daylight to catch up with photos.  Today is going to be a bit of a wrapping up loose ends sort of post.

I realised I hadn't photographed the penultimate pair of socks for 2005.

These are for me, done in Fortissima Socka Color, shade 2420 - at last I've managed to remember to keep the ball band!  Done in a twin rib taken from Sensational Knitted Socks.  They are done over 66 stitches on 2.5mm rather than my usual 60 but fit perfectly and feel wonderful.  I am very fond of the Fortissima yarns for an 'everyday' sock as they feel softer than Regia or Opal but wear very well and stand up to the rough and tumble of the washing machine with no problems.  I bought this colourway from Web of Wool at Ally Pally and am beginning to wish I got more.  There is however a noticeable difference between the two socks, even though the balls were from the same dyelot - I don't know if you can see it in the photo but the sock on the left has quite a bit more yellow than the one on the right.  Not enough to bother me, but if the socks were a gift I might feel a little vexed.

I had some lovely post on New Year's Eve.  A parcel arrived from Morgan, who was my Stitch Ya Neck Out partner.  I had requested Branching Out in some Silky Wool I had left over from the shrug I did in the summer. 

As well as the scarf, Morgan also included 2 skeins of luscious Koigu and some Opal, to feed the sock habit and a copy of the Yarn Harlot's latest book.  Thank you very much Morgan, I think this will be a perfect early spring scarf, light and delicate but warm as well.

Speaking of exchanges, Josie received a parcel just before Christmas that was torn open before any photos could be taken.  It was her final parcel in the Secret Pal Kid's Exchange, in which she has been totally spoilt.  We were able to find out that Lauren had been Josie's pal, with a bit of help from her mum Andrea, who was kind enough to send me a little something as well.

A big thank you to Andrea and Lauren for making this such a fun experience for Josie.  As well as the packages, Lauren and Josie have been exchanging e-cards and emails which I know Josie has really enjoyed and hopefully they will keep in touch.  Unfortunately Sam's Secret Pal never made contact, which he was rather disappointed about, but that's the way these things go sometimes.

In the comments on the shawl the other day, Jill asked about the yarn I was using.  It is on a cone and says nothing other than 'Lambswool'.  It looks very much like the old Rowan Donegal 4-ply, which I used to knit Birch a couple of years ago.  I don't think it is oiled as I washed my tension swatch and nothing much happened, so I think it will knit up fine.  I compared it to some J&S laceweight that arrived the other day.

What do you think?  The lambswool is at the top and the J&S at the bottom.  The lambswool does have marginally less give, but as I am knitting on a larger than recommended needle I think this will compensate for some of that.  I was very happy with the way Birch turned out, so hopefully I will feel the same about this shawl.

Coming up next time.  I've jumped on the bandwagon with one of the most popular patterns around at the moment.  Any guesses what it could be?

Emily Ocker, I want a word with you

I've had a hard time decided on which project to do from my Book of the Month, A Gathering of Lace.  I knew I wanted to do a shawl, but couldn't settle on which one.

There was strong support for this one from some people, but I decided against it for now - just too big to take on for the first one I thought.

In the end I narrowed it down to the Shetland Tea Shawl and the Feather and Fan Shawl but I still couldn't come to a final decision.  One night, when I was flicking through the book yet again, I decided to turn to Toby for help.  Why, I'm not sure, call it a moment of madness.

Me:  Which one of these shawls do you think I should do?

Toby: Hmmm?

Me:  Look, I'm trying to decide between these two...

Toby:  (Taking the book from me).  I like that one (pointing to Frost Flowers and Leaves)  What's she wearing under the shawl?

Me:  I don't know; that's not one of the ones I want to do, look...

Toby:  Do you think she has clothes on under there?

Me;  Look, let me show you which ones I mean.

Toby:  (Scrutinising photo closely)  Hang on...

Me:  You know I'm going to blog about this don't you?

Eventually, after I shone a bright light on the photo to show that the model was indeed wearing clothes and not just underwear, we were able to move on and actually take a look at the patterns in question.  With Toby's (minimal) help I decided on the Feather and Fan Shawl.

I decided to use a cone of brown lambswool that I bought from Uppingham Yarns at Ally Pally last year.  I went up to 4mm rather than the 3.75mm specified, which was handy as I didn't have any 3.75mm dpns.

Then I tried to do a circular beginning.

In the book, it states blithely, 'using a circular beginning' as if it's a lovely simple thing to do.  Well.  The air in the Wool Palace was blue for an hour or so that evening.  Dpns were flying round the room.  Toby started to look worried and suggested I, 'just leave it'.  'I can't, it's my New Year's Resolution' I cried.  In desperation I turned to the Internet and found these wonderful directions which calmed me down and got me through the devilish process.

Not perfect, but I couldn't face doing it again.  Knitting 8 stitches on 3 dpns is not something to dawdle over.

Once that bit was over I was off and flying. 

I do enjoy lace - it's nice to have to concentrate a bit but to also have the break of the plain row every second round.  I got the first 60 rounds done over the weekend, which is the floral bit in the middle finished. 

I'll try and get some photos on a longer needle - that way you can see the mistakes better.

Now I am onto the feather and fan bits.  I am trying very hard not to think about the crocheted edging.

If you are doing Book of the Month, why not leave a comment and let us know how you are getting on.  I'd love to hear what your Book of the Month is - all the more ideas for my choice next month...

How soon is now?

A cold and damp weekend here in London.  Rather non-eventful in the photo stakes, although the children still manage to find interest in the small things.

I made some pasta sauce.

Josie made a calendar

and Sam spent some time with his beloved Age of Empires.

Exciting isn't it?

So, back to the knitting.  Of course, you were all right, the first FO of 2006 is my first ever pair of gloves.

As you can see, I was pretty surprised that they turned out to fit.  I had a bad experience with a Rowan glove pattern a few years ago - it all looked fine until I put them on and all the fingers were at strange angles.  It was enough to put me off gloves for years.  However, I bit the bullet and signed up for Nona's Peaceful Palms in an effort to force myself to face those fears.

Jill was right about the yarn - Koigu KPPPM, Shade P824 (or it could be 829, I can't read the writing properly).  I chose the Progressive Gloves pattern from Interweave Knits Winter 2003.  It's not so much a pattern as an explanation of how to work out how many stitches you will need for hand, thumb and each finger.  Based on this, I cast on 60 stitches on 2.5mm needles.  I followed the pattern pretty much as is, except that I did a 2x2 ribbed cuff for an inch and knitted to 5 inches before starting thumb shaping, as opposed to the 6 inches recommended in the pattern. 

For a first effort, I am happy with how these have turned out.  I found it hard to measure the finger length as I went along, especially as there was no thumb opening - the thumb stitches are knitted with waste yarn on the palm, which is then unravelled at the end and the stitches picked up.  The main thing I would change next time would be to knit a thumb gusset before getting to the fingers as I think that would aid in accurate trying on and measuring.  I also think that 60 stitches may be slightly too many;  I would probably take it down to 56 for a slightly snugger fit.  But other than that, the fit is good, the yarn is pretty and I have a pair of gloves that I will happily wear for the next couple of months.  Thanks to Nona for organising the knitalong - I don't think I would have ever got around to trying gloves otherwise.

Will I do any more pairs?  Well, my sister was very taken with them - she thinks they look like a tortoiseshell cat.  I estimate I used 1½ skeins of Koigu and I have 1½ left, so who knows?  Will gloves be the new socks?  erm, no...not at the Wool Palace anyway.