Something Lacy

After finishing the socks I was going to knit another pair (I have yarn for at least 5 more pairs in my stash), this time using a different pattern, but I decided that I needed to get to work on some of the Christmas presents that I am making for my 'other family' in Canada. I have decided that the ladies might each like a hand-knitted lace scarf and as these take a bit longer than a pair of socks to knit I knew that I ought to get started. I have yarn for four scarves already put by so all I needed to do was find some patterns. I had a number of patterns in mind but it was very difficult to choose which one to make; however the decision was made and I started knitting but, as is always the way when I am using very fine yarn, each time I got started I ended up dropping stitches and because the scarf was only a few rows in length, the stitch would drop all the way down and I would have to unpick the work and start again. I began to think that this was going to be as difficult as the Shetland lace shawl that I made at the beginning of the year, but I decided to try a different pattern and this time I had a little more success.

I have two hanks of each of the two colourways in the above photograph, which will be enough for four nice long lacy scarves. The yarn is a very fine and soft alpaca so I have had to stop wearing dark coloured tops while I am knitting with it because it looks as though I have been sitting with a cat on my chest after an evening's work. But having found a suitable pattern, the first scarf is growing quite nicely now and measures approximately 10 inches at the moment and at a guess the finished scarf will be something over 60 inches in length.It is very difficult to determine the lace pattern at the moment because the knitting is so springy, but once the scarf is finished and has been blocked (this means soaking it in cool water so that all the fibres are wet and then squeezing out as much water as possible before stretching the scarf to its finished dimensions and then leaving it to dry) the pattern should be somewhat clearer. It is supposed to look like a series of tumbling leaves and hopefully blocking the scarf will make the pattern show up, but even if it isn't as clear as it might be in a slightly thicker laceweight yarn, it will be very warm and soft around the neck. Something that will be nice to have for the cold Canadian winters.

Knitting Update

I haven't written about my knitting for a few weeks so I thought that I would bring those who are interested up to date with my work. I found that I had enough wool to make a third hat which is as different to the other two as they are to each other.

Hat No 1
Hat No 2Hat No 3

After the hats I started to knit a V-necked pullover, but put that to one side because it is really a winter jumper, and therefore can wait for a couple of months before I start working on it again. So I started knitting an afghan for a friend. It was to be the same pattern that I had used for an afghan for myself a few months back and I thought that I had enough wool left over from what I bought for mine (I drastically overestimated how much I would need) to be able to complete this second afghan. But I miscalculated and knew that although there would be enough to complete the main part of the afghan, there wouldn't be enough for the edging. It was possible that I might be able to get another ball of the wool that I was using but I made the decision that to create a different effect I would use a contrasting colour to complete the last pattern repeat on the afghan and to create the edging. On Tuesday morning, armed with a length of the yarn that I had been using, I went back to the shop where I had bought the wool to look for something that was the same thickness and yarn composition, but which would provide a contrast to the bulk of the afghan. I found what I was looking for and Tuesday evening I started the last pattern repeat with the contrast yarn and was quite pleased with the effect that it created. Yesterday I started working the edging on the shawl and it is progressing slowly. I estimate that I should be able to finish the edging by about Tuesday of next week, although it may get done earlier if I have an evening where I really get on with it. Then I need to sew in the few ends and it will be completed and ready for me to give to my friend.

Yes, I am indeed using three needles to finish off the afghan. The needle on the left is the circular needle on which the afghan has been knitted, while the two double-pointed needles are the ones that the edging is knit on although on alternate rows one of the stitches from the circular needle is knitted with the last stitch of the row on the double-pointed needles, thus forming the join between the edging and the afghan.

While I was buying the contrast yarn for the afghan, I also found some other yarn being sold for a good price. The problem with knitters is that they are always looking for bargains and will buy any that they find to put into their stash for use in the future. Well, I'm just like any other knitter and I have my stash of yarn for future projects and I bought some of this cheap yarn for a pullover or a cardigan (I haven't quite made my mind up yet). It is somewhat unusual in composition because it looks a little like it is made from crocheted chain stitch. But it will make a change from the somewhat ordinary feeling (although one cannot describe the projects that have been completed recently as ordinary looking) yarn that I have been working with for the last few months. I'll put up a photograph of the finished project when I get round to knitting it.

Just in case you weren't aware, if you click on any of the photographs on this blog an enlarged version will open in another window, so you can see whatever is illustrated in all its glory.

Knitting For Sanity

Whether or not I post to this blog can be an indicator of how I am feeling. When Mr Smiley sent me an email yesterday he noted that I hadn't posted anything since Thursday and without me having said anything to him knew that I was feeling down. He was right; I'm having a bad time at the moment and while I often have things that I want to say, I don't have the energy or the enthusiasm to write anything.

For many this would not be a problem, but while writing on this blog is not actually a life-defining occurrence, it does have some meaning for my future studies with the OU. Later this year I will be taking a course in creative writing and taking a more advanced one next year. These courses will lead to me completing my second degree but will also give me a Diploma in Literature and Creative Writing.

Studying with the OU has been a life-saver for me over the last nine years but it hasn't all been plain sailing. Over the last few years I have only managed to complete one course because depression has made it impossible for me to continue with courses for which I was registered. I am hoping that by taking some creative courses rather than purely academic ones I will break this cycle of having to 'drop out'.

One of the few things that I manage to continue with while I am deeply depressed is knitting. I have become a little manic about it over the last few weeks and have more projects on the go than is usual, even for me. However, I am coming to the end of one of them, a beautiful circular lace blanket that will keep me warm next winter; I should finish it today because I am knitting the edging at the moment and as it is only a 6-row repeat pattern, it seems to be moving around the edge of the blanket at a good rate.

For the first time ever, I have also joined a KAL. For the uninitiated this is a knit-along, and it is for a mystery shawl. The 'mystery' is that none of us, except the designer, know what the finished shawl will look like. The pattern will be available in seven 'clues' which are published weekly; the first was posted on the KAL site last Wednesday and I made the decision to join on Thursday. Having found some yarn in my knitter's stash that would be sufficient for the project I set to work and had completed the 54 rows that made up the first clue within 24 hours. I now have to wait until tomorrow for the second clue which will give me sufficient time to finish knitting the blanket today and sew in the few yarn ends that need to be done before notification of the clue having been posted arrives tomorrow.

The designer lives in the US and plans to post the clue at about midday EDT so that means that it should be available for me to work on tomorrow evening. Once I have finished the second clue I will have to wait again for the next one so I shall get to work on a cardigan for myself in the meantime.

Knitting is keeping me sane at the moment, I am having so much trouble concentrating on things that I am not even able to read. So I have a couple of books sitting beside the bed waiting for the moment that the depression lifts and I can get back to another of the things that I love to do in my spare time.

Once I have the myriad of knitting projects back to realistic levels again, I may do some crocheting as a little light relief. Sending There and Back a book on 'How to Crochet' as part of her birthday present and receiving emails from her letting me know how she is progressing, has reawakened my enthusiasm for this craft. I have decided to make a new throw for my bed and I will be building this from 6-inch squares of various designs from a wonderful book that I bought a few months ago. Having decided on the colours that I am going to use I have to now decide which squares I am going to make and how to lay them out to create the overall effect. This will be the first time that I will have designed something on this scale and I know that it is going to be one of those projects that will take some time to complete, but the joy of crocheting squares of this size for joining together to make a larger object is that the project can be picked up and worked on in any spare moments.

So while I may not be feeling at my best I am still making sure that I find things to do to ensure that my brain doesn't atrophy and that I am engaged in something constructive to pass away the hours. And this has reminded me that I need to charge the battery for my camera so that I can post a few pictures of the projects as they are completed or are progressing.