I've not been feeling great for the last few days and this has resulted in me spending a large part of the last three days asleep. Fortunately I can sleep now thanks to the additional medication and getting plenty of sleep does seem to help me cope with things a little better.
I have now completed one sock for each of the four suits. I am happy with the socks for 'Diamonds', 'Hearts' ans 'Spades', but I have made a few alterations to the chart for 'Clubs' so a new sample sock will have to be knitted. However, rather than work on this single suit sock, I have drafted the chart for the 'Full House' sock and I have started knitting that. I've only done three of the 10 rows of rib for the sock's cuff as yet, but it shouldn't take me long to complete the cuff and then I can move onto the leg part of the sock and I have to admit that I am looking forward to seeing how this sock turns out.
I've done a bit of preparatory work on writing the patterns but I shall need to sit down and work on this earnestly over the next couple of weeks. I still have plenty of time before the designs need to be submitted but I also have a lot of work still to do. I am still hoping that I will have the time to create a lace scarf for the competition but it is going to be touch and go whether I can achieve this.
I am hoping to treat myself to a new book this week once my pension gets paid into the bank. This book is full of charts for lace patterns mainly of Estonian design, and it would be a wonderful resource for creating my own designs. So I will be doing a few calculations and if things look okay I shall be buying the book on Thursday and no doubt spend Thursday evening turning the pages slowly and trying to decide which patterns to include in my lace scarf.
Showing posts with label lace scarf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lace scarf. Show all posts
Sunday, 13 June 2010
Friday, 28 May 2010
Creating Charts
I went into WH Smith today to buy myself a small ruler and some graph paper. It's a long time since I have used graph paper (Madsadgirl left school a long time ago and didn't do maths during the last two years of school) but I needed some to be able to draw out the charts that will be needed for my knitting designs.
The charts will eventually have to be put onto the computer so that I can print out the patterns and create the electronic copies that are also required. But for playing around with designs and doing my test pieces graph paper is just the thing to use. I bought some graph paper on Tuesday but didn't look closely enough to the paper that I bought and it wasn't until I had got it home and tried to use it that I realised that 2mm squares just weren't big enough to allow me to put the various symbols into them.
The pad that I bought today has 5mm squares and I have already managed to draft out the designs for one of the socks that I am creating. Having managed to work out what stitches I wanted where to create the pattern, I then had to redraft the charts with the designs upside down because I am knitting the socks from the cuff down to the toes. Unfortunately I am unable to post photographs of the socks that I am designing because of the competition rules, but once the competition closing date has passed I will see what I can do.
I have also decided to design a lace scarf for the competition. This also requires lots of charts to be drawn up to work from. I have done the first chart and I have managed to knit this chart. As I want the scarf to be a bit like a sampler I have to work out a number of charts to provide a good range of designs but there must also be some form of linking between them, so I have decided to make it themed on butterflies and flowers/leaves. To ensure that the designs are the right way up when the scarf is worn it will be knitted in two halves and then the two grafted together. This will be a first for me as I have always knitted lace designs that could be viewed from either direction. I'm quite looking forward to the challenge.
The charts will eventually have to be put onto the computer so that I can print out the patterns and create the electronic copies that are also required. But for playing around with designs and doing my test pieces graph paper is just the thing to use. I bought some graph paper on Tuesday but didn't look closely enough to the paper that I bought and it wasn't until I had got it home and tried to use it that I realised that 2mm squares just weren't big enough to allow me to put the various symbols into them.
The pad that I bought today has 5mm squares and I have already managed to draft out the designs for one of the socks that I am creating. Having managed to work out what stitches I wanted where to create the pattern, I then had to redraft the charts with the designs upside down because I am knitting the socks from the cuff down to the toes. Unfortunately I am unable to post photographs of the socks that I am designing because of the competition rules, but once the competition closing date has passed I will see what I can do.
I have also decided to design a lace scarf for the competition. This also requires lots of charts to be drawn up to work from. I have done the first chart and I have managed to knit this chart. As I want the scarf to be a bit like a sampler I have to work out a number of charts to provide a good range of designs but there must also be some form of linking between them, so I have decided to make it themed on butterflies and flowers/leaves. To ensure that the designs are the right way up when the scarf is worn it will be knitted in two halves and then the two grafted together. This will be a first for me as I have always knitted lace designs that could be viewed from either direction. I'm quite looking forward to the challenge.
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
I Did It ... And More
Yes, I finally managed to cast on the stitches and complete the 10 rows of rib for the cuff of my sock. I am now halfway through the first repeat of the pattern in the leg part.
I actually managed to get the sock properly under way before going to bed last night. Perhaps I shouldn't have done that because it was pretty late when I eventually settled down for the night and I had to be up early this morning because being Tuesday it was psychotherapy day.
My night-time medication certainly puts me to sleep these days, but it also means that I am very drowsy in the morning and when I have to go out I have to make sure that I set the alarm to wake me up. When the alarm goes off, I force myself out of bed immediately because I know that if I didn't I would quickly go back to sleep again.
Today's psychotherapy session started with us discussing when this therapy is going to end. This was always intended to be a short period of therapy, but it has gone on for longer than originally planned. The end of July has now been set as the time for ending this therapy which means between six and eight more sessions. I know that I will have to miss one session because I am due to have the surgery to deal with my delicate problem on 13th July.
After this initial discussion we moved on to the therapy proper. We focused on how I find it difficult to express my emotions. Suppressing one's emotions meant that it can be very difficult to deal with normal reactions to things like bereavement. Being unable to show grief, or anger, or any of the other emotions that one might expect to exhibit at difficult times in your life, has meant that I have done a lot of damage to myself mentally. Painful, and difficult, as this period of therapy has been, my therapist has helped me to start to experience emotions that I have fought to control for most of my life.
After my therapy session I had a quick lunch and then caught a bus to take me to Waterloo and a quick visit to I Knit London. Having decided to enter the knitting design competition I have started to design four more sock patterns that will be based on a common theme, and I have also decided to have a go as designing a lace scarf too. With all these projects on the board, some more yarn was required and that was what I was going to the shop for. I have managed to find four lovely yarns for the socks, and a wonderful lilac-pink laceweight yarn for the scarf.
It looks as though I am going to be busy for the next couple of months.
I actually managed to get the sock properly under way before going to bed last night. Perhaps I shouldn't have done that because it was pretty late when I eventually settled down for the night and I had to be up early this morning because being Tuesday it was psychotherapy day.
My night-time medication certainly puts me to sleep these days, but it also means that I am very drowsy in the morning and when I have to go out I have to make sure that I set the alarm to wake me up. When the alarm goes off, I force myself out of bed immediately because I know that if I didn't I would quickly go back to sleep again.
Today's psychotherapy session started with us discussing when this therapy is going to end. This was always intended to be a short period of therapy, but it has gone on for longer than originally planned. The end of July has now been set as the time for ending this therapy which means between six and eight more sessions. I know that I will have to miss one session because I am due to have the surgery to deal with my delicate problem on 13th July.
After this initial discussion we moved on to the therapy proper. We focused on how I find it difficult to express my emotions. Suppressing one's emotions meant that it can be very difficult to deal with normal reactions to things like bereavement. Being unable to show grief, or anger, or any of the other emotions that one might expect to exhibit at difficult times in your life, has meant that I have done a lot of damage to myself mentally. Painful, and difficult, as this period of therapy has been, my therapist has helped me to start to experience emotions that I have fought to control for most of my life.
After my therapy session I had a quick lunch and then caught a bus to take me to Waterloo and a quick visit to I Knit London. Having decided to enter the knitting design competition I have started to design four more sock patterns that will be based on a common theme, and I have also decided to have a go as designing a lace scarf too. With all these projects on the board, some more yarn was required and that was what I was going to the shop for. I have managed to find four lovely yarns for the socks, and a wonderful lilac-pink laceweight yarn for the scarf.
It looks as though I am going to be busy for the next couple of months.
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