Half a sock and a hangover

Not a hangover in the alcoholic sense I hasten to add, but rather the kind of good hangover that you get from a really good, really intense and learning packed day. I spent yesterday at my first (not certainly not my last) Blogtacular and today I find myself in full-on introvert recovery mode. Yesterday was amazing on so many levels. Not only did I get to spend time with a most excellent bunch of knitting friends - and as we all know - knitters always manage to have a brilliant time. But I also met some amazing people in the online crafting community, listened to some inspiring and motivational speakers and made some great connections.

Not only that but we managed to also take part in Worldwide Knit in Public Day (not hard, as we do this every day) and also National Gin Day - total win!

There is so much to take in and to process and over the next few days I will certainly be doing just that - in my own, quiet, introverted way.

But for now I'm happy to knit on my half-finished sock which I started yesterday and which kept me company as I listened, chatted and generally soaked up the fabulous Blogtacular vibes. It's genuinely the first and only conference or networking event that I was sorry to see end - normally I am edging for the door after a few hours.

I just know that my brain is buzzing with ideas and things I want to implement but today isn't the day for that. Today is for cuddling with my boys, knitting on my sock and quietly planning world domination through the medium of knitting.

Happy Sunday

xx

Colour choices

Of all the decisions to be made in knitting colour choice is something that I find particularly difficult. Given to chronic indecision and procrastination at the best of times I can spend hours and maybe even days trying to decide on the perfect colour combination.

This particular pattern (a test knit for a friend) is for a striped shawl which relies on relatively high contrast between the striped sequences for a dramatic visual effect. Pick yarns that are too close in shade or tone and the effect will be watered down and bland. On the other hand I want to create a shawl that is wearable and that works with other clothes in my wardrobe. I love a neon Stephen West shawl as much as the next person but my own wardrobe choices tend to be a little more conservative.

Colour theory is always something that I've been aware of from afar - my normal tried and tested method for colour selection is to pile all of the potntial skeins onto the bed and randomly match them up to potential partners. But recently I have been doing a little more reading into the subject and I found this fabulous article from Knitty which really explains the detail of colour theory in a way that I had never really 'got' before.

I also came across this book: Colour by Victoria Finlay which looks absolutely fascinating and was in my Amazon shopping cart faster than you could say Yarn!

I can't wait to read it and will be sure to report back.

A fickle beastie

Gauge - it's a fickle thing alright. For years, in fact for most of my sock knitting career my default option has been for sock yarn and 2.5mm needles. No messing, no fuss and no thinking required. Now suddenly my default option started giving a sock yarn fabric that was a bit too loose, a bit too wibbly and not at all as smooth as I would like.

I've no idea why, my needles haven't changed, but suddenly it seems as though only 2.25mm needle tips will do. It happened on my last pair of socks and I put it down to the fact that the yarn I was using was quite tightly spun and maybe a bit less plump than some of the yarns I had been using. But nope, it seems to be an issue for all of my socks now.

This delightful yarn from Easy Knits would probably look good at any gauge with those little neon pops of colour but it seems that for me 2.25mm needles are now the perfect sweet spot.

The only problem of course is that I only possess 2 pairs of said needles. I have 2.5mm tips all over the place but now it seems I need to restock. 

Charity Knitting - how to help when you have no time

This month the focus of my Everyday Knitter Facebook group is on charity knitting and this has lead to some great conversations around this subject. Many knitters love to knit for charity and do so prolifically. Others would love to help out more but although they have the supplies and the ability they lack the time to knit all the things they want to and still help out their favourite charities.

Whenever you are knitting for a charity it is often wise to check out how they intend the finished items to be used/distributed/sold before committing your precious time into a project. There seems to be a unversal assumption amongst certain media companies and PR folk that knitters are elderly ladies with an infinite amount of time on their hands and who don't value their time and skills perhaps as much as they ought to - but that's a topic for another day.

If you don't have time to knit something for a charity appeal but would still like to help - never fear:

1. Tell people about it. Spread the word to those around you who might be able to help. Either online or in person - every person who talks about or who mentions a particular charity helps to raise awareness.

2. Have a clear out and donate some craft suppliers. Charities are often thrilled to receive donations of wool and needles. Often they are able to pass these on to other knitters to make use of and create items for sale or donation. It's often worth checking first before you do to make sure that you are supplying what you need.

3. Look around, some charities accept donations all year round - Knit for Peace is a great example. You can cast on for a hat and donate it whenever it is ready, whether that's in a month or a years time.

When it comes to knitting for charity, really no act is too small or too insignificant. We can all do a little bit to help - whatever that is and in whatever form it takes. 

Free patterns: when you might get more than you bargained for

There is an old adage that “There is no such thing as a free lunch” and never is that more appropriate than when dealing with the multitude of websites which are available these days - all offering Free Patterns. I’m not going to link to them as they have no need of any more free publicity but I’m sure you have all seen them crop up on Google searches at various times.

“No need to waste your money on buying patterns” they proclaim - often in loud shouty letters, offering to dazzle and delight the reader with their range of wonderful free patterns.

Whilst there is nothing wrong in principle with this type of website it’s worth bearing a few things in mind before taking them up on their oh-so-kind offer.

First of all, please bear in mind that many of these patterns are counterfeit - that is to say they are available for download without the permission of the designer. Whilst a pattern may be listed as a free pattern on Ravelry, this does not grant anyone else permission to distribute that pattern - either in printed or in electronic form. Often designers will offer a free pattern as a way of driving more visitors to their website or to their Ravelry designer page in the hope of increasing sales and awareness of their product. Having the pattern available elsewhere detracts from that and reduces the potential for further sales. There is a serious misconception among the knitting industry that just because a pattern is available as a free download it is available for anyone to use and distribute and many of these free pattern sites take full advantage of this lack of awareness.

In addition there have been an increasing number of cases where these ‘free download’ websites have been affected by viruses or other forms of malware. In some cases this may be malicious but often it is just the case that such sites are poorly run and administered and therefore may not be as assiduous in checking all their links as you might like.

 Viruses and malware aren’t just a problem with sites like this either. Patterns downloaded directly from individual’s blogs may also be a problem. This was pointed out recently on my Facebook group - I am knitting a sock yarn blanket the pattern for which was published on a blog several years ago. There is a Ravelry pattern page but to get the pattern you have to go to the blog website rather than downloading via Ravelry. Several people reported that they had problems with their PC after visiting the site and thankfully the Rav team were super speedy in responding.

It serves as a timely reminder though, that as used as we are to the instant gratification of downloadable patterns it is worth checking where your downloads come from. Sources such as Ravelry and Love Knitting are impeccable, I am very pleased to say as all patterns have to be uploaded to their servers before they can be activated.

If in doubt, as with anything, it’s best to double check before hitting that download button.

Short and sweet

It’s just a short blog post from me today. The bank holiday weekend is upon us here in the UK and the race is on to enjoy the warm sunny weather before the inevitable rain hits us. On the bright side, a rainy bank holiday is the perfect excuse to hole up inside and crack on with the knitting.

As I’m sure you all know by now (obsessed - moi?) Stash Dash has now begun and I can finally get round to liberating some sock needles from a lingering pile of sock WIPs.

The sun is shining and I’m outside with my sock knitting and my coffee. The house is quiet as everyone else has a lie-in so it’s just me and the cats. And the neighbourhood peacock trying his best to wake every living soul - but I’m ignoring him.

This photo was taken yesterday where I was doing much the same thing but obviously much more presentably attired. Trust me - no one needs to see my morning self with crumpled PJs.

In my head I envision a weekend full of a parade of finished socks lining up in front of me. As the house wakes and domestic duties take over I will still cling grimly to that hope and keep my knitting with me at all times to get the odd round in here and there. And if nothing else - I can use an emergency DPN to stab that infernal peacock,