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. 

Is this inappropriate or not?

It's another morning when a cheery Instagram image seems sadly inappropriate. Another morning when with a heavy heart I turn away from social media - unable to bear the grief and suffering of others. 
My sunny yellow nail varnish put on yesterday seems totally out of place and as for my fun pink flamingos... But then, I'm not sure what the alternative is. We can't stop doing what makes us happy, what makes us human. We can't not reach out to people and share our lives because if we do that we really are giving in to terror and letting those sad excuses for human beings shape or world into something we don't want it to be.

So, I'm just going to sit here and knit for a bit, quietly enjoying the process and trying to think about all the things that make our world a better place to be.

Morning Pages - a hug in shawl form

Morning Pages.

Now I appreciate that my timing may be a little off here but please indulge me. This shawl was originally conceived back in February but then had to be set aside for some commission work and it was a few months before it saw the light of day. As soon as it was finished though I knew that I just had to share it with you - because everyone needs a large worsted weight shawl in the middle of a summer heatwave - don't they?

It uses 3 skeins of the glorious Cumbria yarn (a worsted weight) from The Fibre Co and it was inspired by listening to the wonderful Kate of the A Playful Day podcast. She was talking about getting up early in the morning to work and write whilst her tot slept on, and even though my boys are a little older now, this is something I can totally relate to. Even now I often set the alarm for 5am to get my important tasks for the day out of the way before the rest of the house wakes. And our kitchen gets pretty cold in winter.

So, the Morning Pages shawl is a really generous, wrappable shawl which is technically semi-circular but is actually shaped like 3 sides of a square - but Ravelry don't have a classification for a three-quarters square. The garter stitch gives a great squishable texture and the contrast bands of stocking stitch really allow your chosen contrast colour to pop out. This is a great one to play with colour combinations and be a little adventurous.

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.

Fuelled by Prosecco

Holly Berry colour way, West Yorkshire Spinners

This weekend involved rather less sock knitting than I anticipated and rather more drinking Prosecco with friends. I didn't dare try to work on my socks after a couple of glasses of the fizzy stuff - mindful of the first rule of Stash Dash which is to avoid having to tink or rip back at all costs. Still, I'm not complaining at all. Warm sunny days when we can sit outside and enjoy good times with friends are few and far between.

It does mean that I am a little further behind in my plans than I wanted to be but that's fine. I have another pair well on the way to being finished and then I decide which of my bugger projects to work on. I just hope the weather cools down soon though. The thought of sitting with half of DHs woolly grey sweater of Doom in my lap is not an enticing one.

Rum Paradise, West Yorkshire Spinners