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. 

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.