life long learning

I took my chemistry-with-hard-sums exam last week.  Now I have no studying for a couple of months, until my next course starts in February (although I may do a little light reading in preparation for it).   Even though my chemistry studies are over for this year, I still have plenty of new things to learn.  I’ve cast on for my bountiful bohus cardigan.  This features a couple of techniques I’ve not done before – short row shaping and steeks.

I have done short rows before, but not for shaping a garment.  The pattern does give some shapings but I’m going to recalculate my own, as well as tweaking other parts of the shaping, using my hard-won mad algebra skillz. If  I can apply the steady state approximation and understand the Langmuir adsorption isotherm then I can damn well work out where to put a couple of bust darts.

Steeks, though! Steeks are a different story.  You want me to cut my knitting?  I think I’d rather derive some more kinetic equations, thanks.  Cut. My.  Knitting! ?  This is terrifying.  But I know lots of knitters who have done it and survived, and they assure me it’s not that difficult but even so, I’m scared.  But ’tis a long way off yet.  I have started with the sleeves, by way of checking my tension calculations (my yarn is knitting up looser than the pattern so I am following the instructions for a smaller size).   I’ve made the sleeves narrower than the pattern has them – I already have one cardigan with big sleeves, don’t really need another.

I did finally finish my summer school shawl, and wore it during my exam – it gets quite cool in the exam hall after 2 or 3 hours sitting still.

pattern: Litla Dimun by Cheryl Oberle (from ‘Folk Shawls‘)
yarn: Jamieson & Smith 2 Ply Jumper Yarn, shade 1403 (the red is slightly deeper/darker than it shows in these photos)
needles: 4 mm

I love the finished shawl, the Faroese shape really does stay on well. And I love the yarn, in all its crispness and slight roughness. This feels like the kind of shawl my great grandmothers would have worn. Airy lace and softy delicate yarns are good for dressing up, but this is an honest, everyday working shawl.  Although I wear it for working in  the library, rather than the fields or mills.  Ah, which reminds me …

I kniktted this ‘U’ for the Poetry Society’s Knitted Poem.  They asked you to tell them your favourite poem.  One of mine is Digging by Seamus Heaney

But I’ve no spade to follow men like them.

Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests.
I’ll dig with it.

growth

Quite a lazy weekend here.  Went to the local World Wide Knit in Public Day yesterday, it was nice to sit and knit in the textiles gallery at the Whitworth, almost felt part of the exhibition.  Made some more progress on my summer chevron

Although an MMBSS¹ project like this gets boring after a while, I am liking making a jumper top down in the round.  I love that you can try it on as you go, making it easy to tweak the fit.   And of course, there is no seaming waiting for me at the end.  On the other hand, although I’m getting better at working with circular needles, I do miss ‘proper’ knitting on lovely long straight needles.  My next planned project is another green MMBSS jumper but this time worked flat, so back to the trusty straights yay.

Lots of green going on right now, as our teeny ‘veg patch’ on the balcony is coming on.  Thinned some of the salad stuff this afternoon and had fresh salad with our tea.

rocket, chard, beetroot leaves and teeny tiny radishes nom nom nom.

1.  Miles & Miles of Bloody Stocking Stitch

what I did on my holidays

Back from my Easter break to (sometimes) sunny Northern Ireland, visiting the next generation of socks

And for the first few days, I got quite a bit of knitting done, making good progress on my decimal. Sadly I then got struck down with some kind of lurgy that left me too wiped out even to knit for 5 days.  I’d just reached where I want the neck shaping to start (much higher up than the pattern writer has it) and decided this would be a good point to check my calculations were right this time by blocking the work so far.

Whoo hoo! Is pretty much perfect, the blocked measurements are just what I wanted them to be.  Another reason for blocking was so I could work out how many stitches to cast on for the sleeves, and I’ve been able to make a start on these while the body is drying.

And now … fanfare ….

EASTER ELVEN GIVE-AWAY RESULT

Thank you to everyone who visited and commented on the give-away post, and for all the nice words about the pattern. As of today there are 18 comments on the post.  Using the random sequence generator to select the winning post as no. 8 makes  the winner is Barbara.  Congrats Barbara, I’ve left a message on your blog and the yarn will be in the post to you as soon as I get your address.

Doing a give-away was fun, I might have to do it again sometime.

wishful thinking ….

I’ve been looking at More Big Girl Knits this week, planning summer tops with the cotton blend bargains I’ve been scoring.  There are several patterns I really like, but I’m wondering, is it the patterns I’m drawn to or am I secretly hoping that knitting them will turn me into the gorgeous model ….

all photos by Amy Singer

four and twenty stitches

OK so I’m no Ada Lovelace¹ but I’m not completely hopeless at maths. I haz an O- (yep, I am that old), an AO- and an A-level in it, a pass in the OU ‘Maths for Science‘ course and am currently grappling with their chemistry-with-hard-sums course. And yet, apparently I still cannot count accurately to 24.

Two days ago I realised that I’d mis-measured my tension square for decimal. My tension was actually tighter than I’d thought.  So all my work to that point has had to be ripped out, and I am reconsidering the tension issues.  The yarn I’m using is dk-weight rather than the sport-weight the pattern calls for; I can get the specified stitch tension on small needles but with a very tight row tension.  Hmmm.  Now I’m thinking I’ll knit on slightly larger needles and knit a smaller size, so I have tested tension on two sizes of needles.

I hate  making tension squares.  For socks and hats and such I don’t bother.  I have a fair idea of how my normal tension compares to patterns, and over a small project being a little out isn’t so critical.  One extra stitch to 10 cm doesn’t make a huge difference to a 50 cm circumference hat.  But for a jumper, it matters.  The tension square thing has to be done.   I know it’s essential and not a waste of time.  But it feels like a waste of time.  Lots of knitting that isn’t going to be anything.  I am working on my bad attitude to tension squares.  It is all a part of the process, part of getting things right, part of developing my craft.

Still hate knitting them, though.

1. British mathematician, called by Charles Babbage the ‘enchantress of numbers‘

carrot & stick

Last week, my bff dragged me to the wool shop against my will and made me buy yarn to make myself a decimal cardigan from the new knitty.  All the kewl kids are making one and it’s not surprising – at last, a pattern for a cardigan that isn’t a shapeless A-line thing that makes even slim girls look pregnant.  And it’s sized for more traditionally built girls, too.  Is perfect (with the odd tweak).  Determined not to repeat the tension disaster of my last cardigan I’ve checked my tension, measured, calculated, all that grown up sensible knitter stuff I usually ignore.

But then, a mad busy work storm over the past few days.  Oh noes.  I had to suffer a self-imposed knitting ban.  To get me through it, I promised myself that when all was over I could cast on my decimal.  By way of encouragement, I pinned the tension swquare above my desk.  I even took it with me to my presentation.

And now, all is done, and I am cast on.  Although, I am struggling with these new-fangled circular needles, wondering if  I can fit 200+ stitches on a good ol’ straight …

Oh yes, the yarn, is James C Brett pure merino. Is a glorious royal purple, makes me think of Perkin’s mauveine.