Square Sun/Mon/Tuesday

I am a couple of days behind with my knitted square, but it was finished on Sunday evening. - honest!



Yarn credit: Onlinie Supersocke 100 in Sport Colors, used to make my son's Metropole in a Sidewind socks.






This weekend was all about stripping the dried lavender from its stalks and stuffing it into little homemade bags.


These were great fun to make.



Then there was a lot of wrapping and card-writing.

Because apparently it is almost Christmas.










We picked a "tree" (really just some branches, to prop up in a bucket) and brought it home from the woods as the mist rolled across the valley.


This is the view from my washing line.



I spoke too soon about FL managing to control his constipation through diet. It was an uncomfortable weekend for him. He went to golf, but his stomach is as tight as a drum and he looks so very very tired, with bags under his eyes.

And he has an abscess on a tooth. He is at the dentist today, but I am not sure what they can do as he is supposed to avoid invasive dental treatment when receiving Zometa. I stressed the importance of telling the dentist about the Zometa. Will he remember?

FO: Fugue test tam

Finished and in use!

This is the Fugue tam which I was testing for Kate and Lilith.

The kit will be available soon, so you can knit your own tam and / or mittens.

The yarn is Bowmont Braf, which is perfect for stranded knitting, as once it is blocked it develops a slight blurring or blending of the colours. Lilith dyed the wool in Moody and Dreich, a much more subdued colourway than Kate's prototype.

I was thinking of giving the hat to my mother for Christmas until FL seized it and claimed it as his own. And it works.

He caught sight of his reflection in the window and said he looked like his father in it.

Certainly, it seems to carry tradition in its weave when worn by a Scottish man of FL's vintage! Yet it looked young and funky when worn by Kate.

I really like the braid round the brim, and the stripes leading up to the tiny acorn on top.

Would I knit another? Oh yes! And some mittens would be good too!

The Christmas List

Fugue is blocked and dry, now awaiting daylight for a photograph! It looks as if FL is claiming it, so that's his knitty Christmas present sorted - phew! It is quite a manly colour, and tammies were traditionally worn by men, so it's not such a crazy idea. And let's face it, his Centuria hat is deeply eccentric. People are used to his - ahem - individual dress sense.

I have adjusted my Christmas knitting list as I went along. Plans? Pshaw! - who needs them?!

It now looks like this:

My mother: Pretty Thing - done!

My aunt: Baird - done!

My son: Metropole in a Sidewind socks - done!

The teenage cousin: Sloochie - done!

FL: Fugue - done!

Which only leaves my daughter. She has been known to read my blog, so I can't say much. I am knitting a pattern repeat every evening after she goes to bed, so it should be done in time.

Amazing!

Velcade Cycle 3, Day Four

No, you didn't miss a post - I didn't write anything about "day three".


FL's chemo treatment continues, and we are into an established routine now. He was absolutely wiped out after his Monday treatment and slept all day and all night on Tuesday. He also had his Zometa drip and a swine flu jab, so I am not surprised he felt rough! Luckily, his cough has gone without the need for a second course of antibiotics.


In terms of side-effects, he is now certain that the Velcade is making his peripheral neuropathy worse. He can't feel his feet at all. He doesn't think it is a big problem, but I have noticed he is walking clumsily. It is most noticeable if he gets up at night and slips his bare feet into his shoes - his toes can't grip them and he flip-flops his way across the tiles. I have bought him some warm slippers for Christmas (and the crazy thermal long johns!) as his feet even sound cold!


He is managing to avoid laxatives, by careful management of his diet. The whole family is benefitting from delights such as "pork chops with leeks and prunes" and my experiments with the "Veganomicon" cookbook! But he is on his own for the porridge and endless vats of vegetable soup. I am sure the Dexies increase his appetite!


The only other issue is the cycle of day-time sleeping / night-time insomnia. But he is enjoying having uninterrupted time to read. "The Bookseller of Kabul" and "The Sewing Circles of Herat" are on this week's menu.

FO: Baird neckwarmer

From The Knitter, Issue 13, this is the Baird neckwarmer designed by Jeanette Sloan.

I spotted it in the Preview last month and was intrigued, so when the magazine arrived I was excited to discover that I had ALMOST the same yarn in my stash. I say "almost", because the pattern is written for Lang Mille Colori Big, and mine wasn't Big at all, but it was the same colourway. Destiny!

It is knitted up using two strands of yarn held together. In deference to my thinner yarn, I used 8mm needles instead of 10mm, and worked 7 pattern repeats on each piece, instead of 5, to get the right length. After grafting the two pieces together, I picked up 70 stitches (instead of 57) and adjusted the short rows in proportion with my stitch count. A quick crocheted button loop, popped on a button, and I was done. The adjustments made me feel like a designer - cool!

The hardest thing about this project was choosing the button! I raided Granny's button box for this vintage number, but almost used a bluey/green modern one for a more contemporary look. Next time!

It fits really well. The short rows create a curve at the back of the neck for maximum coverage, while the cabled edges allow the fabric to drape beautifully round the shoulders. It really does feel like "a woolly hug" as described in the blurb!

The yarn is super-soft. It is 50/50, wool/ acrylic, which the yarn snob in me resents, but it is so SOOOOFT I have had to put my prejudices aside!

I am afraid I am going to have to give this one away. My aged aunt has to have an operation on her neck, and needs to keep it draught-free. This is the ideal garment! But I will be knitting another (and another and another) so there is no fear that I won't have one for myself! I was going to buy the Big yarn until I discovered it costs £15.95 a ball, compared to £3.95 for the not-Big. Although the super-chunky version is appealing, I am happy enough with this one, at less than half the price!

It would be fabulous in a handspun. I almost feel inspired to learn to spin!

Stats:

Baird by Jeanette Sloan from The Knitter Issue 13.

Yarn: Lang Mille Colori, yarn held doubled. I used 3 x 50g balls and 8mm needles.

LOVE IT!

The Knitter Issue 13

Issue 13 of The Knitter is my last subscription copy of the magazine.

And like its predecessors, full of controversy. The most extraordinary garment - this green number - reminds me of something I once knitted for my Barbie doll. Even Barbie looked fat in it. It is knit out of two strands of premium Rowan yarn worked together - making the largest size weigh in at 2.2 kilos. Yes, really. And of course twice as much yarn means twice the cost. Very "Vogue Knitting"!

There is a definite "chunky" theme. Lots of double-strands and oversized needles.

Then there is the pony-riding burlesque capelet. You can't see the thigh-high boots in this picture. Hmmm. Not to my taste, but full marks for "on trend" styling.

The least said about the Rowan "extract" sweater the better. And there is an unbelievable wedding-cake of a cabled coat that is just - well, teeth-on-edge-sweet sculpted icing sugar. The cover jumper made me laugh - hmmm my neck band doesn't fit, what shall I do? I know - I will leave it loose and call it a design feature...?! And there is a Gedifra bolero with massive cables held together by a few strands of lace which made me shrug - so what?

This red and white double-layer hat has potential... but looks unfinished somehow. I don't understand the white lozenges - maybe they would look better embroidered?

There's also a man's cable-effect sweater, an aran bag, a cushion...

There are LOADS of patterns in here! And though I don't like any of the ones I mentioned, the ones I DO like more than compensate.

Because this is the first issue that has made me grab my needles and head for the stash straightaway. I LOVE the Baird neckwarmer. It is exactly the sort of fun, speedy knit I would turn to for last-minute gifts. I'll show you mine tomorrow! I knitted it this weekend.

And it was not alone in gripping my attention. I MUST knit the Louisa Harding tanktop. It's from the Little Cake Collection and I am really pleased to have the pattern without having to buy the whole book.

Likewise a beautiful shawl from Nancy Bush's Knitted Lace from Estonia book - wow!

So that is a total of three "must-knits" from one magazine - unheard of!

As well as the patterns, there is a really interesting article about cabling from Kate, which references the new Lynne Barr book "Reversible Knitting", which took the book from my Wish List into my online shopping basket - oops! Plus the usual reviews of yarns and other knitterly products, giving me lots to look at on the web.

All in all, I am really excited by this issue, much more so than with any of its predecessors. It contains moments of brilliance, and flashes of total insanity, but it kept me turning its pages looking for more. It is an inspiring issue, which made me want to knit - can't say better than that!

Will I re-subscribe? Nope. But I will definitely look out for it in the shops. The next issue is devoted to menswear, with a lot of complicated cables, so if that is your "thing", watch out for it in January.

A Square, a Circle, and an Oblong

This weeks' square has been sadly neglected! But I will finish it later today.


Yarn credit: Fyberspates Echo sock yarn in Woods, which was used to make FL's Trilobite socks.







Most of my week has been dedicated to finishing the Fugue tam, my test-knitting project for Kate.

It is now blocking and is going to take some time to dry!

I must beware the temptation to try it on while it is still damp.

And then on Friday, my final subscription copy of The Knitter magazine arrived, issue 13, and I could not resist casting on at once for Baird, which is a button-fastening neckwarmer. I am over halfway through it already!

The pattern is so new it isn't even on Ravelry yet.

I am going to have to review this issue of The Knitter in a separate post: it is the best (and yet the worst?!) to date.