This post serves a dual purpose

1. Look at my new project!

2. Always use a coaster.

We can resize you. It. You. Whatever.

I just read a forum post which made me a bit sad. The poster had bought a knitting magazine and decided they liked a pattern. Then they mention that they’ll have to lose weight to fit the size they’ve chosen, and they can’t use the recommended yarn because it’s too expensive.

WAIT, WHAT.

They intend to change the shape of their body in order to fit into an item of clothing they are going to make themselves. That’s definitely worse than buying something a size too small as an incentive to lose weight. Just because you paid for the pattern, doesn’t make it law. You are allowed to adjust it. Don’t spend hours making something that will sit in the wardrobe hating you. Just get a cat.

Ah well. At least she isn’t justifying the expensive yarn by saying she’ll deserve a treat after losing the weight. That would have sent me all I SMASH NAO.

Speaking of weight and patterns, I would like to give a nod to the Fall issue of Knitty magazine, which came out a couple of weeks ago. A good number of their patterns feature plus-sized models, which I applaud. Firstly, it’s a much more honest representation of the general public and their readership. Secondly, it gave me a real perspectival smack round the ear. Being the size I am, I can look at slim knitting pattern models and think yeah, that’s pretty much what that would look like on me, I’ll take it. But looking at the larger models, I was totally without clue. It took a substantial amount of mental gymnastics to assess, resize, and decide whether they would be flattering on me once made. So I salute all large knitters who have to do that every time they want to pick a new pattern.

Fests of October.

I like October. The weather is changing, my knitted wardrobe is soon to come into steady use, and the month itself has such a pleasing and adaptable nature. I’ve decided to join in on a couple of internets-related projects which lend themselves beautifully to the month in question – Blogtoberfest and Socktoberfest. The idea of each is to:

Blogtoberfest – post a blog post every day.

Socktoberfest – play with socks every day.

Roughly speaking, anyway.

I’m going to start by combining the two – one of the favourite applications of knitting fests like Socktoberfest or the Ravelympics is finishing off the lingering unfinished objects. Somewhat coincidentally, my guilt-ridden UFO was a pair of socks. So I finished the last six rows this evening. Apart from the fact that the cast-off row looks (and feels) like it was done by a demented chimp, I’m quite pleased with them.

Done to my own (toe-up, short-row toe and heel) recipe. If anybody is interested (!) leave me a comment and I may perfect and share it in the name of the blessed Socktober. And that would be another post for Blogtober. Probably two considering the errata I would almost undoubtedly need to publish. Win all round.

Three FOs in three days, bitches.

The socks had been going for a couple of weeks, but the wristwarmers and hat were done in 48 hours. WOOO.

I would tell the story of their creation but it was basically I sat and I knitted and all of a sudden, I had new objéts. Ba-baaa!

Happy new year.

Spot the difference.

Those are two strands of Harris Tweed from two ends of the same skein. Not a ball, cut and spliced to the necessary weight. That’s the same skein. I know one should expect natural variations from a natural fibre like wool, but come on. It’s stripey!

That being said, I’m not too sad about it. I made the discovery a point when I could use it so it looks like a ‘design element’ rather than a cock-up (no, I didn’t ball up all the yarn before I started knitting, that’s just not my way). I’ve divided the stripey bit in half and am using it for the lower half of the sleeves of my back-laced tunic. I think I can get away with it. This isn’t massively different, right?

These have been dark days.

O hai.

I’ve had a terrible time of it recently. Not the move, which went swimmingly. Nor work, as I’ve been on holiday the last couple of weeks.

It was the knitting what done it.

For a while, everything I started went wrong. Socks looked like penises. Jumpers looked like plungers. Colours pooled into vomity splodges. I just didn’t like anything I made. It was depressing as hell. I began to wonder if knitting was really the thing for me.

But then… I finished this:

 

And then I went a knitting show, bought a crapload of wool, from which I have so far made this:

And now an on-the-way-to-failcardigan is becoming this:

I feel so much better.