Keeping Up With The Sheep

Apologies if you're having trouble downloading the new episode or finding it in the iTunes Store. The new server is up and running with lots of lovely bandwidth, but iTunes is a separate entity, so I have to re-submit the podcast to them with the new feed. Boring tech stuff but should be fixed in a day or two. Thanks for bearing with me, and you can still listen to Ep.12 (and the rest) by clicking on the Listen Here link on the Electric Sheep blog (follow the Sheep link on the right).
Thanks!

Post #100! Stitch 'n' Bitch

It's the 100th post of this blog, so thank you very much for reading this far!

As you probably know, yesterday was World Wide Knit In Public Day.  In honour of the occasion the Stitchettes over at Stitch 'n' Bitch London organised a Knit Crawl, in aid of a prostate cancer charity.  Given the manliness of the cause, they chose a moustache theme to match, meaning that many of the knitters spent the day sporting some seriously cool knitted facial hair.

The Crawl started off at the Tower of London, but I joined them an hour later at Tate Modern on the South Bank.  Walking along the river on a day like this there was no denying I live in a pretty damn fabulous city.  Views like this, of St Paul's Cathedral and the Millennium Bridge, is what London does best, combining the old and the new: 

At the Tate it was into the vast chasm of the Turbine Hall that knitters could be found:



After an hour's very happy knitting, it was on further down the river to the London Eye. The South Bank is probably my favourite public space in London, and we passed the usual collection of musicians, artists, street performers, dancers and  one very friendly group of people giving out free hugs.  I'm not sure what other kind there are, but I can vouch that these cheerful folk trying to spread a little happiness did dispense a very good hug.
Setting ourselves up on the grass in the sunshine, we all knitted away, mightily impressed with one knitter's cupcakes. How amazing are these?!

Almost too good to eat.  Meanwhile, the Stitchettes had drafted in a couple of passers-by to model a moustache or two:

And very good they look too.  Sadly I had to leave the party at this stage, but the Crawl continued to Trafalgar Square and then a pub or two. Hopefully they've raised lots of money for a very worthy cause and introduced a few more people to the joys of the knit.  So all praise to S'n'B London for organising a great day.

Sweet Enough To Eat

One of my favourite patterns, Wisp, has been drafted into service again as I needed a little wrap for a wedding outfit.  Kidsilk Haze does come in the most fabulous colours, so I've ended up with a Candy Floss scarf:

It's garter stitch and a very simple lace repeat that even I haven't managed to mess up:

I only used one ball, leaving me with the second left over.  I also had four balls of Kidsilk Night in my stash from last year.  So I've taken a fairly generic Rowan pattern in Kidsilk Haze for the basic measurements/maths but am re-fashioning it as a candy-striped jumper:


Loving how it's turning out so far and it should be a very warm but very light sweater to bundle into a bag and throw on of a chilly evening.  A pink and sparkly bumble-bee... 

Bliss & Hanne

Finished at last, here's Bliss (with a one-armed, not-great photo):
And this one shows the colour of the yarn a bit better:

Then Hanne, which is really hard to photograph and see it properly, but it gives you an idea. This is the mitered corner, fastened with a stitch holder, of all things:

And a vague idea of the front as a whole:


On the whole I'm pretty pleased with both, and they've been really useful for the Spring weather, a little warmth around your middle without being overwhelming.

Knitting In Progress

So, I thought it was time for a little update on what I'm knitting at the moment.  Here's Bliss:

After a slight false start and a little chart reading confusion, this has been going along quite speedily and I'm pleased with how its turning out.  The yarn is Jamieson's Heather Aran in Fern although it's a brighter, richer green than the photo.

Then we have Hanne:

This is in Freedom Spirit in Bliss (confusingly enough!) and a grey Artesano Alpaca. I'm not quite sure how this is going to turn out, but I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt for now.  I should have taken a better photo of the mitered corners but you can see one in the top left of the picture.  Nice and simple knitting, nothing too taxing...

Yarn on a Budget

I ventured out to the shops yesterday, thinking I might splurge on a little yarn for Knitty's Hanne. I needed 3 skeins of something colourful and variegated and three of something soft and plain, probably a grey alpaca.

I couldn't face trekking all the way into town to John Lewis and thought I might find something more unusual over at Loop in Islington. And I have to confess I was hopelessly disappointed.

For a start they had very little that wasn't in a solid colour. Only sock yarn and some gorgeous handpainted stuff that was £14.99 (!!!@$$$%£$$!!!!) a skein.

I know it's a boutique shop, but I was surprised at how little 'regular' yarn they stock anymore. A few Rowan, a few Debbie Bliss and that's it. Everything else was high-end, luxury fibre - hardly credit-crunch friendly. The prize went to some very beautiful cashmere that was £32 a skein, and which filled two whole shelves.

The pattern calls for Rowan Tapestry, and I had thought of subbing some Freedom Spirit as it's even cheaper. I didn't really expect Loop to stock either of these but I thought they might have something more original and I would have splashed out if I could have found 100 yds for less than ten quid. 

Anyway, I don't mean to moan and it's hardly their fault if I can't afford most of what they stock. But even if I'd had fistfuls of cash with me, there was very little that would have actually worked for that pattern anyway. It's a few months since I was last in there and I'm sure I remember them having a few more 'normal' brands in there. Ah well, guess from now on I'll be making the trip to Oxford Street after all. But it does rather highlight the problem with supporting a LYS.  It's all very well if you can actually use them but, even aside from the price, if you're after sweater yarns, shops like that aren't always very helpful.

On the bright side I think I've finally worked out what to do with the huge amount of Jamieson's aran I still have lying around, leftover from my brother's seamless hybrid - Heroine. Yes I know it's April. And sunny. And warm. And that a thick felted military jacket isn't really the most practical thing to be considering. But - no really, hear me out - at least if I knit it now it should be finished for when the weather turns again in the Autumn. And if last year is anything to go by, it might prove useful in July, you never know...

I Caved

Well I finally gave in.  Surrendered.  Followed the herd.  I held out as long as I could but there comes a point where you have to acknowledge the truth.

I'm knitting a Clapotis.

Yes, the ubiquitous scarf has finally found its way into my life.  I'm probably the only knitter who hasn't made one yet, so it was inevitable really.  Of course there's nothing really wrong with this.. The fact is that patterns only become that popular when they're good and Clapotis is undoubtedly a good pattern.  It's complicated enough to hold the interest but blessed with a simple repeat that's easy to memorise.  It looks good in almost any yarn and any size.  More interesting than a regular scarf but infinitely simpler than the lacework shawls that are everywhere.

A few months ago I succumbed to an impulse buy in John Lewis for some Mirasol yarn.  A merino wool and silk blend from Peru it drapes beautifully, has a lovely sheen and is a great shade of royal blue.  A Clapotis seemed the obvious home for it.

As I only have 2 skeins, it's much narrower than the original pattern, I just did two sets of the increase rows, but I'm pleased with how it's turning out so far:

So, not the most original project; more of a classic.