Testing, testing…

Remember this?

My Strawberry Beds Coolree lace design? Well, I have finally got my act together and written it up sufficiently well to submit it for testing, and I have found several helpers already! There was a huge psychological barrier there which I finally managed to break through- handing my “baby” over to experts to dissect and examine for flaws is really scary for a perfectionist like me. You’d think I’d have grown out of it after years of professional scientific writing and translation, but this is the first pattern I’m putting up for sale, and I’ve reverted to adolescent pangs! Still, it’s out there amongst strangers now, and I’m feeling relief, too.

It’s an incredible amount of work, and it’s not over yet- I’ll be at the receiving end of a lot of feedback from my testers, so I’ll be spending a lot more time on the internet (DS will hate that, but tough!). Plus, after setting ball ball rolling last night (yes, finally, I know I’ve been procrastinating..), I woke up at 5,30am, worrying that no one would want to knit it and am consequently wrecked. But happy- I did it, I did it, I did it!

So what did I do all week, apart from everyday stuff? Actually, spare moments were gobbled up by the design. I taught a couple more kiddies to knit, both of whom caught on very quickly and were delighted with themselves- and so was I!

I’ve worked on the Pensieve Shawl, cos the centre is a really easy knit, very relaxing.

See how irregular the stocking stitch is before blocking? It looks sloppy, but I blame the contrary pure mohair.

In this pic I blocked the centre before I started adding the “basin rim” in Cigno by Yeoman (70% mohair, 30% synthetic), and the unblocked rim sts in the mohair blend look better than the blocked pure mohair in the centre! It’s the iron for this one-it can’t say it hasn’t been warned.

I tried out a swatch of a new design with my alpaca fine lace- never did get around to using it for a crochet shawl- but the Estonian st patt required too much concentration for the week that was in it. I’t have to wait- also because I’ll have to buy new, super-pointy needles for it. I consider myself reasonably well equipped with needles at this stage, but hit a wall here. See the crossed-over X-shape just above the centre of the photo? Well, that involves making 5 sts out of 7 sts, which are first knit together. Now that’s challenging, at the best of times, but I definitely need the assistance of sharper points. I did manage it a few times (obviously, says you), but it was not fun! This has nothing to do with my wanting to treat myself.

Well, hardly anything.

Distraction time:

This is Exhibit A from my patchwork phase. I made it as a kind of memory quilt after my Dad died suddenly, using shirts he had never got the chance to unpack, and a collection of madly colourful and flamboyant ties he had collected on his holidays. He used to tease us that he would wear them in public someday, maybe in front of one of our new boyfriends  for maximum mortification (4 daughters, therefore lots of boyfriends), but he never did.

I dyed white shirts terracotta in the machine- they came out different shades, although the labels promised the same composition. The ties work well as stained glass, I think. I was going for the look of a beam of light through an otherwise dark window.

That’s why I put the cooler, darker colours at the corners.

This quilt lives on the back of of my favourite couch. You can see the back of it below (machine stitched), and I couldn’t resist showing you an old Donegal Tweed design in lace:

Now that I’ve broken through the psychological barrier, maybe I should publish this, too?

By the way, I’ve been playing with the idea of designing e.g. a very, very simple beginner’s shawl and starting a Knitalong (KAL) on Ravelry to make sure that everyone can get the support they might need to knit it- anyone interested?

I’m off now to look after my testers; more news next week, I hope!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Headless Chicken

You know, this photo is the only calm thing about this week- I really have been rushing around like a headless chicken! It’s just been one of those weeks when humdrum irritating chores have gobbled up time and there’s little to show for all that effort. So I’m cranky.

It doesn’t help that the days are now so short, and overcast, that we only have about an hour a day in which it’s possible to read or knit without switching on a light. Only other people who live further north than Newfoundland can really get how dismal this can make you after a couple of weeks, never mind months (sisterly greetings to you all).

But I’ve survived the week, and am looking forward to a cosy evening of DVDs from the library, knitting (of course- guaranteed balm for the sad soul), and my DS’s cooking, so enough moping!

I promised you a look at my favourite building on the Trinity College Campus a couple of weeks ago, didn’t I? Well, never let it be said that I don’t deliver (although the seaside visit will have to wait, I’m not a masochist!). Well, the courtyard above houses my favourite, which is – totally coincidentally, of course! – the Geology building.

Sorry about the perspective: this is one of the few places in Ireland where it’s forbidden to walk on the grass, simply because the sheer volume of pedestrian traffic on campus would destroy the lawn. Thanks to our climate, it’s pretty difficult to destroy an Irish lawn, but  it would be a shame to risk it here, and us natives should give good example to the tourists! So these photos are a bit too up-close-and personal ‘cos I couldn’t step any further back, but you get the gist, anyway.

Here’s the solid oak front door, with a student for scale. This takes me back, because we UCD students used sometimes travel into town to hear international guest speakers here, despite the generation-spanning rivalry between our two universities (they have the nicer geology building, but we have everything else, of course…).

Above the door we see one of the reasons for “differences of opinion”: the British lion, the Tudor rose, the fortress and a second,  enlarged, portcullis superimposed on the Irish shamrocks- not subtle, our former conquerors!

Other details are just gorgeous, though.

And here comes my favourite part: there’s a belt of carved flowers around the entire building….

….and rumour has it that no two flowers are exactly the same!

On my list of things to do on a free sunny day, taking photos all along this belt to document this claim is quite high up. What if it’s not true, though- do I really want to know? I’ll let you know when I’ve solved this dilemma! For now, the thought of all that loving attention to detail always cheers me up….

Which reminds me: something good did happen this week. You know the mystery vintage Knitalong I’ve been posting about? Well, Christelle, the originator of the quest, has invited me to become co-moderator of her group on Ravelry, and I’m delighted! I’ve never done anything like this before, so here’s another steep learning curve (good against Alzheimer’s). I’ve also produced my very first chart on my new software, which I must show off right now (the instructions for using it are on my project page on Ravelry):

Corner Element Rose Medallion Shawl KAL

I feel just like a Kindergarten child proudly showing The Mammy his gold-star collection!

And now for some technical stuff and photos of the work in progress, starting with an overview:

 The lower right-hand corner of the photo shows the lowest point of the triangle.

This is a single corner of a medallion, and in this case the point of the shawl, too.

Here two motifs were grafted together (round 42 was not knit, and the ends of the thread were deliberately not finished off yet).

The edge motif consists of two corners knit in one piece (note that the last 8 sts remain live and saved on a circular needle for the edging, along with live sts from the medallion sides).

The grand finale, four medallions knitted together in the round, ta-dah!

Actually, when I think about it, it wasn’t such an unproductive week after all. Thanks for listening, you’ve really helped cheer me up!

Golden Oldies

The sun was shining (!!), so I thought I’d treat us to a wander around Trinity College, in the centre of Dublin. See the doubledecker in the bottom left? well, its brothers keep coming between us and the building, traffic is hectic out here.  So off we go, into an oasis of scholarly peace…

OOPs, sorry- first, a SPOILER ALERT! this post contains a couple of photos, after the Trinity Tour Part I, of a Vintage Mystery KAL (Knitalong, to the uninitiated) which Christelleb posted on Ravelry this week. I have her permission, but I don’t want to spoil the suspense for anyone who wants to wait for the official start in January, so for those who don’t care about that I’ve included a photo-tutorial for casting on the centre of a circular piece of lace (trying not to give anything away, here!), which can be a bit fiddly.

Alright, let’s start walking again.

…through the front door (student for scale), into the porters’ lodge….

..which is floored with ancient wood (bog oak, perhaps) hexagons. The doorway itself is constructed of massive glittery Leinster granite, and the quad beyond of limestone cobbles. The latter are treacherously slippery, especially when wet (i.e. most of the year!), so recently some paved paths have been added (practicality beat tradition on that issue). Now welcome to the front Quad:

Don’t forget to get off your bicycle, or the porter will hound you out!

Would you believe I ordered that procession of fresh graduates, just to add atmosphere for you?

I thought not, but it was worth a try.

Don’t they look well though? The golden embroidery is absolutely sumptuous, sorry I couldn’t get any closer…

I’m guessing the white fur on their hoods would traditionally have been ermine (they’re English graduates, FYI), but I don’t think any animals were harmed in the making of this ceremony, unless you count exam stress in Trinity students … Note the result of walking on those cobblestones for four years: those girls are perfectly steady on their high heels!

Moving further away from the main entrance, the atmosphere becomes stiller- it’s hard to remember that Dublin is buzzing just a short hop away.

Trinity was founded by Queen Elizabeth I in the late 16th century (1592); some of these trees may well have been alive then too….

I’ll show you my favourite building on this campus next week, as it’s being cleaned now, behind that scaffolding. I love the way both old and new buildings are reflected in this sculpture (“Sphere within a sphere” ,1996, by Arnaldo Pomodoro).

This is Fellows’ Square, showing how modern buildings have been added cheek-by-jowl with those from from another age. The lawn is adorned by “Cactus Provisoire” (1967) by Alexander Calder.

Final WARNING: vintage mystery about to be partially revealed, after this example of woolly exuberance. Scroll down further on your own responsibility!

(Can you tell I’m having fun with this? Good!)

And now for the beginning of a vintage mystery (posted by Christelleb on Ravelry for free!) which seduced me this week. I’ve never done a KAL before, never  mind a mystery one, but the combination of the words “vintage” and “lace” is almost certain to hook me, and this one’s lovely. The shawl is made up of medallions, which are straightforward enough for a newbie to tackle, and I already have an idea how to simplify the assembly, but I’ll let you know if it works next week.

The size of the central hole can be adjusted by simply pulling on the yarn tail- best to adjust after blocking.

Isn’t it pretty? I’m using Garnstudio Drops Alpaca-Silk Lace (800m/100g), the same as I used for my Monet Cardigan, just a different colour. When I did the sums, the original wool used was ca. 675m/ 100g, almost the exact same as the Midara Roma I used for Mwaa’s  semi-circular shawl, but I didn’t have enough in my stash, so I’m using the skinnier (and slipperier!) stuff, on 3mm DPNs. I just knit round 41 onto the circular needle for storage.

By the way, USEFUL TIP I just learned, for users of Proknit interchangeable needles: they have those little holes near the joints, for tightening up with a key, right? Well, you can thread a lifeline (safety thread) through that hole before knitting a round, and you will be automatically threading a lifeline through those stitches as you go. Three cheers for Lisa of This is Knit for that advice!

Now, casting on 8 stitches as a circle onto double-pointed needles (DPNs) is a challenge, even if you don’t make it more difficult for yourself like I did, with slippery yarn on metal needles. Wood works better, and a set of five needles is a godsend when your pattern repeats are divisible by four (see photos). By the way, I used a different coloured marker on the first needle- it helped! Here’s how I cast on for projects like this, with the help of a 3mm crochet hook (shown with 4-ply mercerized cotton so you can see better, it doesn’t look so chunky in laceweight). I find that this way the needles are much less likely to go slip-sliding away than with a pure Emily Ocker beginning, please let me know if you find it helpful. And credit to my DS, who took the following photos starring my fingers.

Start by putting a loop anti-clockwise around your left index finger as above, then insert the crochet hook from above. Put the yarn around the hook and pull it through, then….

..put yarn around the hook again and make one chain stitch (is that called the same in American? Please let me know.).

Now work one double crochet (American: single crochet, I know that one) into the loop next to the chain st.

Your chain followed by a double crochet (Amer: sc) should look like this.

We need 8 double crochet sts (scs) in total- one for each knit st to be cast on- this is what the loop looks like after 4 dcs, leave it nice and open until you’ve made 8 dcs, then pull the tail gently to close it up:

Place the loop of  the 8th dc on the first DPN, then pick up and knit a second stitch from the front loop of the very first double crochet:

See? Now pick up and knit one stitch from the front loop of each remaining dc, two at a time- you can use the crochet hook for this, it’s easier, just slide the sts off the wrong end of the hook onto the appropriate DPN.

Doing this on a table helps, especially if it’s your first time.

Now you’re ready to rock and roll, have fun!

And I have 3 more medallions to knit before I can try out my construction idea, so I’m off, bye….

My brain is back!

and the grass is greener:

The virus is gone, the cotton wool between my ears has reverted to functional brain cells, and I can think straight, thank goodness. Mind you, now Darragh’s come down with it, and it’s his turn to be thrun on the couch under a heap of afghans and shawls, of which there is of course no shortage in this household. It’s autumn, alright!

Thanks to my dopey state, all I’ve been able to knit recently is the Curve of Pursuit throw by Pat Ashworth that I started last week, it’s been a great comfort, especially as it now keeps my legs nice and warm while I knit. I’ve been making quite a few mistakes, but it’s easy enough to catch and reverse them early on, without stressing out the invalid i.e. me. It’s a perfect design for a convalescent with the fidgets!

So, for want of knitting adventures to share (but tune in next week, I’m bursting with ideas now!), you are cordially invited to Clogher Head, to the north of Dublin, for some fresh air, and just a little bit of geology.

Clogher Head is a rocky promontory which is very geologically significant: it is thought to be part of the suture zone between two continental plates which collided when the Iapetus Ocean closed. Before this happened, the NW part of Ireland was connected to Newfoundland, and the SE half to what is now Europe.

These rocks used to be Iapetus ocean floor sediments which got squashed in the middle. A long time later the Atlantic Ocean opened up as the North American and Eurasian plates started to move apart (and are still doing so today).

Had enough science? I try to remember that not everyone is as inspired by rocks as I am, honest, but I admit that I have been known to get carried away (just ask my long-suffering son!).  These outcrops, for example, tone in with my projects because the people at Cushendales’ choose their colour palette from their natural environment, which is one of the reasons I love their yarns.

By the way, please note that I have my son to thank for a lot of these photos, there’s a lot of teamwork involved in the photographic part of my posts, ‘cos he’s my teacher when it comes to publishing the pics, even when I take them myself.

These rocks have a turbulent history, despite their calming colour.

This one even looks like lace to me: after being compressed it was also sheared, opening up regular arrays of cracks (FYI: these are called en echelon tension gashes, if anyone wants to look them up…).

This is a good way to get ideas, I find.

Here I can see a shawl in green silk, and a textured scarf in brown and gold.

Time to say au revoir to the Irish Sea for now, and the last of the rock roses for this year.

A quick close-up of the pink heather which inspired the Cushendale Lace I used for my Rose trellis shawl (remember last weeks’  Slane pics?):

And now for some lovely feedback, that really cheered up when I was at my most sneezy- thank you to Susan Bahr for all the encouragement and this token of appreciation:

As a new blogger, and one who is not at all social media-savvy, it means a lot to receive such support, and I am thrilled. I get a real kick out of hearing from people all over the world, and discovering how much we have in common (and I don’t mean just knitting!).

So here’s my short list of blogs that help me, make me smile, give me ideas and are generally good for me:

www.aoibheni.com/blog.htm      Aoibhe is the only crochet designer who can tempt me away from my knitting needles, because her designs are gorgeous. Her posts are practical and great fun to read, and she has been a huge help to me in getting started here. Thanks, Aoibhe!

 knitlab.wordpress.com      Kieran Foley posts loads of marvellous photos which I find inspiring, and I love his designs (knitting), too, because he combines colours and curves in a particularly sensuous way….

By the way, both Aoibhe and Kieran are on Ravelry, as well.

katedaviesdesigns.com       Kate posts great photos of Scotland and writes beautifully on many aspects of the history of knitting- addictive! And her designs are legend.

malcolmscorner.wordpress.com      I recently “met” Malcolm and am enjoying the series of short essays in his archives, which cover a wide range of topics which provide me with plenty of food for thought about life, the universe and everything, while I’m knitting up the straightforward bits.

And now for the requested seven things about me:

• I love dark chocolate with chili
• I am an avid reader of science fiction
• A holiday spent sitting on a beach would bore me to tears(yes, even with my knitting)
• Ditto a cruise (well, maybe in 30 years time I’ll reconsider…)
• My idea of fun is heading off into SE Asia with a map, plenty of time and no fixed destination
• The last time I did that was 4 years ago, and I’m raring to go again.
• I am the proud Mammy of The Best Son in The World TM!

Summer at Last!

Occasionally, I get distracted from knitting, maybe once in a blue moon. And this week, two special occasions combined to separate me from my circulars. Firstly, the sun shone for six consecutive days, which constituted the most summer I remember for along time (there’s a reason Ireland is so green!). Most Irish people have been wandering around, smiling at everyone and celebrating  their good fortune. If the sun weren’t already so low in the sky we’d all be in hospital by now with sunstroke… Of course, I’ve been out there stocking up on vitamin D with the best of them. Secondly, see above. Yes, Darragh graduated this week (hurray!) and I admitted, in public, that I was old enough to be the mammy of a graduate. Talk about mixed feelings. Anyway, I donned my shining armour, aka Mwaa’s gorgeous EZ 100th Anniversary Camping Half-Circle (shawl, free on Ravelry), assembled the folks, and had a lovely day in the sun.

I used a ball of Midara “Roma” (750m/100g, 100% wool) which I got on sale. Up to recently, I’ve tended to stay away from bright colours,as a result of being conspicuously red-headed all my life, but I find they give me quite a boost, so flamboyant, here I come! I had to search for a dress to go with the shawl (note priorities) and found this one in a charity shop, along with enough lovely grey merino for another shawl. What luck!

Because I had some yarn left over I added another band to the shawl before the edging: 3 repeats of Milanese Lace (on the left side of the photo). To keep the slope consistent with that of the Branching Twigs (right side of photo) I charted the Milanese Lace as a mirror image of itself. The edging doesn’t look as pretty as the original, I think that’s because I used a springy pure wool which objects to being firmly blocked. The body is grand, though, and drapes very well.

So this week I’ve simply been putting the edging on the Froth cape (from Victorian Lace by Jane Sowerby), which is almost a hyperbolic curve at this stage! This would make a great bed-jacket substitute, but I think the number of patt. repeats in the body could safely be reduced for a slender or small person and still make a generously luxuriant garment.

It is the way of edgings to gobble up yarn, and this one has already used the same amount again as the body, with a fair bit to go (note: yarn ca. 930m/100g, 4.5mm needles for body but 4mm needles for edging). It’s very easy and relaxing, though, and non-slippery yarn adds to that (the yo’s used to leap off my needles like lemmimgs during my Ravellenics cardi, but that’s silk-alpaca for you!). Mind you, a couple of times I’ve knit into the fuzzy halo rather than the stitch itself, resulting in an unravelled stitch discovered much later. However, they don’t get far in mohair, get lassoed by trusty safety pins and will be dealt with later (hence pin at corner of cape above). Other emergency gear used: rubber bands on needle as stopper -inelegant, but effective.

Once more, in close up because I love to look at faggotting in fine mohair; those airy curves are so elegant!

Well, as it’s now bucketing down again outside as usual, I think it’s safe to say that Froth is due to get finished and modelled shortly. Yep, the glass is half full!