A Long-Finished Project: The Jane Eyre Shawl

Sometimes a finished object (FO) becomes so useful the moment I cast it off that I forget about it. I forget that I made it. I forget that I spent hours and hours working each stitch, fixing the many mistakes, and cooing over the progress. I forget that at one point I had to pick out the yarn for the pattern that caught my eye and that once this thing I’d made was nothing more than a concept in someone else’s mind.

The moment I cast off my Jane Eyre shawl I started using it. I wrapped it around my shoulders and forgot.

This shawl is my favourite. It’s not particularly fancy but it is perfect for me. It’s big, it’s warm, it’s got just enough detail to keep it interesting. I wear it a lot.

I remember the day I found Literary Knits by Nikol Lohr in my local library. I flicked through and found a pattern based on Jane Eyre. Awesome, I thought; Jane Eyre is my favourite literary character and her strength has given me my own determination more than once in my life. Still, I won’t knit something just because it’s named after a bad-ass woman since there are a thousand patterns out there that I already want to knit, badly named or not.

Then I noticed that the shawl was made in the Faroese style and I was done. I was sold. I had yarn at home that could work and I cast on immediately.

The shawl happened quickly and without much fuss. I loved knitting it but due to that love it was over in no time at all. The only real post I made about it was lamenting my tendency to play Yarn Chicken, which didn’t really cover how much I loved knitting that shawl, though I did recommend the pattern again in a later post about Jane Eyre-inspired knits.

I knitted this shawl… wow. A year ago. See? Time flies when you’re wearing something all the time. Last month I spent a few days camping near Charleston Lake and used the shawl the moment the chill picked up, and finally remembered that I should get some in-use pictures of the project.

This is what it looks like most of the time. Cosy and amazing.

It’s big, no? So very perfect.

The reason I love it so much is because of the shape. If you haven’t knit a Faroese shawl before you should consider it; the result of a small bunch of very windy islands, the knitters of the Faroe Islands put shoulder shaping into their shawls. Genius. Practical and stylish! It stays on easily and hugs you like an old friend.

Revisiting the shawl’s creation has been a pleasure. It’s such a part of my daily life that I forgot that I nearly ran out of yarn for it and had to buy more, and that I’d knit it in no time at all in my excitement. I’ll love it even more now.

(Though with the current 30 degree weather and 70% humidity, I might not be wearing it for a while.)

Timey Wimey Knits: Part Three

You know what the problem with socks is? No one sees them. Especially in a Canadian winter; I have never once taken my boot off in the -15 Celcius weather to show someone my fancy handknit socks, and it’s a damn shame. Solution? Mittens.

Mittens aren’t very good when worn on your tootsies but they’re great for keeping your fingers warm while simultaneously being much easier for people to see. With that in mind, let’s fly our TARDIS geek flag high and have a look at these wondrous Doctor Who mittens in the latest of this series of Timey Wimey Knits posts.

There’s some fabulous patterns out there, people. If you do any of these, let me know! I love them all.

Dalek Mitts

by Kat Lewinski

Wibbly Wobbly Mittley Wittley

by Therese Sharp

Warmer on the Inside

by Maire Martin

Bow Ties are Cool

by SpillyJane

That’s it for today, but pop by next Wednesday for a jammy dodger and the last of this series of posts.

As an aside for those who got this far: I just finished Amy and Rory’s run of the show and I miss them terribly, but my sorrow is somewhat lessened by the lovely Clara Oswald. I had forgotten how much I like her.

 

The Appeal of Knitting Podcasts

The thing about knitting is that you don’t generally need your ears to do it. That leaves them free to take in whatever you want, and if you’re like me and easily distracted, it’s a great idea to listen to a podcast. Even better, why not listen to a knitting podcast while you do?

I like to listen to in-depth, complicated, fascinating podcasts like Hardcore History or the much-lauded Serial Podcast, but when I’m knitting something more interesting than stockinette I can’t do it. I need something that I can tune out while I figure out how I missed a YO and fudged my k2tog tbl. It needs to be interesting but light-hearted, and that’s where I turn to knitting podcasts.

One of my favourites is Never Not Knitting, especially the catchy theme tune which is now in my head again. There’s also Knit 1 Geek 2 which appeals to me for obvious reasons, and I occasionally binge on The Knitmore Girls.

Tomorrow I add to the list with the first of my two guest star podcasts. A fellow writer for NerdUnderground.net, Alex will be joining me to talk about his knitting projects and which Doctor is his favourite. As you can see, he fits in well around here.

Check out the Knitter Nerd podcast on Saturday if you’re interested!

Can you do random?

There are people who need a generator to do random stripes.

I understand the impulse to make the randomness as attractive as possible and a generator is impartial, but that’s not how I do things. My randomness is less uniform.

From here.

When I want to be random in my knitting I just… go. I pick up my needles (or hook) and my yarn and I see where it takes me. I’m not saying this is a better way to do it – sometimes it turns out looking like the knitted equivalent of the brown sludge from mixing too many colours of paint together – but that’s how I get the most enjoyment out of my yarn.

In all honesty I struggle with following patterns. Not because I can’t do it but because I have the constant impulse to deviate and find out what would happen if I did this, or maybe that.

As a result my random stripes are rather less balanced. Take my linen stitch cowl; I started with a vague idea in mind that would make it quite regular in the stripes which would fade in and out of one another. However, the yarn didn’t agree with me and now I’m knitting whatever combination of rows happens each time I get to my marker.

It works for me. I know there’s a risk it’ll end up looking a little weird but the yarn and the stitch means it’s relatively unlikely. Either way I’ll be wearing it since the yarn is soft and drapes so well the colours are becoming almost secondary.

Can you do random stripes when you’re knitting or do you need some kind of guide for it? I’m interested to see what others do.

I just really love Agent Carter okay – A Love Letter

Though I have the chance to vent my Agent Carter love over at Nerd Underground I just had to bring it here as well. I am full of feelings. All the feels as the cool kids would say.

Warning: this post contains spoilers and an inordinate amount of squee so I’m putting it behind a cut.

The Best of Quick Knitting: Geek Edition

So I’m wrapping up the Quick Knitting posts this week with one that transcends the topic. This is in line with both my knitting and my nerd interests. I’ve been poking about and finding the best quick knitting projects out there that are as geeky as possible.

I’ll warn you in advance: this post got a little out of hand.

There are so many awesome geeky quick knits out there, man. So without further ado, here we go.

INSULATE

by Amy van de Laar

copyright Amy van de Laar

I mean, COME ON. Is this not a thing of wondrous beauty? A hat! With Daleks all around it! Knit in a subtle and yet unmistakable way!

You could be wearing this and be giving Whovians sore necks from double-taking for weeks. There is nothing I don’t love about this pattern and I will be trying it just as soon as I can get it together enough to get contrasting yarn.

Cunning Jayne Hat

by Renee Peterson

copyright Keiyla on flickr

Anyone who knows what this hat is knows the scene. Jayne Cobb, hardman extraordinaire, dons the fabulous hat from his mother and doesn’t flinch (or understand) when his friends poke fun.

This hat is a staple for any geeky knitters out there and, should you end up knitting for someone again in the aftermath and lethargy of giftmas, this is an excellent one for any fellow Browncoats. Plus it’s knit with enormous yarn and would appear in seconds.

Near enough.

Tarragon the Dragon

by Knit-a-Zoo

copyright Knit-a-Zoo

When I was a child I thought there was a dragon curled up and sleeping beneath the island on which I lived. Though I was sure he or she was friendly, it still frightened me occasionally.

I don’t know where I got the idea – probably from people telling me how many caves were under my feet – but if I had to have a dragon sharing my space it would be Tarragon. Not only because I put that herb on anything that stays still long enough.

TARDIS Beanie

by Morgan Kenia Andrews

copyright Morgan Kenia Andrews

Before TARDISes and Daleks, what on Earth did people knit into hats? That’s what I want to know.

I think this hat would also look amazing with a black yarn. Except I have a white cat, so maybe not.

Invading Your Earspace

by Catherine Paul

copyright Catherine Paul

Quite aside from having a fantastic name, this pattern is adorable. It’s also versatile because how many people are going to love this design? Everyone, that’s who!

Well, not quite. But the reach of retro gaming goes far beyond those who have actually had the chance to play Space Invaders. I have vague memories of it on some crappy website in my teens but missed the real thing, and I would still wear this.

Lego Man Mitts

by Carissa Browning

copyright Carissa Browning

I’m just going to come right out and say it: these are disturbing and creepy. That said, they would also be super warm and the construction is interesting.

They would make a great part of a costume or as a way to thoroughly creep out people who glance at you in the street for reasons they do not fully understand, but yet will carry with them all day.

R2D2 Beanie

by Carissa Browning

copyright Carissa Browning

So… I think we as a group should be keeping our eyes on Carissa Browning. She’s clearly some kind of evil genius.

I’m also not sure why so many fans want to stick their fandoms on their heads. I guess as a beacon to other fans? It is the most visible part of the body for most people.

This pattern is clever and most certainly will get you noticed by people. Some of them will even be fellow geeks.

---

 

Okay. Wow. I’m going to stop now because I have spent all morning going through the best patterns on Ravelry and I should probably do something more productive.

In the meantime, please share your favourite quick geek knits! I bet there is so much more out there – after all, there’s a huge overlap between knitters and geeks and I love it that way.

How is Your Nanowrimo Going?

We’re more than a week into NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) so for those of you who are involved, how are you doing with it?

As it stands my stats look like this:

So I’d say I’m doing pretty well.

My aim this time hasn’t been to reach 50,000. This is my eleventh year writing and I’ve only lost once: I know I can do the wordcount thing. My aim is to finish the story.

So often I get to 50,000 words and stop, abandoning it forever. Like knitting an intricate laceweight sweater and never bothering to finish the sleeves, this makes no sense at all. This year I want to change that.

For the first time, I think I might.

The story I’m writing is one I’ve written before. Twice, in fact. I wrote it in 2012 and continued to write it through most of 2013. In November 2013, I rewrote it. And then I forgot about it. It’s a story about dryads and humans completely failing to share a city and a forest. I love the two main characters. I really need to finish it.

Tell me what you do at the end of November! Do you close the file? Keep going? Set fire to your laptop and run away screaming?

Captain Marvel Gets A Movie

So in a break from the knitting news, I’m going to squeal a while about the Carol Danvers movie that’s coming out. In an announcement made yesterday Marvel gave us a date (6th July 2018) for the Captain Marvel movie and I am SO EXCITED.

It’s not a secret that Captain Marvel is one of my favourite characters of all time. She is resilient, hilarious, and deserves a lot of attention. Thanks to the marvelous (pun intended) write Kelly Sue Deconnick the new Captain Marvel series has become one of my most cherished.

And now there’s going to be a movie.

The only thing that would be better is a joint movie with Ms. Marvel tagging along as her feisty side-kick.

Click picture for source!

Anyone else as excited as me for the new run of Marvel movies?

Not long until Avengers 2!

Preparing for Nanowrimo

It’s been more than a decade since someone suggested I try out NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month. Every year since then I have sat down with my laptop on my knees and poured out a fifty thousand word story from somewhere inside my soul.

The last few years have been different. I have been growing in confidence and though I always win (minus one year), now I really feel as thought I’m writing something with substance. Usually I shut the novel on December 1st without finishing the story and never look at it again, pleased to have written so many words in so little time. I don’t think about the content.

The last two years I have basically written the same story but from scratch each time. This year I’m going to do the same; it’s a story that is itching to get out of me and I am going to have to go to drastic measures to ensure I follow it to its conclusion this time.

Yes, that’s right. I’m going to outline it.

I’m not much of a planner. I pick up projects, knitting included, and don’t think about the consequences. It has given me oceans of false starts but also worked out well on occasion. This year I need to change the way I face it or I will end up writing the same fifty thousand words over and over with no resolution and no chance of it turning into a book rather than a large and ignored Word file.

Writing is a lot like knitting. It is satisfying to watch a project grow, whether written or knitted, stitch by stitch and word by word. Unfortunately I am not great at getting to the equivalent of the cast-off edge in my writing. Somehow I am going to change that this year.

Is anyone else writing a speed novel this November?

Guardians of the Galaxy Knitting Patterns Part 2: We Are Groot

This weekend my girlfriend and I made another trip to the cinema to see Guardians of the Galaxy. We saw it a few weeks ago and thoroughly enjoyed it but we both agreed that it’s much better the second time around.

So is this Guardians-inspired pattern post.

The first time around there were basically no Guardians of the Galaxy themed patterns on Ravelry. Not even a Groot! Can you imagine? Life was bleak, times were hard. Then some fabulous and industrious souls began working their obsession into useful patterns for us lowly addicts. Lo, a bunch of patterns are now readily accessible. Well… a bunch of Groot patterns anyway!

Here are a few of the cutest.

As ever, these aren’t my patterns. They’re ones I have collected for fellow fans in my bored browsing of geeky patterns. Enjoy.

Pattern and photo by Twinkie Chan.

Baby Groot

Download for free on Ravelry.

Look at him. LOOK. I challenge anyone not to be thoroughly in love with that last scene where baby Groot is dancing along to the Jackson Five. The only thing that would make this cute little tribute better is a soundtrack.

Pic and pattern by Mirella Designs.

Dancing Groot Chart

Download for free on Ravelry.

Looking to make your own thing and need a Groot chart to finish it up? Here you go! This would look great on a bag, wouldn’t it? Or even a blanket if you’re feeling adventurous.

Pic and Pattern by Kamila Krawka Krawczyk.

Baby Groot 2

Download for free on Ravelry.

This last one is a tad more complicated than the other but it’s just as doable and potentially even more adorable. Just look at all the lovely details on this. I would love to stuff wire into his arms to make him pose.