Update on The Thing of Doom

You remember last week when I went on a rampage about my current work in progress (WIP)? Yeah, things haven’t got any better with it.

After realising once again that I had forgotten to string the beads, I got about halfway through a row and discovered that while I had put beads on, I was four short. It just so happened I was knitting at my local yarn store at the time on our regular Thursday nights, and I promptly put The Thing of Doom in its bag and announced that I was no longer a knitter. I quit.

It’s okay, though. “Nerd” isn’t nearly as catchy as “Knitter Nerd”, so I knew I had to continue somehow. I pushed through the case of Dramaqueenitis and picked up the project on my way to World Wide Knit in Public day, this time with the correct amount of beads in place and the pattern ready on my phone.

Thankfully, it went well. As long as I didn’t think too hard about it I could keep knitting. (My hatred is all tongue-in-cheek if you couldn’t guess; though I want to be done with it, it’s gorgeous and will be my favourite project ever once it’s done.) I got a few rows done, far past the last bead I’ll need on the project, and I was feeling cocky.

You see that? That’s The Thing of Doom hiding in plain sight in my last post. At this point it was behaving. JUST.

A friend gave me a ride home. We picked up sandwiches on the way home and all was good. I bought some new yarn, the sun was shining, I was pumped up on being around awesome people all morning.

Then I horrible feeling came over me as I was grocery shopping an hour later. Where was my project? I didn’t remember putting it down with the rest of my stuff.

Sure enough my friend had texted me saying that The Thing of Doom was in her car still and she was on her way out of town. My response? “Haha. Of course it is. That effing shawl.”

I choose to take it as a sign that I would have messed it up had I tried to continue knitting it on the painkillers I took that evening, but really at this point I’m ready for The Thing of Doom to be done. Only it isn’t. Because it’s in a car on the way out of town.

I didn’t set it on fire

…And that’s about as much as I can say about my recent knitting incident. I’m proud that the matches remain in the junk drawer, because it was a close thing.

I’m knitting a thing for someone (shhh) and it’s a lot of fun. It’s pretty, it’s beaded, it’s geeky. It’s something that one day I’ll be very proud I knitted, and I’m sure a lot of you are going to appreciate it when I can share pictures. For now let’s just call it THE THING OF DOOM, because it suits the damn situation.

So. THE THING OF DOOM has been on the needles for about two or three weeks and I’ve been knitting it a lot, mostly at home because I’m in a new position at work and can’t concentrate on fancy lace and such things. If THE THING OF DOOM has those attributes, of course. Which it might not. (It does.)

I’m about halfway through the last half of THE THING OF DOOM when I look at it, really look at it, and realise it’s wrong. Not just ‘I have a yarn over in the wrong place’ wrong, but ‘did you even read the pattern you big old fluff-for-brains’ wrong. Irredeemably wrong. Now, I checked a few times and inspected project photos over and over because I’ve been known to frog things only to realise it was fine the first time, but no. THE THING OF DOOM had to be ripped back about halfway.

Maybe I should be pleased I didn’t have to rip back to the beginning but that is not much of a consolation right now, shut up.

It’s really hard not to think about how many stitches I had to rip out last night. With over three hundred per row and about three inches of knitting, that’s… that’s a lot. That’s thousands. That’s… ugh.

Thankfully it was not the fancy lace part so it was easy to frog. I sat at knitting night and glowered at the world as I ripped it back, then picked up the stitches without incident and began knitting again, pleased that I only put it on down-time for four days or so.

Then I realised I hadn’t restrung the beads.

THE THING OF DOOM is back in its bag and though I need to finish it soon, right now I’m just trying to keep the matches out of sight.

Why do I think knitting is fun again?

From Everything… to Nothing.

A couple of weeks ago I was super excited to be making all the things. I was writing every day, reading a lot, and knitting almost all the time. Somehow between that I managed to squeeze in some little projects: sewing on beads to a felted pot someone gave me, needle-felting a small strange cat face, and making all the Dorset buttons I could.

It was fun. I was on fire with inspiration.

Now… it’s faded. There have been some changes in my life which are positive but taking up all my time and energy. I still write quite a bit and read all the damn time but I haven’t had much time for crafts in the last few days.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not in a funk. It’s been three days. Four, max. This is ordinary for most but quite a long time for me not to be doing creative things.

Thankfully I have this evening free so after walking the dog I plan to sit my butt down, take a deep breath, and finish those mittens I’m making. If I spend that time also binge-watching Elementary, well, everyone needs some downtime don’t they?

Five Follow-up Thoughts on Continental

1. It really is faster after a while.
2. Having such a radically different gauge is going to throw off my default sock pattern (i.e. making it up as I go).
3. People seem REAL interested in Portuguese knitting in the comments of my last post on this matter. Must investigate.
4. Knitting 150g of light fingering in plain stockinette is even less fun that I expected, but at least I’m getting the hang of Continental.
5. I hope I don’t end up twisting my purls for another two years.

Switching to Continental

Knitting barged into my life nearly six years ago now. Though a large portion of that first year or two was taken up crocheting, I still knitted occasionally and since then I’ve knitted almost every day. When I learned, I learned English – not surprising as I lived in England at the time. Now, after six years, I’m thinking of switching to Continental.

What’s the difference? For my readers who don’t know, a quick explanation.

English knitting is also called throwing. You tension the yarn in your right hand and ‘throw’ the yarn around the needle for each stitch.

Continental knitting is also called picking. You tension the yarn in your left hand and ‘pick’ the yarn with the needle through each stitch.

There are dozens of videos online about how to do both, so it’s easy to learn if you feel like switching. I wish I had learned Continental to begin with; it’s quicker and kinder on your hands, or at least it is for me. My right hand once had a severe RSI as a teenager (believe it or not, from making pixel dolls) so knitting English is sometimes a strain.

When I knitted the obscene mitts, I knitted two-handed. One hand English, one hand Continental. That’s how I learned Continental, though not on that project. However I can’t seem to get into the habit of knitting one-handed when doing Continental.

After finishing those mitts and the baby sweater (pictures coming soon!) I started getting hand pain again. Fed up, I decided to try a project completely Continental. I picked up the yarn I bought a few days before and cast on a stockinette cowl for a friend. Easy, rhythmic, and perfect to practice. It’s so much faster and because the movements are so small and confined it’s not nearly as hard on my tendons.

English knitters, I highly recommend trying it.

What method do you use when you knit? English, Continental, other? Is that how you learnt or did you make a conscious choice to switch?

Vintage baby cardigan: the construction

This weekend my partner and I spent the day in Toronto. We had a great time wandering around some places we’ve been meaning to go since we lived here and went for dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. Unexpectedly, we also went clothes shopping.

Now, my partner and I… we’re not clothes shopping people. It’s tedious. Most of my clothes are second hand or jeans from American Eagle; I’m easy. Yet we found ourselves in the Eaton Centre on the hunt for garments and both came away with a new shirt. I also got myself a Roots hoody at last.

I am aware that to most that’s a pathetic excuse for clothes shopping, but we did look in quite a few stores. We just ended up buying nerdy shirts. She got a Marvel tank top and I got a Doctor Who t-shirt. It was hard to decide which one; I was tempted to get a Deadpool shirt or the Doctor Who one that had the bad knock-knock joke on it, but this one was way prettier.

When I got home my vintage baby cardigan finally found its way onto the blocking mat. The sight of it amused me. Looking at it pinned down made it seem ridiculous; it’s such an odd shape. Yet it curled like no one’s business so I needed to block it quite aggressively.

The yarn is Botany Lace and it knits up beautifully. It’s so much fun to play with and it comes out soft and light, almost like cotton.

I changed the collar as you will see in the finished picture once I sew it together (and this time it isn’t going to take me a year to do that, I swear).

Now if I could only find blocking mats that don’t clash with everything I knit…

The Paranoia

I have enough yarn. I have checked my gauge three times. I have checked other people’s gauge for the project to make sure the gauge on the pattern page is correct.

The needles are the right size and the yarn is perfect for the pattern.

Yet as I knit (a surprise gift so pattern not yet revealed) I cannot shake the belief that it’s too small. It has to be too small, despite the gauge and the right needles, because somehow I have deigned it so.

Do you ever convince yourself something is wrong despite all contrary evidence?

Bookish Knits: Agatha Christie Edition

I was 10% through my collection of Agatha Christies rescued from various secondhand stores when my friend came to me and offered a full collection. Yep. That’s right. The full set in matching editions. I gasped and jumped at the chance and, while they’re currently in England because heavy to ship, they are one of my favourite things.

Agatha Christie always kept you guessing. Sometimes I even forget the bad guy in books I’ve already read. In honour of one of my favourite authors (and definitely my favourite mystery author), please enjoy a collection of patterns inspired by her greatness.

The Big Four

by Maureen Foulds

Picture credit at pattern link

Spoiler: I know Maureen in real life so I am biased, but her patterns are gorgeous and very fun. I knit these socks and the pattern is enchanting and, even better, they make very comfortable and stylish additions to my sock drawer.

Agatha C.

by Emma Grundy Haigh

Picture credit at pattern source

Agatha Christie was a classy lady, so why not emulate her with some classy socks? The complicated twists in the pattern even mirror her expert plots.

Mo’ Sister

by Kate Quinn

Picture credit at pattern source

Though you will never knit a mustache as perfect as Poirot’s, you can certainly give it a go.

Miss Marple Scarf

by SusanneS-vV

Picture credit at pattern source

Considering she is the patron saint of knitters, Miss Marple should have her place in every wardrobe. This scarf is stylish and echoes many of the items in her imaginary wardrobe. Just be careful you don’t accidentally solve a murder while you’re wearing it.

 

Featured Blog/Shop: Kniterary (this is my LYS!)

Okay, I’m going to admit to a TINY bit of bias here: Kniterary is my LYS (local yarn store) and I love it. It is run by my yarn dealer, Martina, who has become a good friend over the years of me turning up to fondle her wares. So to speak.

Martina has an online shop which you should check out. You can find it here.
With a whole bunch of different excellent yarns on sale there, you can also pop by the store yourself if you live in the Greater Toronto Area/Durham Region. It’s in downtown Whitby. To explain what an excellent store it is, let me tell you this: I lived in Whitby for six weeks, maximum, back in 2012. Yet I still go there. When I was stuck in the UK before my permanent residency came through I visited Ontario for two weeks and made special time to go to the yarn group on the Thursday night, even taking a few hours away from seeing my girlfriend. That’s how good it is.

The thing is with yarn stores is that they can have the best yarns in the world but without the community and the friendliness you’re not getting anywhere. Kniterary has everything you want in a LYS.

I promise to stop gushing if you go visit the store/online store. Go. Off with you. Shoo.

Timey Wimey Knits: Part The Last

Doctor Who is one of my favourite shows. It’s been a part of my life for a long time: the first joke I heard on the playground as a British kid was a sign of how deeply the show is embedded in the national psyche:

Knock knock.

Who’s there?

Doctor.

Doctor Who?

Yes!

Groan.

At the time I had no idea what the joke meant or who The Doctor was beyond a vague impression of time travel, blue boxes, and daleks, yet I laughed at that joke and hummed to the theme tune if I heard it. This was the 90s, bereft of any steady Doctor, and they were dark times indeed.

We are lucky as geeks today to have so many shows to choose from and though I love so many others, it’s Doctor Who that nestles closest to my heart. I may have abandoned ship from the UK but there are things I miss: one thing (aside from the Indian takeaway near my sister’s house) is the buzz of excitement whenever something happened on the show, i.e. a new Doctor or a new showrunner. I can absorb some of that glee from the internet but it’s nothing like sitting on the bus and seeing two blue-haired old ladies discussing Matt Smith’s potential as a Doctor.

All that to say… I love Doctor Who. It means a lot to me. Going through all the Doctor Who patterns on Ravelry has been a joy and I will be revisting this compendium one day. Next month I’m moving on to book-related knits, but Doctor Who is never far from my mind. You’ll be seeing this again.

In the final week I’m sharing the random bits and bobs I’ve seen that don’t fit in any of the other sections. Enjoy.

Doctor Who Ribbed Cowl

by holynarf (Lindsay)

Click pattern link for image credit source.

 

Dalekanium Socks

by Dena Stelly

Click pattern link for image credit source.

 

Doctor Ewe

by Susan Claudino

Click pattern link for image credit source.

TARDIS Cup Cozy

by Kendra Ann

Click pattern link for image credit source.