Blog: Knitting
We just came back from a long weekend in Dublin. (Well, it was a long weekend for me - I tagged along with my husband who was there for work.) It was a lovely little trip; lots of Guinness was consumed, we did a 5 mile run, went to a Viking museum, and hung out with an old friend and met his delightful cat :)
On the last day I popped into a beautiful little yarn shop called This Is Knit:
I was a bit overwhelmed by the huge amount of choice, to be honest! I knew I wanted an Irish yarn, but they had so many options, and so many colours. After a bonkers amount of deliberation, I picked out six balls of Studio Donegal Soft Donegal. It’s lovely and soft has a tweedy sort of texture.
Although I’ve been knitting since 2012, I haven’t actually focused very much on improving the quality of my craft recently. I learned fair isle a few years ago, but other than that, I think my ability is basically the same as it was 8 years ago - despite being fairly prolific in my output.
I consider myself fairly advanced - I can knit lace, fair isle, cables - and ladder down to fix a mistake many rows back too. I’ve made blankets, socks, soft toys, scarves, and jumpers galore. But my ribbing is sloppy, and you can plainly see where I’ve woven in my ends. I’m noticing uneven tension and fit issues - garments too big, too small, or too imperfect. Knitting doesn’t have to be perfect, I know - but I feel like my skills have stagnated, and I could be better than this if I just applied myself a little better.
Knitting Christmas gifts is a lovely thoughtful idea that should fill you with generous Christmas spirit. But oh my goodness, you have to give yourself enough time!
Unfortunately, I’m no stranger to knitting on a deadline. It’s not my favourite way to knit, but boy, it helps me get stuff done. I started this one with three weeks to go - so I intentionally picked a simple pattern to maximise my chances of finishing it in time. I’m pleased with my choice - the On the Porch Blanket by Fifty Four Ten Studio. Even though it’s clear from the photo what needs to be done, I bought the pattern as I wanted the simplest smoothest route to success. Incidentally, I’d say it’s a great pattern for beginners as it’s really clearly written!
I’ve nearly finished re-knitting the Loki jumper by Istex Lopi - and when I say re-knitting, I mean I am making the same jumper in the same colours for the same person. Not because I am crazy, but because I knitted the first one as a present for my husband for our wool wedding anniversary (7th), and he loved it, and then I absentmindedly put through too many spin cycles in the washing machine, and it shrank.
I was absolutely heartbroken, I tell you. It was one of the loveliest things I’d ever made, and it was the first jumper I’d ever finished knitting for him - after literally three failed attempts at another pattern over the years. So I promised him another, in whatever colours he wanted. He asked for a replica of the original. Which is nice, because it means I chose well the first time!
I finally used that yarn that I bought in Singapore ten thousand years ago and knitted the Rizzo blouse designed by Poison Grrls.
The construction of this was new to me, and I’ll be honest, a bit of a mind-bender at times. First you knit the back shoulders separately, and then join them; then you pick up stitches to knit each front shoulder separately, and then join them. Meanwhile, you’re also keeping track of increases for sleeves and an eyelet pattern on different counters. I actually ended up creating a spreadsheet to keep track of things at various points! I’ve been knitting for 11 years now and I’m only just starting to realise that I prefer charts to written instructions.
I tend to prefer sewing clothes, but every now and then I’ll make something for the house. This week I made a cushion cover, and also made the cushion itself out of upcycled materials.
I have some old cushions from Habitat that are well over 10 years old and completely flattened and stained. They came round the world and back when we did our stint in Singapore. The last time I unzipped them to wash the covers, I discovered that the fabric of the cushions had completely disintegrated - and I mean completely. There was just dust left. Which is… kind of freaky?
This week I’ve been working on a bodice block.
A bodice block has been on my list for such a long time, and my recent experience trying to fit the Etta dress bodice to my asymmetrical body made me so disillusioned with the idea of fitting a pattern that I finally decided it was time to start on a block. If I can get a block right, then I can compare it to patterns I make in the future and get a clear idea of what adjustments I need to make. Plus, I’m very excited about the idea of drafting my own patterns using the block as a starting point.
I’m back on the sewing train!
I have an event to attend this weekend and I fancied making a nice dress for it, as my wardrobe is lacking in the “nice day dress” department. I have a couple of workhorse dresses that I always turn to, but I want more choices.
I’ve got a bit of post-viral fatigue going on, so I chose a familiar project to keep the effort level relatively low. I’ve made the Lyra dress by Tilly and the Buttons a couple of times before, and I had plenty of appropriate fabric in my stash. (Full disclosure - I was actually a pattern tester so I got my copy of the pattern for free.)