The Last of the Vintage...or an ideal yarn for beginner lace knitters

...and with a little melancholy, I note that I have used up the last balls of Patons UK Vintage. Well, never mind I'm quite happy with the finished object.

Introducing: The Oaklet, aka the Last of the Vintage

The designer is Megan Goodacre. The yarn (Paton's UK Vintage) was purchased a long time ago at Kemp's and has long since been discontinued. I have used Vintage in several projects and, even though it's not an overtly pretty yarn (in all honesty, the colourways are somewhat questionable), I feel a little sad to see it go. 

Megan Goodacre's Oaklet Shawl Pattern

The Weekly Swatch, Part 4 - The Drop Stitch

Drop Stitch 

I'm currently swatching for new projects and seem to have developed a preference for the drop stitch motif. The drop stitch effect is achieved by working a succession of multiple yarn overs into the knitting. On the following row the yarn overs are simply pushed (or "dropped") off the needle, creating a rather loose fabric, which is ideal for scarves and other flowing garments.

For the sample below I used Stylecraft Kon - Tiki - a blend of 50% cotton and 50% acrylic. Kon - Tiki has a very soft feel to it and I enjoyed knitting with the yarn. That's why I was surprised to see that it has primarily been used for knitted dishcloths on Ravelry. Let's see whether I can put the balance right and find a slightly more appealing project for my stash of  Kon - Tiki.

For all knit stitch patterns and weekly swatch posts, please follow this link to my knit stitch library.

Drop Stitch Swatch (Yarn: Stylecraft Kon - Tiki)

Catching up with the Finished Objects...

Hane Scarf, Yarn: Rowan RYC Bamboo Soft

For the first time, I find myself in the position of having to catch up on blogging about my finished objects, as my knitting activity seems to have increased dramatically over the last six months; and there are a number of projects that deserve to be included on the blog.

On average, it appears that I manage to complete a project every fortnight. No doubt, this is a result of my rigorous knitting activity whilst going about my daily commute. (If I didn't use the needles to knit, I might feel tempted to try them out on fellow commuters...)

Hane Scarf, Yarn: Rowan RYC Bamboo Soft

Where the 'Ruling Classes' Hang Out...

Whilst tidying up, I came across an old copy of the Mayfair Times from August 2012, sporting a rather waxy - looking David Lauren on its cover.

David Lauren on the cover of the Mayfair Times, August 2012

For all those not familiar with the publication: Despite being priced up at £3.00, it is freely distributed across Mayfair's neighbourhood. When the usual twenty copies are pushed through the letter box of my office building, I tend to ignore them for the first few days until they eventually get escalated to their special filing cabinet, the recycling bin.   

Noro Bias Lace Scarf in a Less Than Posh Yarn

Bias Lace 

Another project, completed entirely during the daily commute. It turned out to be an excellent commuter knit for several reasons:

Downtown Sheerness on a misty day...Let's hear it for Sheerness!

There I was, coming out of the station with no idea where to go next. Thankfully, help was at hand in the form of a sign giving directions to the most important sights:

Sittingbourne - Sheerness: A ride on the Sheppey Express

As previously mentioned, I planned to visit Sheppey again, that mysterious island off the Kent coast. This time, I took the train and what follows is an account of my journey to Sheerness - on - Sea.

For all those who rely on public transport, getting on to the Isle by train is by far the most convenient method. The Sheppey Express, as I have named it, departs twice hourly from Sittingbourne railway station; and it is here where the journey starts. (Well, I had to come over from Faversham, but no incidents worthwhile reporting occurred during the eight minute ride.)

Upon arrival at Sittingbourne you cross over onto platform three, the platform that is entirely reserved for the train to Sheppey. The train model itself is one of those regional type trains, the ones that are being used across Greater London, the ones with the uncomfy seats, that call at all stations. I'm sure the model has a name, but who needs that kind of technical information in their lives?

The Sheppey Express, awaiting its departure from platform 3 at Sittingbourne

On the eve of boarding the Sheppey Express...

Today's top tip: 

If you feel under the weather, somewhat unhappy or even a little depressed ... Why not head for a location that's even more dreary than the state you are in? Coming face - to - face with all the grotty misery on offer, you will return sufficiently re - charged, and, perhaps, somewhat relieved that at least you can come back to a place that's marginally more inviting than the destination of your trip. If you are looking for a location of this kind, may I suggest a trip to the Isle of Sheppey, situated just off the East Kent Coast?

The Isle of Sheep: Sheepey (or Sceapige in ancient Saxon) 

Still No German Translation for Ammonite ...or Ammonite in Moonlight Sonata (James C Brett)

I should be renaming this blog into the 'Absent Knitter's Landing Page'. In actual fact, I might just do that in a minute. Considering this rather long period of silence (due to having nothing to report on the knitting front as of late), I may take a while to find the 'knitting voice'...the nice, fluffy me. It's not here at the moment. I lost it on a train between Faversham and Victoria. 

Commuting and knitting. It can be done, but it requires dedication to preparation, meaning you have to be organised at 6:00am in the morning.

So what have I been doing? Reading, mainly. Because that's what one does on a train. Preferably with headphones, so you don't have to witness the human misery around you. Somewhere between Faversham and Victoria I came across some interesting knitting - related trivia...it involves men, knitting and the island of Jersey (Channel Islands):

Men (as I keep telling non - knitters: knitting was the domain of our male brethren before mere females were allowed to engage in it) are apparently prohibited to knit during the fishing season on the Island of Jersey. By law. To this day.

Inspired by Bluebells

Bluebells between Ashford and Faversham (Kent, UK)

The woods between Ashford and Faversham (Kent, UK) are widely known as bluebell country in the area. Earlier this month we ventured out to have a look at this magical spectacle and took a few pictures.

Design Digest: Ammonite - Part 2

... in which, amongst other things, she talks about sock yarn, choosing a knitting project to suit your mood and the skill level required to knit an Ammonite.

When approaching a design, simplicity is sometimes best. I suppose this is the essence of my previous post on designing Ammonite. Once I had accepted this simple, yet fundamental rule, the design process assumed its own momentum. However, as already mentioned in Part I of my design digest, the first knitted sample turned out to resemble an Elizabethan collar rather than a generously sized, ruffled shawl.

Ammonite: First Test - Knit

This was clearly down to my choice of yarn and a kfb - increase bonanza. Repeated attempts of ironing these faults out with the help of prolonged and intense blocking, yielded only very limited results and did not really seem to make much of an impact overall. It soon dawned on me that I needed to have a rethink on my choice of yarn and moderate my use of increases.

In the first instance I had a look at my stash, which was lacking sock yarn at the time. I briefly contemplated knitting a second Ammonite in Patons UK Misty, but decided against it in the end. I felt that cobweb - type mohair yarn would not give sufficient expression to the ribbed texture of the stitch motif. The answer, obviously, was to use sock yarn and so I went yarn shopping. Joy! (No, this time I really had to...;-) Of course, I had seen some very enticing sock yarns (100g @ £15.00) and even though these looked tempting, I decided to settle on a less costly alternative for two reasons:

Firstly, my pattern required a fair quantity of yarn, approximately 300g to be precise. And secondly, I did not want to overspend on materials, not knowing whether my pattern would actually be right for the materials chosen.

Mietze ... inspecting again

The Weekly Swatch, Part 3 - The Left Slanting Turkish Rib Stitch

Left - Slanting Turkish Rib Knit Stitch

Turkish Rib stitch (left - slanting) is one of those uncomplicated, easily memorisable (is that a word?) stitches that can lend great texture to a knitted piece, especially in combination with other ribbed stitch motifs, emphasising either texture, direction or both. At the same time, it is certainly more interesting than mere two - by - two ribbing, which can get a bit tedious - both to look at and to knit.

Left - slanting Turkish Rib Stitch in Patons UK Vintage (4mm needles)

As I was knitting up my swatch, it looked like dropped stitches had been incorporated diagonally, giving the knitted fabric a great deal of sideways stretchiness and elasticity . All these properties make this the ideal stitch motif for socks, knee - highs, cowls, mittens and pretty much every other tubularly - shaped or partially tubular piece, allowing for convenient, adaptable fit without requiring a lot of shaping on the knitter's (or designer's) part.

Left - Slanting Turkish Rib Stitch

Knit in a multiple of two stitches.

Special Abbreviation: PR - (Basically the opposite of a psso on the left hand needle.) 

Purl stitch, return stitch from right hand needle to left hand needle, insert right hand needle into the stitch next to the returned stitch on the left hand needle, lift this stitch over the purled stitch and drop it off the needle. Return stitch on left hand needle to right hand needle. Done!

Row 1: knit all stitches

Row 2: P1, * yo, PR, rep from * to last stitch, p1.

Row 3: K1, *sl1, k1, psso, yo, rep from * to last stitch, k1

Repeat Rows 2 and 3.

- !! Update !! -

The stitch pattern / tutorial for the right-slanting Turkish Rib Stitch is now available here.

For all knit stitch patterns and weekly swatch posts, please follow this link to my knit stitch library.

For further posts on ribbed knit stitch tutorials and my knitting patterns utilising ribbed stitches, please visit this link.

One way of storing your knitting

My swatch is knit in Patons (UK) Vintage (a cotton / acrylic mix) on 4mm needles.

The Weekly Swatch, Part 2 - Butterfly Wing Stitch

Butterfly Wing Lace Knit Stitch

Design Digest: Ammonite - Part I

Ammonite and the Grey Cone...

If you are reading this post, I suppose you have seen Ammonite on Ravelry or on Flickr and you might want to know a little more about the design process and my inspiration for the pattern. Perhaps you have merely stumbled upon this blog because you are interested in knitwear design or maybe good, old Google directed you to this page because you are interested in fossils.

If you are looking for fossil - related information (and I don't mean the knitted kind), I have to disappoint you, as I am going to talk about a knitting pattern and, unless you are interested in knitting, what follows will not be a great deal of help to you.

So, Ammonite...It's probably best to start at the beginning. Roughly a year ago I was browsing in a local charity shop and found a cone of grey DK - weight yarn. There was no further information regarding the identity of the yarn, only a label inside the cone stating it was an acrylic / wool mix (30% wool, 70% acrylic). Having done a bit of research, I now believe that the yarn was manufactured by Yeoman Yarns in Yorkshire, an interesting yarn manufacturer, especially for the thrifty knitters amongst us. Yeoman's yarns come wrapped around cones, presumably targeting machine knitters. (And the big advantage of yarn on cones is of course the fact that you won't run out of yarn during your project.)

Mietze inspecting 

As this poor, grey cone was looking a little lonely, I decided to buy it at a bargain price together with two others, one in heather and another in a light creamy brown. The lovely people at the shop must have been glad to see them go and included a pair of knitting needles at the till. 

Here I was with my yarn bargains. I took them home, where they were subjected to the usual "scratch and sniff " inspection by a member of the feline quality control squad. 

Grey Cone and Friends

The Weekly Swatch, Part 1 - Cartridge Rib Stitch

I have been toying with the idea of creating a swatch / stitch library on the blog for quite some time, but never gotten round to actually doing something about it. As I have more time on my hands at the moment, it appears a good time to get started and commit. I can't guarantee that this will become a weekly thing, but the good intentions are there. (She says.......)

For various reasons, I am currently into simple stich motifs. When designing my own knitted objects, I found that simplicity is a good starting point. From a practical viewpoint, simple motifs make it easy to knit whilst doing something else.

Cartridge Rib Stitch