Tuesday

You know I said I wasn't a fan of sod's law ?  Well, in looking to try and cost up how much the Kaffe Fassett mystery knitalong may cost, I found lots of websites - none of which had the colours I wanted in stock.  (That, and the cost of the yarn is making me have second thoughts).

In other news, I may have got a bit tipsy over the weekend and ordered some knitting books.  I did only plan to get one on wristwarmers (they help make the arthritis easier to deal with), but was spurred on by my husband saying 'if you buy that one, I'll learn to knit'.  Space has been cleared on the bookshelf for their arrival and in clearing up yesterday, I found another project bag.  That counts as a result.

But actually, today's post is about something different - a book I read on my Kindle sometime last month: Knit for Health and Wellness by Betsan Corkhill.  In it, she divides knitting projects up into different categories, including projects which teach you new skills and projects she classes as 'free knitting' - that is, knitting for the process of it, without really caring where you end up. 

Interestingly, both the above are projects which have come with me to the Royal Albert Hall for this year's prom concerts.  My free knitting project is the Innocent smoothie hats.  They all have a basic pattern, but I make it up as I go along as regards the colours, stripes, stitches and adornments on the top.  I've lost count of the times I've planned a hat in one way, and halfway through, I realise I've knitted something totally different.

Some of the completed hats: (Late afternoon light and I couldn't work out how to switch on the flash)

Some of the uncompleted hats, on the stitch holders, waiting to be sewn up and finished:

And then, Saturday just gone at the Last Night of the Proms, I was trying socks, knitting in the arena whilst waiting for the concert to start.  (These are the same socks I tried in Nottingham and then again over the Bank Holiday weekend last month.  I'm very tempted to try a toe up pattern, before I get a total block on this pair).  Far from being a free knitting project, this was a 'learn a new skill' technique - namely magic loop knitting - knitting in the round.  Now, whilst I'm not a proficient sock knitter, I can tell there's something wrong with this ribbing:

Whilst the first pair of socks I knit is likely to be rubbish, I'm too much a perfectionist to keep this.  Every time I put the socks on, I'll know, so I'll be ripping out.  Again.

The man next to me in the arena seemed very interested in my socks.  (The ones on my needles, not the ones on my feet).  Wasn't I bored of knitting something on such small needles? (2mm needles are the price I have to pay for knitting loosely).  I could buy socks at M&S for five pounds (yes, but not in this colourway) and do knitting circles still exist?  It did kind of help that one of my friends was a couple of rows back, doing some Fair Isle.

No photographs of me getting in the arena, but I did get a screenshot or two from the concert.

(I have no idea why we're looking at each other - but this is Geoff/Jeff who was interested in my socks and a lovely person to spend the concert with.  Next to him is his wife and in front of me is Clive, a long time prommer). 

And another, slightly better one:

I've tried to work hard today, so when the new knitting books arrive, I'll have lots of time to make them welcome.

Commu-knit-y

In browsing something or another on the internet recently, I came across project in Yorkshire – knitting mini jumpers as bunting for the Tour de France.  This month’s issue of Simply Knitting magazine has an interview with the person behind it all.  Whilst the deadline of sending mini jumpers has passed, the pattern is here if you’re interested, or want to replicate the project in your front room.

I love the way that this, like other community knitting projects, has caught the imagination of the knitting community.  I love that individually, your contribution can be as big or as small as you want it to be (subject to availability of both time and yarn), but overall the effect is somewhat impressive.  I love that knitting brings people together – in this case from all over the world.

I’ve taken part in the Macmillan Comfort Blankets project (sending squares to make up blankets to give to people who had cancer, but couldn’t easily afford fuel over the winter).  I still have some of the patterns for the squares and would do the project again.  Although I knitted about four or five squares, between us, friends and I put together two blankets; the total being greater than the sum of its parts, or something.  (Whilst patterns for the squares have now been taken down from the Macmillan website, there are a couple still available here) 

Another project I've also seen, is knitted blood drops, to highlight the need for more blood donors.  I love the fact that this has been organised by somebody still doing their A-levels.  There are concerns about how politically engaged young people are, and here we have somebody exhibiting activism through creativity. 

The project I’m looking forward to is the Innocent Smoothies' hats Inspired by what’s gone before, I’ve got lots of ideas I want to try out.  As the deadline is usually around October for completed hats, I may be working towards a batch for winter 2015.  If the patterns on the link above aren't enough - there are even more here. 

But back to the shirts which started the post, I think it’s a brilliant idea and I wish I could see them in the yarn.  Heck, I’m tempted to make a mini bunting to display at home.  I was disappointed to read the reports that the bunting has been taken down from lampposts.  I’m just trusting that the council will play by the same rules when it comes to the Christmas decorations….