The English Armchair Abroad

The benefits of a bad back

There aren't many and this back is taking forever. It's not bad in the sense that I can't move. It's a permanent tingling pain. Imagine holding an elastic band quite tight and then pinging it. That's what it feels like on a permanent basis. There is no comfortable position. I shift around constantly and find myself eating with one arm up in the air; for some reason this helps for a short period of time. It will pass but it is making me very irritable. I am clock watching for the next pain killer; not a good sign.

So I knit. And knit and knit. I have finished two pairs of socks this week and a pair of mittens. All things that needed finishing before the New Year so at least that is a good thing. But now they are finished and I need a new knitting project. I have a BIG ONE for 2015 but will not reveal it yet. In the meantime I will gather together all my hand spun wool and see if I can't make something sensible.

But for now here is Quaternity by Rose Hiver using handspun shetland wool. It has taken forever to finish these but now they are ready to be gifted.

Socks are just socks but I do love the warmth. These were very quickly made on the machine. Thank heavens for knitting machines!

 

 

 

 

Alpaca/Silk waterfall cardigan

I wanted to try the Drops Brushed Alpaca/Silk but with something quick. In the end I decided to make a waterfall cardigan that would just "take off the chill" on a summer evening. Crazy in the middle of winter I know, but actually it will be useful too when we visit houses that are kept at temperatures somewhat hotter (not warmer, hotter!) than ours.

I chose a pattern that I could make on the machine as I didn't want to spend too much time on it. I still have some Christmas presents to finish and it would be a shame to leave them to the last minute....oops!

This is the result. It is the assymetrical cardigan by garnstudio Drops. It's very light and very squishy. The yarn knitted easily on the machine and, thank goodness, undid with only a bit of fuss when required.

I used the knit radar for the entire piece and that was a joy. It does make things easier although I still like to note the row numbers of key points - binding off for the armholes for example. I changed the top of the sleeves to something a bit more me and this was done with a minimum of fuss thanks to the knit radar. Just a matter of doing a good accurate drawing.

Just as I hoped, I have ended up with a lightweight cardigan that will be very useful.

 

Journey to London and test knitting Conic Coat

On my way to England for a very short visit. An easy trip up to Paris and then into the Eurostar waiting room at Paris Gare du Nord. Grumpy Americans in the waiting room who seemed to think that the seating is not only for them but also for their baggage and don't like putting it on the floor so that more people can sit down. Are all Americans arrogant or just tourists?

 

Back in October I signed up to test a knitting pattern for Linda Marveng. Conic Coat has an elegant shape and a variety of stitch techniques which were a revelation to me. The body has a triangle stitch which sounds straightforward and not really worthy of comment until you realise that the triangles are constructed and not just knit using purl and plain stitches. This construction gives then a 3D look and feel and helps to give weight to the coat. The downside for me was that the triangles were aggravating my arthritic thumbs. It isn't a difficult stitch to do but it involves a few finger acrobatics and my thumbs revolted, so with Linda's blessing a made the arms in stocking stitch with just two rows of triangles on the cuffs.

 

The shawl collar starts with a neat tuck and then a ribbing which is quick to knit - fortunately since I had nearly 500 stitches on the needles! And finally an I-cord bind off (which I did very quickly on the machine) creates a very neat finish.

 

As I explained to Linda my only major problem has come with the blocking. I want to block it as the triangles need to open up a little but just as I finished it the cold weather set in and I haven't actually taken it off since!