Summit Scarf

Just a quick pic of the Summit Scarf in progress. I had a bit of panic when I realised I needed more yarn to match, having started it with an odd ball that I picked up a while ago.  It was in the odds and ends bin, and was so lovely I couldn't resist. It's Rowan Cashsoft 4ply in Bluebottle....it was the name of the colour that threw me as this looks to me like a teal or peacock or kingfisher kind of blue. The name they've chosen doesn't say any of those things to me, it makes me think of that sharp, singing navy blue glass you sometimes get in old pharmeceutical bottles. Still, on reflection, bluebottle flies do have that lovely petrol-y rainbow mix on them. Plus I like the idea of naming colours after things that are not immediately attractive in their association - like calling neutral putty coloured paint colours 'cardboard' or 'plaster' or 'rodent grey'. I love this, it has that soft, rich, intense saturation of colour that I really like. Anyway, I ended up guessing the match, having dropped by the yarn dept at my local John Lewis, and having a very entertaining exchange with the sales girl. Not a perfect match but barely noticeable.

 

This is unblocked, and looks a bit of a mess, but it feels gorgeously soft and smooth, and I think the pattern with that rhythmic rippling suits the yarn really well. Blocking is not a process I'm very familiar with, I may just give it a gentle steamy press. All I need now is a nice stitch to finish either end of the scarf; something just to neaten up the long strands of the drops or something lacy-ish perhaps...maybe something i-cord-y..... Any ideas? 

knitting ambitions....

I have a knitting ambition. I want to have a pattern published. In Knitty. Writing knitting patterns is not particularly easy! But....I've wrastled with my starfish pattern and have finally come up with a version that I think works. I think the pattern is clear and accurate. I took what I think are some nice photos out at the beach yesterday, despite the stiff breeze, and marauding dogs. All I can do now is sit back and wait for Knitty to get back to me. I really hope they say yes! It feels a bit like really wanting to pass the driving test. If I've understood everything ok, and have managed to deliver on performance, then just maybe they will. I can't publish any photos yet as this is one of their submission conditions, but I should know by December, by which time several children will be destined to receive said item in their stockings, which, even if I don't catch Knitty's eye (this time....), will make all the effort and obsessive swatching and experimenting well worth it.

In the meantime, I've grown a tad disillusioned with crochet - I like it, but for me it doesn't have half the charm and elegance that really good knitting can deliver. It's kind of fun, rustic - well, my efforts so far certainly have a rustic feel to them. A bit chunky, lacking drape etc. I suppose that this is a bad case of the workman blaming his tools. I don't know enough about the process or the possibilities of the process to make a decent fist of anything yet. Will have to keep trying.

So, current work in progress is a scarf version of the Summit shawl by Mandie Harrington. This is a fabulously clever...no, that doesn't do it justice, it is a devilishly clever bit of knitterly engineering..... and elegantly beautiful to boot. It is actually much simpler to work than it looks, and has solved my problem of struggling with a couple of skeins of gorgeously soft, smooth, drapey yarn that have lost their labels. This may become my luxury handmade gift of choice for quite sometime yet. It has lots of lovely big holes so a small amount of yarn will go a good long way, which means quality can be top notch as quantity is not going to prohibit purchase of silk or alpaca or whatever lovely fibres float your particular yarn boat.

other knitterly stuff

I have also recently had some knitterly validation come my way. After being asked a few questions and showing someone a couple of things, it really got me thinking. You see, in truth, I've always been a bit of a dabbler (...and not just in knitting, it's pretty much a personality flaw if I'm honest), but I had a strong urge to answer these questions. So I did a bit of an internet trawl, to direct this person to good 'how to' sites, free patterns, good blogs and e zines (personally, I LOVE Knitty, I think it is absolutely brilliant - and have recently made my first ever submission to them but that's another, so far incomplete story). Anyway, I came across June Hemmons Hiatt "The Principles of Knitting". It's out of print, and I was shocked by how much you'd have to spend if you really wanted to own a copy. The combination was too much, it must be a neglected work of knitting genius I thought. So, I ordered it from the library. As the copy I have came all the way from the Scottish Museums Service, I am thinking it may be the only copy in the UK!
Here it is, a pretty hefty tome, and not a colour plate to be seen. It is very serious, detailed and wonderfully clear for the most part, except for maybe the use of inside and outside instead of wrong side and right side....

But most exciting is the fact that June herself recommends what she calls 'right hand knitting'. I practically jumped up and down with glee because she described what I had always thought of as my rather dodgy throwing method which actually involves letting go of the right hand needle with your right hand. My Mum uses the 'pencil' method, something I simply never managed, though she makes it look like the easiest and most efficient way, June reckons it is probably the least efficient. For me, I have occasionally tried to alter my method, somehow secretly thinking my way was embarrasingly childish and slow, and not 'proper', but now I feel able to consider myself a real knitter! Thanks June! In truth, my method is actually a complicated little dance that has evolved over the years to best fit my hands and how they work...but I still feel better for seeing it somewhere in serious black and white print, that what I have evolved for myself is the real deal, even if it is just a means to an end and nobody else, probably not even other knitters, really cares.