Oddball Knitting

Book Depository Link there are no links on Ravelry for the designer


Types of patterns: Garments
Number of Patterns: technically 21, though many are just size; pattern and gender changes; Jumper Men (3); Jumper Women (5); Jumper Child (3); Cardigan Men (3); Cardigan women (3); Cardigan Child (3)

Split of patterns: Men/women/children

Size Range: Women 95-115cm; Child 67-89cm; Men 110-130cm; 2 jumpers sized for 16/18 or 20/22

Colour/Black & White: Black and white graphs; colour photographs with added illustrations

Schematics: No

Target Audience: Intermediate, has a lot of colourwork

How to knit guide: Some basics but not a comprehensive guide, more for general work

Experimental/Classical/Modern: Most of the patterns are classic but there are two that are just plain horrible.

Comments: This is an interesting book, by using non-straight-line patterns to use up yarn, this would be a useful book to use for people with too much yarn and not enough patterns, though you might want to knit sections of the patterns for each piece in order to continue the patterns. The pattern repeats could be used in other garments to repeat the same concept on another garment. Possibly in combination with Budd's Handy book of Garments or Sweaters. Just ignore the last two patterns and the styling of the garments. By the fact that the lines are broken and not straight it's a better look than horizontal lines on most people. I'd also like to see the diamond pattern done in a variegated yarn in the centres. This one made me want to swatch up something and get rummaging in my yarn pile.

Buy/Borrow: It's one that I would buy if I could get one, but it's out of print and expensive on Amazon, thankfully Dublin City Public Libraries has a copy (or two)

Where found: Dublin City Public Libraries

Knitting Survey

found at IrishElk via someone on twitter Have a knitting-meme

Bold for stuff you’ve done, italics for stuff you plan to do one day, and normal for stuff you’re not planning on doing.

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch or as I'd say Stocking Stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down (not sure about this one, not really a mitten fan)
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater Or in English - Jumper
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffitti knitting: knitting items on, or to be left on the street – possibly ninja knitting. Or pirate knitting.
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book - not sure about this, interesting possibility some day
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca - actually I'm not sure about this one, I may have
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Household items: dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies…
knitting socks- or other small tubular items- on two circulars
Dying with plant colours
Knitting items for a wedding
Olympic knitting Ravelympics yes
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit (if anyone wanted to learn from me I'd teach them, no
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with selfpatterning/selfstriping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
JewelryKnitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/armwarmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

Wow, not a lot of things I really want to try but a lot of things I want to keep working on to make better.

Some links

How Gauge works with a simple jumper example

Fit to Flatter series linked at episode 8 because I find it the one I need to re-read regularly, but it's all good.

A Size Survey I should try to fill out.

Baby Cardigan

And it's finished,


I have to say it was a bit of a trial occasionally and is a prime example of having to read the pattern several times before launching yourself at it. Buttonholes are necessaryand you need to be thinking of them almost from the off. I used Weezalana's notes a lot while knitting and did knit the sleeves in the round as well. Once you get into the swing of the pattern it is relatively easy.

This is for my cousin's baby who was born this week. It's knit in James C Bret's Pure Merino, a machine washable yarn, the buttons are from my stash.

increases

So I was just listening to a podcast and the knitter was talking about working out how to increase evenly over x stitches and they were saying that you just divide over the number of stitches and do that, but that's not exactly even (unless you're working in the round, for this I'm talking in the flat)

with 4 increases over 20 stitches, - is a stitch V is an increase, in this instance a lifted increase

-----V-----V-----V-----V with an increase at the end of the stitches

now if you divide by five, or number of increases+1 you will have

----V----V----V----V---- still with four increases but this time you have nice, evenly placed across things without an awkward stitch to sew up later!

But, you say, what about awkward numbers of stitches like six increases over 30?

30/7 is 4.2857.... or four stitches and two remaining so I would put five stitches either end and then four between increases

-----V----V----V----V----V----V-----

or put the two extra in the middle

----V----V----V------V----V----V----

or offset

----V----V-----V----V-----V----V----

though the thing to remember this is all dependent on the type of increase you do. If the increase involves the previous stitch, Kf&b for example, the top one would have been k3k1f&b etc.

So how do you cope with increases, with that wonderfully vague increase evenly over the row instructions?

Finished

I've finished the Ribwarmer from Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Workshop. It was an interesting project and it does meet at the back, When knitting it I knit one row before changing colours on the opposite side which meant that it lined up properly, otherwise I would have had the reverse of the fabric to the front for the second half. I think it would look even better in a heavily variegated yarn with a plain dark yarn. Still this was in some leftovers I had around, I'm sure Elizabeth would be proud! It now needs some washing.


crossposted to Knitting Elizabeth

Bad Knitter but I'm trying

I have finished an item but no photographs yet.
I've been neglecting my knitting in favour of helping to get an Irish Knitting Blog up and running. Apparently people don't see Irish Knitters so we don't exist and this is causing strange ideas about knitting in Ireland.

Judging from some of the designs, blogs and other stuff out there there's nothing of the sort. Some of them are wonderful and my Ravelry Queue has suffered from some additions.

Ribwarmer Start

So before the schoolkids went back this week, it was starting to get cool and my mind drifted to waistcoats and other relatively warm stuff. Travelling to work daily on a motorbike means that season changes are pretty obvious stuff.

I saw the Ribwarmer Waistcoat(Ravelry Link) in Knitting Workshop (one of the four Elizabeth books I have and one of the three I can currently find) and thought it would be a good thing to start with

Earlier today I took a shot of my progress



it's all in garter stitch and I'm starting to wonder how I'll get the reverse side working. It's also strange as I'm finding that I have to keep bringing my attention back to the knitting and making sure I don't accidentally do the wrong thing, I'm reminded of Tara Jon Manning and her discussions of Mindful Knitting and how being mindful of what your're doing is a good thing. I'm powering along with this and I'm on the back stretch of it. I'm enjoying it. I'm also finding myself having to avoid thinking about the next project because I want to enjoy what I'm doing. I love the simplicity of the pattern, you knit straight, then turn, straight, turn, straight and cast off, and then you have half of it knit, you knit a second and sew them up the back.

However the next project has to have something other than garter stitch, between this and a piece of test knitting I'm doing I need something more.

I'm using some leftover aran yarn from some other projects, the white is quite old and the blue is leftover from my Mr Greenjeans. It's quite old and old-style yarn. I think Elizabeth might approve.

Crossposted with Knitting Elizabeth

Patons: a story of handknitting

Patons: A Story of Handknitting

Name of Book: Patons: A story of Handknitting
Author: Michael Harvey
Any other info: 0862541174, Springwood Books, 1985


Comments: this is a joint history of Patons the company and knitting in general, looking at some histories and trends, particularly as it impacts the company. It was comissioned by the company so it does have a tendency to emphasise the role of Patons in the industry. Now under the umbrella of Coats Crafts (a merger that dates back to 1961 and was formerly Coats Patons Ltd.) which also includes Viyella; Tootal; William Briggs; Rowan and Jaeger; Regia; Gedifra; Prym and Anchor are some of the other titles falling under this umbrella group but much of this later mergers aren't part of this book, as they post-date this book.

The original companies of Baldwin and Patons had been going since the 1770's and built themselves up until they merged. Forming a worldwide group spinning wool and making items from it.

While written by an academic it is dependent on available research so it's short piece about Aran knitting is infected by the Kiewe virus the author also notes that "It is interesting to note that some authentic Aran ganseys have horizontal bands of pattern, but though there are many variations in complexity and stitch arrangement, traditional Aran design has a unique and distinct flavour."p 110

Chapter 11 on knitting around the coastline and traditional knitted garments was an interesting read. The photographs are also interesting.

The postscript also makes for interesting reading. Writing at a time knitting was somewhat on the wane, when there were still people knitting as a way of saving, rather than today where pre-made goods are cheaper than hand-knitting and it's more a hobby than a necessity. In a pre-internet world he talks about using Teletext to transmit patterns and how it's an unexplored territory with potential. He also talks about television and knitting, something that is only really being re-explored in the US. His identification of Women's magazines as a staple of knitting pattern highlighting is no longer as valid as it was though recent flurries in the Letters Pages of the Irish-based Women's Way about the removal of the Knitting pages shows how essential it is to some people.

He also talks about how well entrenched the woolshop had become, something that over the next decade or so waned and how mail order was important, something that the internet also changed greatly.

He also states "Moving on to the social aspect, knitting equipment can be carried in a small bag and knitting can take place anywhere with little inconvenience - knitting is mobile. It is socially acceptable to do almost anywhere in non-formal, and even in some formal, gatherings. People can chat and knit, listen and knit, and travel and knit. Women's organisations give an impetus to knitting. People will knit for charity, blankets for the deprived in developing countries, sponsored 'knit-ins' - the satisfaction in all this is great and at the same time others are being helped." (p144) Sometimes even as things change they stay the same.

He also says "Concerning psychological factors, knitting is said to have a therapeutic effect. It is soothing and can help one relax, assuming the knitter does not select too complicated a set of instructions to follow. Above all there is the need many have to create, and knitting is creative. Choice of design, colour selection, knitting the fabric and the final product are the creation of the knitter, which leads to a great satisfaction being obtained from the completed garment." You only need to look at some projects on Ravelry, or indeed on the Knitting Elizabeth project to see how different people play with the same concept and how most of them produce something with variations, no matter how subtle. The concept that knitting is creative needs more emphasis!

Overall it's an interesting read, a slice of history of knitting in the UK and actually well complimented by No Idle hands which has a deeper look at knitting from a US point of view.

Buy/Borrow: If you're interested in history, read this one, it's available second hand in places, I got the copy I read from Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown libraries, and I have a sneaking suspicion that it's the only copy I could find in Borrowbooks. A slice of the knitting world that's quite interesting but focused on one company/supplier rather than several.

Where found: Dun Laoghaire Rathdown should have got their copy back ages ago from me, I've been bold. It's going back now.

Knitting Guild

While reading Patons a story of Handknitting and being without internet at the moment I came across the fact that St Fiacre or St Fiachra was the patron saint of the Paris Guild of Knitters (though he appears to have been a bit of a mysoginist) and also came across Knitting Neels discussion on the topic and wondered again about it.


Any ideas?