Head, Neck and Feet

After typing that heading, I thought what about hands? But I did not quickly cast on some mitts. This reflects the three projects I have finished this month and they have not been replaced by new cast ons.

First finished was a hat for charity. (And, yes, there will be a new cast on next month.) I took the pattern suggestion from the Hat of the Month group on Ravelry. It is Ditto available free on Ravelry and I used Plymouth Encore which has been in my stash for a very long time, leftover from another project. The pattern is in two sizes and I knit the smaller size. I did not make the fold up brim but I have seen photos with such a brim and think it looks better.

The next project finished was an old project, but not my oldest project. This was a project I started in September last year but did not work on after a few rows. But working just a few rows each day quickly produces a finished item. I was given both the yarn and the pattern. The pattern is Cardioid Shawl and the yarn is Fearless Fibers. The pattern is written for fingering weight yarn but, although, originally labeled as sock yarn the yarn I used is a lace weight. I am showing two pictures here so you can see the difference blocking makes.

 

The final finished project is the socks I started in June. The pattern Is Sun Valley Socks Sun Valley Socks, available on Ravelry. I used leftover yarn – Miss Babs Yummy 2-ply and Trailing Clouds Nimbus Self-Striping Sock. For  bit of fun I reversed the main and contrast colours on the second sock.

There Is No Knitting Community

It seems as if the “community” is not in a state of well-being unless there is some issue to be debated and to get angry about. Yes, yet another issue has come to the fore in the knitting community. I am deliberately using knitting in this context as the issue arouse around a knitting pattern. But all of this applies to any yarn craft. I am not going to say what the issue was because, in reality, that is not what is important. What is important is that string wranglers have to be angry about something. If you are not up-in-arms about THE issue then YOU ARE THE PROBLEM.

When did knitting and community first go together and why do we think there is a community? We are social animals and like to be around people with a common interest, we interact on the internet with other knitters, we can communicate with pattern designers and yarn dyers, the commonality of working with yarn. We are part of a world-wide group of people and we are good. But are we? Knitters are people and people are not the same as each other. Why do you hang out with this person and not that one? So how can you expect to like or get along with all knitters just because you manipulate string with two needles? In other words do not be fooled by the idea of a community. It’s a bunch of disparate individuals with a common interest.

Which brings me back to the title. There is no knitting community – where is the feeling of fellowship? [i] The community is a few people being angry over a perceived slight, the band wagoners joining in and a few brave voices putting their heads above the parapet to say this is wrong.

What I have seen over the past couple of years. We must support individuals big companies are bad; now it is buy that cheap yarn: support pattern designers they deserve a living wage; now it is patterns cost too much, we want this, this and this included and the pattern to cost less.

How dare you disagree with us we are right and it is our right! But when you are always angry how do knitters decide what is important and what is someone taking their bad day out on someone? In other words the issue is not even going to be looked at by the majority. It just turns into a fight between the loud minority saying this is bad and the loud minority saying nothing is bad. There is no room for discourse about why something might need to be changed, people are put off by the never ending issues and any semblance of community disappears.

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[i] As defined by online dictionary

 

 

More Sale Yarn

When I finished the skirt I cast on a cardigan with lace yarn as I really liked the finished item but I soon realized that I needed different needles and that having another complicated lace pattern on the go was not a good idea – three of my remaining WIPs from 2019 are lace. Having put that aside I cast on the cowl and decided that the cardigan could remain dormant.

 Although my plan is to work through the sale yarn this year, I do not have a set plan as to what order I will use it. The next project was a shawl using the three skeins of Snowdrop by Wonderland Yarns and Frabjous Fibers. I bought the three to go together but did not have a pattern in mind at the time. Earlier this year I got the Wane pattern by Lisa Mutch when she had a free promotion and it seemed perfect for these three skeins so I cast on.

 

The pattern did not use the full skeins and I used yardage than the pattern. Unusually for me I did not adjust the pattern to use up more of the yarn and just followed the pattern as written.

 I was worried about blocking it because I did not want to lose the squishiness of the garter stitch but I did want to open up the lace pattern. I love the end result.

Having finished this, of course I had to start something new with more sale yarn. I cast on Lilli Pilli which uses three colours one of which I purchased specifically in the sale for this pattern.