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 This reflects the three projects I have finished this month and they have not been replaced by new cast ons.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.

This Quarter’s Hats

This quarter was not a good one for hats, I did not even make one in April. In May I chose the crochet suggestion from the Hat of the Month group – Mock Cable Hat. This is a new pattern with a handful of projects and I used a skein of yarn that had been in my stash for a very long time. This was an interesting crochet using new-to-me stitches and short rows. The only mistake I found in the pattern was regarding the number of rows to work. I like the hat but it came out too small for an adult so I will donate it to children’s charity in the winter.

 

After the no-hat in April and the too small hat in May, I really had to make sure June was a success. I went with the knitted suggestion from Operation Gratitude’s group – Crossing the Tracks. I was worried that the light green was too light for Operation Gratitude but decided that it would be fine as an accent. And I have one successful hat for this quarter.

With regards to the other cast ons I showed in my last post, I have finished the project from the Snowdrop (sale) yarn and have started the next sale yarn project; I have nearly finished the first sock – this is fine as a two month project; and I am on target to finish the old project at the end of July.

New Cast Ons

Having said that I started four new projects, I should show you the yarn and patterns.

With sale yarn, Snowdrop by Wonderland Yarns,

I started the Wane pattern by Lisa Mutch, which I obtained recently when she was having a sale. This is a quick and easy knit.

The hat is Crossing The Tracks. I am using Caron Wintuk for the main colour; yarn that I have had in my stash for many, many years that I was going to use for slippers. If anyone does want slippers then I can buy more yarn! The contrast is Plymouth Encore that has been partially used and also been in my stash for a very long time.

I used to knit socks all the time and looking back on Ravelry it seems like 2016 was the last year I seriously knit socks. There wasn’t a conscious decision to stop knitting socks, they just didn’t get cast on anymore. I knit one pair last year as a KAL that I did with three friends and that’s been it. But this year I have been looking at the Sock Knitters Anonymous group to see what the challenges and designers are in case I wanted to join in. I almost managed this in March when I started a mystery sock but the yarn and pattern didn’t work well together. This month the technique is mosaic and/or slipped-stitch colorwork. Well, I have lots of left over sock yarn, surely I can find two that will work together. (Let’s ignore the fact that I really want to use my stash of virgin skeins.) I used the beige leftover from this project and it is interesting to note that at the end of the blog post I wrote that I wanted to turn the left over yarn into socks. I had thought to use all three together but pairing this with a different left over works very well. The other yarn is left over from these socks I made in 2015 and the pattern I am using is Sun Valley Socks.

The fourth project started is the one by the same designer as Banrion. It is another two colour garter stitch asymmetrical shawl with stocking stitch bands. The yarn am using is Plush by Blarney Yarns, a gift, and what is likely La Jolla by Baah. (I was given quite a bit of yarn that did not have labels.)

The 2019 project I am working on is a shawl I started in September. This is not my oldest, or even my second oldest project but I do have reasons for setting those aside. I should take note to not have too many projects that require concentration on the needles at any one time. (Ha! I should just not have too many projects on the needles at any one time.) As this project was only just started – 12 rows – I have given myself two months in which to finish it.

Off The Needles And More On The Needles

At the end of May, I finished three projects. This post could have been titled Sale Yarn, or Second Oldest Project, or Charity Knit, as I finished an item from each of those categories. That had been my goal and I was happy to achieve it. Two of those categories also mean new cast ons but, somehow, I ended up with four!

When I purchased yarn in the sale I was careful to only buy yarn that I had an idea of what I would make. I held true to that premise, apart from the yarn I have (amazingly) just knit. The yarn is Home a bulky weight merino yarn from Madeline Tosh in a variegated pink colour. There were only two skins left and I kept on being drawn back to it although I wondered what I would make with it. The store had a cowl/kerchief pattern that could be made in different weights of yarn and that is what finally made me buy the yarn. I wanted to get this yarn on the needles as soon as possible because I knew without any clear idea of what it should be there was a danger it would sit in stash until I gave it away. The MadMay event was what promoted me to finally get it on the needles. I decided against the pattern I had seen in the store and started a shoulder covering using a mash up of a couple of patterns. And as soon as it was finished I declared that I didn’t like it and cast on a new project from the bind off. I made the Gaptastic cowl which suits the yarn much better. The funny thing is that with all my indecision and restart I didn’t take part in MadMay and forgot to enter my finished item to be eligible for a prize.



The next item finished was my second oldest project, an asymmetrical shawl I started at the end of July last year. The pattern is Banrion, published in Knitty in June last year. I used two yarns that would not seem likely to go together but I wanted to tone one down. One yarn is helping hippos by Lolo Didit, that I purchased as a fund raiser for Houston after the flooding in 2017. It is a grey yarn with flecks of colour. The other yarn is by Three Irish Girls that I purchased on the LA Yarn Crawl in 2019. It is white with lengths of bright colours. Even after my friend showed me projects knitted with it showing the awful pooling and flashing I went ahead with the purchase. Of course, I didn’t want to make anything with it and it be awful, so it was relief? delight? when I saw the Banrion pattern and knew it would work for my yarns. A couple of people expressed surprise that I was not using the white as the main colour so that the cables would stand out but I really wanted that yarn to retreat and I think I achieved that. I wasn't sure about blocking the finished project as sometimes the squidgyness of garter stitch can be lost when it was soaked plus both the yarns had bright dyes. In the end I did soak it and there were no problems with colour running and I laid it out flat to dry - no stretching or pinning. I'm glad that I did this as it really improved the cables which are based on slip stitches.



The third item finished was a hat I crocheted for charity and I shall show that when I show my charity makes.

Having finished those three things, what should have happened next was to choose a 2019 pattern to work on (check), start a new project with the sale yarn (check), start a hat for charity (check), and not also cast on socks using left over yarn and start another shawl by the same designer as Banrion. Obviously my ideal number of WIPs and actual number of WIPs bear no relation to each other.

Are Sweaters Knitted From The Top Down A Bad Idea?

Yes, according to two popular designers and YouTubers. I watched their video as I was interested in what they had to say. Although there has been plenty of disagreement with what they had to say, early into the video they say “if it has been badly constructed”. But not enough was said throughout the video that not all knitted from the top down garments are created equal. I agree that the myth that top down sweaters are easier to try on for fit is just as much nonsense as toe up socks are easier to try on for fit.

Firstly, an unfinished garment does not have the same fit as a finished one and a top down garment will lack the weight of the finished item to judge fit. With either construction you can try on to see if it is too small or too big but the just right factor will be a little more elusive. I disagree that short rows are not necessary – as the back of the sweater will automatically adjust to be higher – this doesn’t happen. Is it a female thing? Anyway, there is nothing wrong with adding short rows to produce a good fitting garment.

The video goes on to explain the problems with top down sweaters, especially around the armholes but didn’t explain what the problem really is – hint – top down sweaters aren’t to blame.

The issue could be with the designer or knitter or both. Yes, dear knitter, it could be you. What happens if you get stitch gauge but not row gauge? Ignore it and carry on. That’s fine for patterns with no shaping and say work to a certain length but what about those items with regular increases or decreases? Suddenly your item is a weird shape. So with a raglan sleeve where the designer has decided that the increases should be every inch and the gauge is 28 rows, the increases would be carried out every 7 rows but if your gauge is 24 rows and you increased every seventh row, your increases would be more than 1-inch apart and your increase area would be longer.

Did you swatch? Truthfully? And you soaked and blocked it? So how on earth do you know if you’re anywhere near gauge or if you like the fabric? Are you prepared to rip out and start again? Having said that, gauge swatches do not tell the full story.

You’ve done your work, has the designer done theirs? How does the item look in pattern photos? Any areas covered up, model standing in a strange way, some parts not shown? These will hide a poorly fitting garment. Look closely, is this a style you will wear or do you just want to knit it or think it will be fine once it’s finished? There is nothing wrong with knitting something just because, just know that in advance.

Surely if the pattern has been published it must be OK. Um, no. How many patterns are there for oversized sweaters? Whether slightly loose or really baggy or the designs where you raise your arm and the body of the sweater rides up. Is this intentional or lazy designing. I feel that there are too many patterns out there that are written by knitters not designers. They understand their own body but cannot adapt for other sizes.

Also a published pattern does not mean a well written pattern. Has it been test knitted or tech edited.

So, no, sweaters knitted from the top down are not inherently bad but poor design is.