The wonderful world of computers
I think the word to describe my state is “nonplussed”. I’ve been using my iPad for so long that I’ve forgotten many simple procedures on the computer. My husband gave me his old Macbook Pro and it works well, but in some ways the iPad is simpler, or I was just used to it. I was hoping that for editing my blog posts the computer would make things easier but so far I’m not so sure. Dave keeps laughing at me as I ask him for help finding things on the computer and changing the keyboard language, etc. It’s a bit discouraging, but I’m sure it will eventually become clear.
Quick Garden Update
I’ve largely put the garden to bed, I guess, although there are lots of things I could still do. I haven’t deadheaded too many things, except the obedient plant, which is a wild spreader if you don’t try to curb it a little. I do need to do one more mowing and lots more raking, but I’ve done most of the hard work. The weather has suddenly gotten quite cold so finally things are dying back, but I haven’t cut the hostas, the peonies, or anything else much. That will do for now. On to knitting! For you gardeners, I apologize, but I did warn you this was turning into a knitting blog!
Stranded stresses
I have been concentrating a lot on my knitting projects, mostly the Birkin sweater (a Caitlin Hunter pattern), which has been a challenge and no mistake! I have had lots of problems with the gauge, first with the neckline, where the gauge was too loose, i.e. 6 spi instead of 6.5 spi (stitches per inch). That might not sound like much, but over the whole circumference of the sweater it actually makes a difference of over 3 inches at the bust line. Instead of trying to get the required gauge of 26 stitches per 4 inches (10 cm), I decided to work the body of the sweater, after the colourwork section, to the size Medium. That would only work if I was getting at least 24 stitches per 4 inches, and with my 3.75 mm needles I was only getting 23 after a couple of inches below the colourwork. So, frogging back to just below the sleeve division, I switched to a 3.25mm needle. I think this might just work. I really like this yarn, Brooklyn Tweed Loft, at a gauge of 24 (or 6 spi). I’m pretty sure a gauge of 6.5 would not have the nicest drape. (Update: after knitting a couple of inches, I measured, and sure enough, I made gauge at 6 spi! Not the gauge required by the pattern, but the gauge I was hoping for.)
Thus, the neckline was knitted in size L with a 3.75mm needle, then the colourwork was mostly knitted on a 4.5mm to get the gauge loose enough to look not bunchy and to fit around my shoulders. Now I’ve got the number of stitches on the needle required by size M and I’m knitting with a 3.25mm needle. I guess the upshot is that I’m a looser knitter than I thought– when knitting straight stockinette in the round while watching Netflix.
Now it’s a matter of going round and round and round until I reach the desired length, doing the ribbing and binding off, then the sleeves. All very ordinary knitting. I hope I can keep the motivation going to finish it before Christmas! In the meantime I have many other projects either on needles or in my queue.
First of many is the Hearth Slippers by Dianna Walla. I have been enjoying this quick knit using Briggs & Little, “Tuffy”, in two colourways, a denim and a light grey. The third colour is a Harrisville Designs Highland worsted in the Lady Slipper colourway, a lovely pink. I’m taking a class at Espace Tricot with Naomi, who is a very knowledgeable knitter, and who just completed a Master’s in knitwear design (or similar) in Scotland. I mostly chose to take the class for the fun of taking a class with my friend, Linda. I didn’t expect to learn many new things, since I’ve done quite a few colourwork projects, but I was, of course, pleasantly surprised.
Naomi sent us an email with a few links to check out, one of which is a video by Dianna Walla herself (a Montreal designer, btw!), all about stranded knitting. I was fascinated by the way she holds her yarn when stranding. She holds two yarns in her left hand, continental style. I’ve seen that method before, and I’ve always thought it looked really smooth and elegant, and especially so in Dianna’s video. Now I’m determined to learn it. This slipper project is a great place to practice a new technique, since it’s small, and any gauge issues can be dealt with by frogging back.With only 48 stitches on the needles it’s not so heart-breaking! I’m really getting the hang of it and, wonder of wonders, it’s helping my tension! It seems to keep things loose without having to try. Naomi suggested it might be because continental style tends to be looser in general, which makes sense. Holding one strand in my right hand and one in the left seems to create issues with some stitches being very tight, and I’m always having to stop to stretch out the fabric. I’m enjoying getting better at this new technique. Fingers crossed (pun intended), this will make things faster and more even.
After watching Dianna’s video on stranding I decided to keep going and watch one of her other videos, on Norwegian wool. Also very informative and well done. She’s very articulate and explains things intelligently. I’m now quite intrigued by Norwegian wool and I’d love to try knitting with it. It’s supposed to be particularly good for stranded knitting (aka any knitting involving more than one strand of yarn at a time) The more I learn about the different properties of wool the more I’m interested in knitting with yarns that are less processed, and keeping away from superwash as much as possible. I will probably still use it for socks and baby clothes, but otherwise, it seems like a poor cousin to “woolly wools”, which have the advantage of a certain amount of hardiness, but will eventually break down harmlessly into the environment. I like that idea in this day and age! I believe you can even use some non-superwash wool for socks and, if knitted at a tight gauge, they will last almost as long. I need to do some more research. There are also some other processes that aren’t so harmful to the environment and result in washable fabrics. Tanis Fibre Arts Purewash comes to mind.
Anyway, check out Dianna’s channel, her videos are well worth the time spent. She doesn’t have many, so it won’t take so long to get through them. I hope she does more in the future.
Well, that’s enough for now. I’ve been learning to navigate WordPress on my computer again while writing this post and I’m sure I’ll continue to get more comfortable.
Please enjoy the following music video, produced by my daughter, Erica Lee Martin. It’s one of the songs included in her new album, Out of the Playground, easily found if you search for it on iTunes, Band Camp, Sound cloud, and Spotify. I think it has the potential for being a feminist anthem! It’s called RBF…
I love to hear from you!