No podcast next weekend as I’ll be away at the Greenman music festival in Wales – sorry! However, this week’s show is extra-long to make up for it, and I’ll be back the following weekend.

Spitalfields Market, Prick Your Finger, Fabrications, Albion, Geffrye Museum, The Book Club, Commercial Tavern, Callooh Callay

Kirby’s Epic Yarn

Knit Circus

Hoxton Handmade Posterous – knitting patterns

Crimes against knitting #3, #2, #1

So here’s a snapshot of all the wonderful things going on at this event. And if that wasn’t enough, there’s also a look at the new edition of Twist Collective and a pattern book fit for a princess.

Cookie A, Alice Yu – Socktopus, Beth Brown-Reinsel, Shirley Paden

Knitting Magazine, Woolly Wormhead, Bothered Owl, Wollmeise, Loop, Wild Fibers, Qiviuk, Ysolda

Twist Collective Fall 2010

Fairytale Knits

Though in reality the colour has a little more green in it. I also had a chat with some lovely fibre folk at the Qiviuk stand, stroking skeins of the softest yarn around.

But I couldn’t stay for long as it was soon time for the Ravelry Talk with Jess and Casey. They told us all about the origins of the site, what kept them going, and how it’s grown. Did you know there are currently 3,500,000 projects listed on Ravelry?!!

Jess and Casey were funny and charming and, of course, we mustn’t forget Bob who, although not there in person, was featured in many a story and slide:

They’re heading up to Leeds and Scotland shortly, for more meet-ups and fibre events. Meanwhile, I’m getting on with editing all the material I’ve recorded and putting together the podcast. I hope it won’t take too long, although the episode may go up a day or two later than usual, with more info and links to a whole host of knitterly delights. Watch this space…

The marketplace opened with a preview at 5pm. Sadly I was still at my desk then and couldn’t get over to Kensington in time, but I arrived at about 6.30pm to find things a little quieter after the initial frenzy, most of which could be put down to the Wollmeise.

As it’s rarely available outside Germany, people were eager to get their hands on a skein (or twelve). But as you can see, there was plenty to go around (although the laceweight went pretty quickly).

I can attest the colours are spectacular and so glossy and saturated it’s hard to believe it’s just merino. But there are so many other yarn stalls to drool over, with different fibres and colours, it’s a knitters dream.

I headed around the stalls, interviewing various lovely folk for the podcast, including Knitting Magazine, Loop, Woolly Wormhead and fellow Twitterer 1mgoldstars. I also said hello to the friendly Bothered Owl at their very colourful stall:

With their fabulous lego stitch markers proving as popular as ever, though some were a little perturbed by all those tiny heads:

Then I had a lovely chat with Ravelry’s Jess, and Ysolda.

Ysolda’s stall is beautifully laid out with samples of her patterns for people to try on. They also have a brilliant photo booth set up, which prints a picture of you in a favourite sample for you to take home! I think it’s also going to be used at the Ravelry party on Saturday. Ysolda’s new sweater patterns are there and I for one can’t wait til they’re published in the autumn. Here’s a snap of Ysolda and I in two gorgeous cardigans. (Sorry, no scanner so it’s a photo of a photo, and therefore a little grainy plus, of course, our heads aren’t missing in the original!)

So everyone’s having a marvellous time and it’s all going very well. Testament to a lot of planning and preparation from Alice and all her helpers. I’ll be back there tomorrow, and posting more on here and Twitter!

I hope you’ve got your tickets booked, your yarn budget at the ready and your elbows sharpened for the Wollmeise stand – Knit Nation is this weekend!

The Sheep and I will be there tomorrow evening for the market preview, so please do stop and say hello to the slightly crazed person waving a microphone.

I’ve spent a lovely afternoon having tea with the fabulous Alice and Cookie who’ve organised the whole thing, and the wonderful knitters who will be teaching the classes. Plus the talented Ysolda Teague who will have a stand in the market, and Casey and Jess from Ravelry who will be giving a talk on the Friday night.

You can never have too much tea...

I confess I was a little star-struck by so many knitting legends at one table, but they were all lovely.

Cake. Serious cake.

From the tea flavoured with pear and caramel, to the delicate finger sandwiches, to the scones with clotted cream, the cakes and a glass of champagne, it was an afternoon of decadent delights, in excellent company, and my thanks to Alice and Cookie for inviting me along.

Now I can’t wait to enjoy Knit Nation itself, and hopefully speak to them all for the podcast over the course of the weekend!

If you use Twitter, you can use the hashtag #knitnation to keep up with who else is going, hear about classes and events, and no doubt share the joy of yarn purchases.

Nuurdy Girl podcast

Voolenvine Yarngasm podcast

Artists Palette Yarns – Cloud

Fiber Beat – Brooklyn Tweed interview

Newport video

In Praise of Slow by Carl Honore

Patterns (all Ravelry links): Fireside Sweater, Bliss, Cable Luxe Tunic, Georgie, Sylvi, Kelmscott, Sabbatical, Featherweight Cardigan, Grannie Smith Cardigan

Stitched Selves

Interweave Knits Fall 2010

Old Spice original ad

Old Spice ad – George Stephanopoulos

The fabulous Deadly Knitshade wrote a knitting pattern, so I figured, how hard could it be to make? Fiddly perhaps, but easier than a full-size garment.

WRONG!

Well actually no, not entirely wrong. I mean, there’s really nothing that difficult about it and the pattern is very good and then there’s loads of space for you to make it your own. But it’s so small. And fiddly. And needs so many little bits and ends to weave in and-

Ok enough. Cos I know all you really want to see is how it turned out….

A very woolly Hoxton

Ironically, as in life, I look at Mini-Me and all I see are the things wrong with her. Or rather not-quite-right about her.

Firstly, she doesn’t really look like me. Well I suppose the hair helps. And the gangly limbs are definitely me. The clothing is made up of yarn with which I have knitted myself things, but it’s not an actual outfit I own. The top is also a bit rubbish and she has no shoes. The headphones kind of look like an alice band. And the microphone could be an ice cream or a pencil, but hey, you get the idea, right? On the plus side, the grey jeans are pretty accurate.

So I shall stop moaning, and cursing, and gnashing my teeth (isn’t gnashing a great word?) and try to enjoy my mini-podcaster.

Whether she’s having a sit-down after one gin too many:

Or eagerly podcasting knitting goodies with the Sheep:

For more fantastic Stitched Selves, check out the Flickr group.

On this week’s show, we take a look at the magic and power of colour, and how they’re often taken for granted. We’ve also got a run down of the best jumper patterns for beginner knitters embarking on their first garment, and there’s even a video that combines the wonders of Fraggle Rock with knitting.

In other news, this episode will mark the end of series three. I’ll be taking a brief sabbatical for about six weeks, but fear not the Sheep will return! Probably sometime round the middle of July. Watch this space…

First time jumpers: Top-down raglan; Elizabeth Zimmerman sweater ‘recipe’; Cobblestone; Owls; Oatmeal; Jawbreaker; Minimalist; Debbie Bliss baby patterns – Boat Neck Sweater.

Texere

Knit Nation

Crafty Crafty – Fraggle Rock knitting song

I’m devouring the complexities of the Tudor court in Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall at present. Excellent stuff, although quite densely written. It’s beautiful though and well worth the concentration.

But I’m already looking around for the next book. (That’s a lie actually, I’m always looking for the next book) and a quick glance in Waterstones today made me almost yelp with excitement when I saw that the new David Mitchell book is out. Cloud Atlas is one of the most original and brilliant things I’ve ever read, so I can’t wait to try The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. It’s set in eighteenth century Japan and it has the most beautiful cover. (I don’t care what the proverbs say, I always judge a book by its cover. Amazon doesn’t really do this one justice, it’s the kind where they’ve printed on the board of the hardback and it has touches of gold and it’s really very pretty).

I also spotted Scarlett Thomas’s new book. I’ve enjoyed her previous titles, Pop Co and The End of Mr Y, even though they occasionally made my brain ache with their clever use of maths, codes, and alternate realities, and this time round she appears to be encompassing time travel, so I was looking forward to Our Tragic Universe anyway. But a read of the back cover made me realise I was going to have to read it, since the blurb mentions ‘a knitting pattern for the shape of the universe’. I mean, that must require one hell of a chart. And possibly some four-dimensional knitwear.  My mind is boggling already….

Do you know any other books that have managed to sneak some knitting in there?

Behold, my newly re-vamped table, thanks to this lovely article by Will Taylor. You may already be familiar with his fabulous interior design blog Bright Bazaar but, if not, I urge you to take a look.

Will’s original project used a new but plain dining table from Ikea. I had a rather different starting point – a very battered, slightly wonky and rather old-fashioned looking table.

Mmm, don’t you just love that dark shiny varnish. I’d been toying with painting it for a while, but Will’s version presented a bit more of an exciting prospect.

So, first off, paint. I used the same paint that is on all the interior doors of my flat, partly to help the colours blend in a small space but mainly because I already had the paint so it would save some cash. It’s a satin finish wood paint from Dulux in a pretty duck-egg blue.

Now for the fun part. As Will points out, it’s easy to order or pick up wallpaper samples from all sorts of places. I went for a couple of posh purveyors of fine wallcoverings, on the basis that they would probably have some of the most interesting designs and colours, printed on good quality, thick paper. Both Little Green and Farrow & Ball allow you to order 5 or 6 A4 samples online for free.

The hardest part was finding the right colours. I didn’t want anything too pale and liked the idea of some stronger patterns as it was a small surface area. My living room is mostly blue, beige and brown, and I quite fancied some darker earth tones to balance out the blue of the table, but most of the ones they had were either too light or clashed with the duck-egg shade. So I ended up using more blue tones that I anticipated. But overall I’m really pleased with the ones I chose.

As you can see, the table top has a crack all the way down on one side, and papering over it wasn’t an option as the wood ‘gives’ when you put anything heavy in the middle, so I divided the area into three columns. The two on the outer edge are the same width, with the central one slightly wider.

Once I’d glued them all down with some PVA, I covered the whole thing in a couple of coats of matte decorators’ varnish. My application of this wasn’t brilliant as it made some of the paper bubble slightly. And I might need to re-apply a bit of glue in a couple of corners. But with such a rickety old table I was free to experiment without worrying about ruining it. Now that I’ve done it once I’d love to try the technique again.

But for now, I’m happy with the table, adding a little character and colour to my teatime.

Hunterian Museum

Stitch London

Simple Knitting – Erika Knight

Super Extreme Mega History Heroes

Fuzzy Ink

Alas, poor Yorick...

I’ve been to Paris a couple of times before and done the Mona Lisa, Eiffel Tower etc, so our one concession to the tourist trail was another walk around Notre Dame – got to be done, right? Although we actually preferred St Eustache (which was also a lot less crowded!)

And although the weather wasn’t that great, the city still looked beautiful.

We even managed to spot a couple of excellent beards….

Is it me, or is he a dead ringer for Asterix?

This, of course, is Damson, another winner from Ysolda Teague. A beautiful, simple (in the best sense) pattern, it has a generous curve to the ‘wings’ making it sit comfortably on the shoulders. It’s therefore much easier to wear as an actual shawl than many patterns, without making you look like you’re auditioning for the chorus of The Fiddler On The Roof.

I’ve made one before, in Inca Mist baby alpaca for my mum on Mothers’ Day:

The alpaca drapes beautifully and gives it enough weight to stay put. And of course it’s soft and fluffy and just the thing to keep a mum cosy.

I knitted mine in the oh-so-delicious Sweet Feet from Artists’ Palette Yarns. It’s a blend of 80% superwash merino and 20% bamboo, which gives it a lovely drape and a light and airy touch. It’s a slightly thicker sock yarn compared to some and knits up into a wonderfully smooshy fabric, especially in garter stitch.  I’m sure it would make a fabulous pair of socks, but I’d much rather have it snuggled around my neck and shoulders, with the beautiful colours on display.

I went for an understated shade this time, so that I can easily wear it with some of my brightly coloured party dresses to keep off the evening chill. Perfect for my cousin’s wedding this weekend!

The yarn is the beautiful Wellington Sock Yarn from The Thylacine; A jeweled sock yarn made from superwash merino with 25% nylon, which gives it a lovely crisp, cool feel, and excellent stitch definition. The colour is a little more green than the picture implies, and not quite as uniform, ranging from a rich emerald to a deep teal.

The pattern has turned out really well, although I found it a bit more complicated to follow than Ishbel. It’s not massively complex, but the written directions for the lace involve a wider repeat, so I found it harder to get into the swing of it at first. The pattern includes charts, but I often have trouble following charts.

I just followed the basic instructions for the smaller size, but it’s easy to make a bigger shawl by doing a larger stockinette section or more repeats of Chart A. It blocks out really well into a soft curve, with gentle points along the edging, and it has a much wider ‘wingspan’ than Ishbel, so it’s perfect for wearing as a scarf as it’s easily long enough to wrap around your neck and stay in place.

I had some yarn left over, so if I make this again, I think I’ll do at least one more repeat of Chart A. But I love this shawl and look forward to taking it on my travels…

Head over to the spooky wonders of the Hunterian Museum for a very special evening of crafty goodness. The Stitchettes from Stitch London will be on hand to teach folk how to get their knit on; you can try your hand at weaving and spinning; and create your own sewn cards. There’ll even be surgeons to show you the secrets of the operating theatre and how to suture – suddenly making up and seaming that cardigan has become a lot more interesting.

I’m looking forward to it and will be there with the Sheep in tow. So come along, say hello, and you can be part of the next episode of the podcast!*

The whole event is free, though it’s probably going to be busy, so I’d head over there early to avoid disappointment, and sign up for the how-to events.

Now, where did I put that surgical kit…

*Podcast participation is not obligatory. Although I will be waving a microphone around and chatting to folk, you won’t be recorded if you don’t want to be. But it’s not scary, I promise. Well, not as scary as those pickled things in jars behind you over there….

'Daisy, daisy, give me your answer do....'

Indeed, this is Daisy, by Kim Hargreaves from her pattern book Breeze. This version is knitted in Ethical Twist - a yummy blend of wool and alpaca that really makes the seed stitch pop.

The little pockets and the cast-on edge of the sleeves is in Inca Mist baby alpaca. The pockets are possibly the most pointless thing in a garment ever (unless you need to carry around a 50p piece, or a single piece of chewing gum, or a stowaway from Lilliput) and they were very fiddly to sew into place. But I love them anyway.

I made the smallest size, which for once has turned out as intended and is nicely fitted. The yarn is lush, so hopefully this is only the first of many Ethical Twist knits.

Flaming Lips – Yeah Yeah Yeah Song

Knit Nation – www.knitnation.co.uk (see previous post)

Surfing sheep

Farrah sweater

A knitting show fit for a Queen

Celebrating knitting, crochet and spinning, there will be classes from world-renowned instructors such as Nancy Bush, Anne Hanson, Judith MacKenzie McCuin, Clara Parkes, and Shirley Paden covering everything from how to crochet or how to spin to more advanced design topics.

The marketplace will feature fibre artisans including the coveted Wollmeise, American Blue Sky Alpacas, Canadian Qiviuk and European indie dyers such as Fyberspates, Old Maiden Aunt, Skein Queen, Renaissance dyers, alongside local London yarn shops and Scottish designer / internet phenomenon Ysolda Teague.

If that’s not enough, an after-hours Saturday night Ravelry party will be the perfect opportunity to hang out with fellow fibre fiends and compare your treasured yarn booty. I expect the odd cocktail may be in the offing as well.

It all takes place 29th-31st July at Imperial College in South Kensington, a few steps away from the beloved Victoria & Albert Museum. You can find all the info you need and purchase tickets at www.knitnation.co.uk

As for me, well I’ve started saving the pennies so that I can head on over there and treat myself to some yarn goodies. I’m also planning on podcasting from the event. Yes indeed, the Sheep will be very much out and about and hoping to say hello to all of you. Watch this space for more info…

Stitched Up is a free event for anyone going along to the V&A this Friday evening, where you can join the gals from Tea & Make and do some crafty stitching with a free kit to make a rosette, join the garden party,  and create your own monster finger puppet with which to terrorise the neighbour’s cat. With all sorts of craft-based arts, DJs spinning their stuff, and the wonderful new quilting exhibition that’s on at the moment, I highly recommend you follow in the footsteps of Steeking and Knit Picks, and get yourself down the Cromwell Road. Who knows, maybe they’ll even let you take your knitting in…

Interweave Summer 2010

Artists Palette Yarns

Norberta

Albie the Racist Dragon – Flight of the Conchords

Plus we take a look at some non-sweater, non-sock patterns. Perfect for knitting gratification and something a little lighter for the fine weather. And I tell you all about what’s been on my needles lately.

The Natural History Museum

Wildlife Photography Exhibition

All the patterns I mention can be found in Ravelry.

This week, the Sheep takes over the intro with a special re-mix of the theme tune and a selection of his favourite moments from the past 43 episodes.You have been warned.

Plus we have our first Skype interview with the fabulous Woolly Wormhead.

There’s the new edition of Knitty to explore; a UK yarn review; some questions for the Sheep; an advert that gets it right with guerrilla knitting; and the wonders of the K Factor.

Breeze – Kim Hargreaves

Ethical Twist

Alpaca surfer

A very lovely listener wrote to the Pods and Blogs show on BBC Radio 5 Live, recommending they check out Electric Sheep.  They duly did so and then got in touch asking if they could interview me.  So I had a great chat with the charming Jamillah on Monday evening.  The show is, obviously, all about the online community of bloggers, podcasters and journalists, so our discussion focused on that side of things in particular.  You can hear the interview as part of the latest episode, which is available to play or download for the next 7 days only – so grab it while you can! I’m the final segment, in the last six minutes or so, but the rest of the show is well worth a listen too!

You can find Pods and Blogs over here.

And thank you again to the listener who took the time and trouble to contact them.  See, without you guys I’m just a crazy lady talking to a sheep…

Twisted Woolly Toppers

Make Do & Knit

Cheer Up Ireland – Ravelry discussion thread

Interweave Knits Spring 2010

Hidden Eloise has the whole story on her blog (including recent developments not mentioned in the podcast)

Perri Lewis investigates -  Her blog with links and comments & in The Guardian looking at copyright issues for independent designers.

See the previous post for the Daily Mail’s idiotic article on knitting. (And my rant about it).

The (New) Daily Mail Oncological Ontology Project

Daily Mail o-matic

The Beard Cage

The Best Beards. Ever.

Published in the Daily Mail’s ‘Femail’ section (I know, I know, where to begin? But I’m focusing my energies on one crime against language/women/journalism at a time) and entitled KNITTING IN PUBS (their caps), it’s a brief puff piece about the ‘new trend’ of knitting.  They talk about Stitch ‘n’ Bitch meetings being the ‘new book clubs for the middle classes’ (which I can’t begin to understand) and do the old lines about Sex And The City and girls sitting around drinking cosmos.  They then quote a few bits from the Stitch ‘n’ Bitch London website, and that’s about it. If you want to read the whole thing, look over here.

It turns out they did actually contact the London Stitchettes for the article, though you’d never know it,  identifying themselves only as a national newspaper and asking some fairly poor questions.

So I was infuriated with the whole piece and posted a comment to say so. Trying to recall it verbatim is tricky, but essentially I said that I thought it was a lazy and patronising piece of journalism. I asked if the author had read their own article, since describing something from 2003 as a ‘new trend’ hardly gave the impression they had their fingers on the pulse of the Zeitgeist. I pointed out that men knit too. And, in an attempt to deflect accusations of taking it too seriously or sounding crazy, I said that myself and other knitters would be enraged at this misrepresentation of a craft we love if we weren’t so busy laughing at it.

I didn’t swear, I didn’t threaten anyone. The journalist is anonymous, so I wasn’t personally attacking them.  I was rude about the writing, but this is a newspaper and as a piece of journalism it was shoddy work. Not only was it lazy and patronising but it was inaccurate as well.

But this is the Daily Mail; a paper hardly worthy of being used for cat litter.  So it’s no wonder that two hours later there is no sign of my comment underneath the article. There is, however, a comment calling knitters ‘losers’.

Which leaves me to vent my aggravated spleen here instead.  I realise I’m preaching to the converted, but knitting is not just for women; or celebs; or wannabe cosmo drinking little girls with nothing better to do.  It’s popularity has grown but it’s not some trend that’s suddenly sprung up out of nowhere.  And it encompasses so many different types of people and purpose that are wholly unacknowledged in daft articles like these.  It’s just another cut and paste job from the hundreds of similar pieces that have cropped over the years.

I understand that the Stitchettes may post a comment of their own (quite right too, since they specifically have been misrepresented).  I doubt it will make much difference, but I hope it makes them feel a little better.

And now I’m off for a cup of tea and a calm down….

ETA:

It seems they have also rejected/blocked/censored the SnB London comment, which was carefully crafted and also non-sweary. Sigh. However a couple of other folks have got through with a positive comment on knitting, and the comment calling knitters ‘losers’ has been ‘disagreed’ 65 times.

Dwarven Beard Bonnet - Ravelry

Night Safari - Natural History Museum

Rowan – Magazine 47

Ukulele Lady – Kermit

Rocky & Balls – Beard Song

Little boy plays I’m Yours

Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain – Smells Like Teen Spirit

Ukulele Orchestra of New Zealand – Hey Ya

Frank Skinner’s George Formby tribute – Osama Bin Laden

Jake Shimabukuro – While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Ukehunt

Mighty Ukulele

Ukulele Tabs

Sophie Madeleine

Rehab – Amy Winehouse

Make! – Cath Kidston

David Cameron gets the Stitch and Bitch treatment

Malcolm Tucker ad generator

The Demon Sheep

I’ll post the You Tube ukulele videos in a separate post shortly.

The Sisters get to grips with the Knit

Shoreditch Sisters

Makepiece

The Sisters model some of the Makepiece knitted loveliness

Knitscene

Unhappy Hipsters

The Socks

Pretty painless, all things considered. I used the Tidepool Socks pattern, which was fine except I made the foot 1/4” longer and used a three-needle cast off on the inside, instead of grafting.

On a practical level, I have nothing against socks, hell I may even make another pair sometime. But despite the fun part of turning a heel, I’m still not really that fussed by them. Too many other things I’d rather be knitting.

Vodafone yarnstorm advert

T-Mobile Josh’s Superband

T-Mobile Flash Dance advert

The Yarn Yard

Fyberspates

Platea

Knitters Without Borders

Knitty Nora podcast

Yarns From the Plains podcast

The Sheep on Twitter

More info over here. Looks to be full of useful info, so an added bonus to the weekend papers! Just remember my warnings about DIY…

[Editor's note: I am not affiliated to the Guardian, nor have they offered payment - in money, Malabrigo or Battenburg - in exchange for promoting their stuff. I just thought it looked cool.]

The Sheep is back, with a New Year’s resolution; the warmest knitting out there; and the fabulous nominations for the Bobby Awards on Ravelry.  So tune in, grab your needles, and hunker down against the freezing temperatures.

Venezia

Venezia Two-colour version

Winter Warmers:

Cobblestone; Central Park Hoodie; Owls; Mr Darcy; Sylvi; Heather Hoodie Vest; Vihervaara; Thermal

Bobby Awards: Most Unusual Project

Elf Yourself - from Michelle

Total Eclipse of the Heart (Literal video) – from Camille

And a few of the other entries (which were all brilliant, I’ve just selected a few at random):

Jill & Kevin’s wedding dance

Rachel Denny, Domestic Trophies

Beaker sings Ode To Joy

The  Muppets sing Bohemian Rhapsody

Neuticles

Save the Bunny

Awkward Family Photos

A bumper episode as we stage our very own audio panto in Hoxton (with a little help from you lot). Plus there’s Knitty Winter 09; the winners of the yarn competition; planning your selfish knitting for the New Year; and the ukulele makes a Christmas come-back.

With season’s greetings, festive wishes and a very large mince pie, I hope you enjoy!

(Ed: Links to the entries for the yarn comp will follow)

Electric Sheep survey

Kim Hargreaves

Rowan free patterns

Beardsong

My conversation with Susan on the Knitajourney podcast

Interweave Knits Winter 09

Folksy

Folksy – Treaclezoo

Thank you!

Click here for the survey

The V&A

Gold Heart Brooch

Military Quilt

Christopher Dresser Teapot

Twist Collective

Mitaines & Moufles

Orvokki

Tanit’s Jacket

Ormolu

Kelmscott

Interweave Knits Accessories

Which still needs blocking but is done in plenty of time for Christmas. But I thought it was the perfect pattern to adapt for a spidey-sensed superhero:

Almost finished, and hopefully this will be a Spiderman Scarf for my nephew.

And if you followed my mitten obsession over on Twitter, you’ll know all about these:

The fabulous Mitaines & Moufles from Veronik Avery in the new Twist collective. Some seriously yummy mittens coming up…

Wool & The Gang

Keep & Share

Fifteen

Kim Hargreaves

Fiber Beat

Knitmore Girls

Rowan

Threadbanger

Yes, as mentioned last week, I have joined the masses and made myself an Ishbel in Malabrigo lace. This is the small version. I read on Ravelry that it’s possible to make it using one skein of Malabrigo if you follow the large size for the stockinette section and the small for the lace. But the overall size of the small version was just right for me, so I’ll have to find another use for the yarn I have left over. This is the softest thing I have ever owned and is therefore a little delicate and already turning into teddybear fur. But it’s brilliant for keeping cosy in the cold.

Then we have The Beast:

Grrr...

Yes this is my Cobblestone, by the excellent Jared Flood. I made the smallest men’s size in Texere’s Troon Tweed. It’s big, it’s warm, and in an emergency I could probably camp in it.

Now that I’m armed against the elements, it’s on with the (entirely manageable, non-scary, on schedule) Christmas knitting.

Lewes Bonfire Night procession

Knitajourney

Ysolda Teague

Ishbel

Stephen West

Knit the City – Gate of Ghouls

Plunkett & Macleane – UK trailer – US trailer

Interweave Holiday Knits

The Knitting Raven (Ravelry)

Pride & Prejudice & Zombies

Showtime Challenge video

Cecily’s Fund

Crazy For You soundtrack

Fifteen

The Islington Contemporary Art & Design Fair

Knit On The Net

LRB Personals

So come out and play with the Sheep – but no fisticuffs please….;)

Game Knitting

Star Wars Uncut

Wife of Brian

The Big Knit

Knit the City – BFI

Showtime Challenge – Crazy For You

Let’s Knit!

The scariest knitting pattern in the world

Good enough to eat

A simple recipe, with just a little Rowan Cashmere Tweed and the stitch pattern from the One Row Scarf. Yum.

The horror, the horror....

The poor Cookie Monster who had been cruelly skinned in his prime.

He never saw it coming

So, I beg you to please join with me and put an end to this terrible practice. I’d rather be woken up early by the light of dawn, or get dressed in view of the building across the road, than have to live with curtain like these. Save the Cookie Monster!

A murmuration of starlings

Made In Brooklyn

Manly Lace Scarf

Olive Wheeler

See the previous post for info on the Hat

The Winters Tale was reviewed in The Guardian yesterday, accompanied by a very lovely photo of Gwyn sporting his sky blue bobble hat! And the show got four-stars (a kindly work colleague pointing out it must all be down to the hat).

The pic from the Guardian (not mine, I'm just borrowing it)

See the review in full over here. And if you fancy some Shakespeare do try and catch the show as it tours round the country!

Kicking off Series II with a look at inspiration; a rundown of some fab knitting podcasts; the highs (and lows) of Interweave Knits Weekend and a new yarn from Rowan.  Plus we learn that the Force is strong in Tescos and that you don’t have to be able to write to become a publishing phenomenon.

Knitting podcasts (which are all easily found in iTunes):

Forgotten Classics;  Belle of the Ball; Stitch Stud; Knitajourney; Knitting in the Round; The Sassy Sheep; CraftLit,; KIPping It Real; Savvy Girls; Here’s To Ewe; Knitmore Girls; CogKNITive.

Interweave Knits Weekend

Rowan Lima

Jedi in Tescos

Dan Brown’s 20 Worst Sentences

Attempting a different pic this time...

Great pattern, instant gratification, slightly addictive…. Nice.

So here are the Envy Mitts, or rather one of them:

For one snug and toasty left hand

It’s an easy pattern which knits up quickly – I did the pair in a day – and you can find it on the Knittywhipped website over here. Perfect Bank Holiday knitting and now I’m all set for when the weather turns…

Technically, I think this is my first commission, which was exciting but a little daunting. None of my usual fudging, this would have to fit the brief.

There followed a certain amount of debate, emails and links to Rowan’s website as I tried to ascertain what he meant by sky blue and whether he favoured a rustic tweedy texture or something more plain. We were rather taken with the Felted Tweed Chunky but, alas, it doesn’t come in a sky blue. And Gwyn pointed out that, from a distance, the audience would see the colour more than the texture.

I stood in John Lewis for what felt like hours, pondering the options. I liked a lot of the chunky, soft, cosy yarns but the blue was often too grey – more of a stormy sky – or too dark edging into navy, or too purple or too pale. The pressure to pick the right one! The agony of choice!

In the end, I went for the best sky blue I could see, in a trusty ball of Rowan Pure Wool Aran. And this is the result:

Presenting Gwyn with my efforts I was relieved to discover it fit, and that he could wear it as he’d planned (jammed down above his ears). I even had spare wool to pass on for any emergency repairs/bobble re-attachments he might encounter. He later sent me a text message to proclaim the hat ‘f***ing perfect’. I love artists, they have such a delicate way with words.

So the hat (and Gwyn) will now be touring theatres in England, spouting Shakespeare, and adding a dash of sheepy goodness to the proceedings. Good stuff.

They also have wall mounted shelves that look like floating books; and money bank in the shape of a sheep! Brilliant stuff.

The links:

Merlin

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain

Innocent – The Big Knit

Felted Tweed-Tastic

Knitfinder

Frodo Don’t Wear the Ring

Hiphopapotamus vs Rhymenoceros

Here endeth the First Series. But the Sheep will be back on Sunday 20th September, so keep those needles pointy, and in the meantime you can reach me at hoxtonhandmade@gmail.com, or through Ravelry and Twitter.

They’re brilliantly talented musicians and there’s a lot of humour in the show as well. Well worth having a listen. Plus the Proms themselves are pretty fabulous and BBC Radio 3 has most of the concerts available to play for a week after the performance.

Strawberry Swinging Superhero

Whatever you think of their music, that’s a damn cool video. I love the story with the superhero and everything, and it’s so inventive. Brilliant stuff. And just goes to show you should always be wary of giant squirrels….

This week’s links:

Wallace & Gromit – Plus it turns out there’s a whole exhibition with them at the Science Museum!!

Twist Collective – with a few patterns that caught my eye, Peyton; Novak; M’gonigle

Knit the City – Web of Woe

Amanda Palmer and Radiohead show how it’s done

The Christmas patterns (which are all in Ravelry):

One Row Scarf; Wisp; Porom; Icing Swirl Hat; Endpaper Mitts; Chevalier Mittens; Bella’s Mittens; Fetching; Garter Mittens; Minimalist Cardigan; February Lady Sweater; Heather Hoodie Vest; Owls; Every Way Wrap; Coblestone.

Get in touch: hoxtonhandmade@gmail.com

My great-grandparents

This week we remember Harry Patch and enjoy the genius of Blackadder. Plus some impressive facial hair, a look at some new knitting patterns and crafty websites, and a knitted fish or two.

Radiohead – Harry Patch (In Memory Of)

Blackadder II

Blackadder the Third

Blackadder Goes Forth (final scene)

Rowan 46 (via Xtreme Knitting Blog)

Lemmings

Kate Jenkins

Stitch Wars

Crafty dining table

Bright Bazaar

Lovely Lovely

World Beard Championships

Hedgehogs

Beardyman

Interweave Knits

Swing Patrol

Ian’s Shoelace Site

Domestic Sluttery

Melanie Porter chairs

iKnit are helping to organise the action, so head over here for more info. Opened by Banksy (see his fab ‘Grannies’ pic below), it’s a space for graffiti artists of all kinds, and while the graf folk do the walls, knitters are going to storm any object they can find in there. Should be a lot of fun, can’t wait to see the result!

Granny knitters rock

They’ll be setting up a ‘Rock’n'Roll Tiddlywinks’ game where players can win a piece of Lady Luck Rules OK jewellery. The game was a real success at the V&A Village Fete last weekend, check it out -

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ladyluckrulesok/sets/72157621731471415/

And if you and the youngsters are around for the Underage Festival on Sunday, they’ll also be hosting two D.I.Y Fashion Fun tables so you can craft up some festival mementos! They’ll be bringing their Kaleido-Crazy D.I.Y kits so pop in and make some fun rocker jewellery – charm bracelets, cluster earrings, multi dangle necklaces and much more!

And if that wasn’t enough to whet your appetite, there’s also the cupcake and cocktail wielding folk at Urban Cross Stitch who will be in the Queen of Hoxton (hey, isn’t that my title?) from 2pm on Sunday. There’ll be live music, help with designing funky cross stitch creations, games for all and even a rooftop paddling pool. And did I mention the cupcakes? More info to be found here.

So there’s no excuse not to have a craftastic (and caketastic) weekend.

If you’re around for Field Day in Victoria Park on Saturday you can catch them there.

Excellent music to knit by…

From the lastest entries, I’ll be checking out the new Clerkenwell Tales bookshop and the Brouge Belgian bistro in Richmond. Food for thought…

Tea & Sympathy

The UK Tea Council

Eddie Izzard – Tea & Cake or Death?

The Sunday Defensive

The Girl & Dean

Edinburgh Comedy Previews

The podcasts: BBC Friday Night Comedy; This American Life

The books: A Point Of View by Lisa Jardine; Letter From America by Alistair Cooke; Ex Libris and At Large And At Small by Anne Fadiman

Where I’m off to…

Editor’s note: Ah-ha! I’ve discovered I’m the last person to have heard of Girl & Dean (there’s no ‘The’, no wonder Google had trouble tracking them down) so sorry for being slow on the uptake but their website is here should you wish to find out more.

Plus there’s a competition, a handmade film review and a seriously cool bit of yarnstorming.

One And Other

Ravelry – Knitters on the Plinth

Bunny And The Bull

Knit the City

Of course by the time of going to press, the temperature’s back to normal and the rain has started up again, but I guess that only proves the unpredictability of the English climate…

Mad Dogs & Englishmen – Noel Coward

Farah (scroll down to see the sweater)

Bruno in Berlin

The Last Knit

The Jabberwocky

President Obama vs The Fly

Stonehenge

Eddie Izzard – Stonehenge

Malcolm Gladwell – Outliers

BGT – Signature

BGT – George Sampson

Knitty

In celebration of Fathers’ Day, this week it’s all about the boys. I’ll be venting my wrath over gender stereotypes, celebrating some crafty menfolk and taking a look at fellow Men Who Knit. Plus get the lowdown on the subject from the talented Brooklyn Tweed and DudeCraft, who both kindly contributed their thoughts to this week’s show.
With a little more beef than usual, it’s a bumper episode:
Brooklyn Tweed
DudeCraft
Troon Tweed
Lanark Tweed
The Panopticon
iKnit
It’s a Purl, Man
Sticks and String
Look who’s coming…

It’s garter stitch and a very simple lace repeat that even I haven’t managed to mess up:

I only used one ball, leaving me with the second left over.  I also had four balls of Kidsilk Night in my stash from last year.  So I’ve taken a fairly generic Rowan pattern in Kidsilk Haze for the basic measurements/maths but am re-fashioning it as a candy-striped jumper:

Loving how it’s turning out so far and it should be a very warm but very light sweater to bundle into a bag and throw on of a chilly evening.  A pink and sparkly bumble-bee… 

100 Greatest Movie Lines

Then Hanne, which is really hard to photograph and see it properly, but it gives you an idea. This is the mitered corner, fastened with a stitch holder, of all things:

And a vague idea of the front as a whole:

On the whole I’m pretty pleased with both, and they’ve been really useful for the Spring weather, a little warmth around your middle without being overwhelming.

This is in Freedom Spirit in Bliss (confusingly enough!) and a grey Artesano Alpaca. I’m not quite sure how this is going to turn out, but I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt for now.  I should have taken a better photo of the mitered corners but you can see one in the top left of the picture.  Nice and simple knitting, nothing too taxing…

Although I may appear to be joining the bandwagon a little late, I was actually something of an early adopter and made a series of podcasts a few years ago. However they weren’t about knitting and they weren’t hosted by me (rather I was recording some talented friends) so it’s new territory to be the one doing the talking this time!

The basic idea is simply to look at what’s online and what’s in London in the world of knitting. I’m still working out what I want to do with it, so the remit is intentionally a little vague for now. I like to think it’s a bit of an adventure, so we’ll see where we end up.

I’ll still be blogging here, so to keep things simple there’s a separate blog page for the podcast:

www.electricsheep-hoxton.blogspot.com

Or of course you can simply click through the link on the right.

Enjoy, and let me know what you make of it.

Still something of a prototype, so bear with me as I iron out the technical glitches and try to find some interesting stuff to waffle about. Hopefully the sound quality will improve as I get the hang of things.

This first attempt is at least brief – about 20 minutes – so consider it a taster to whet your aural appetite.

To listen, simply click on the subscribe button to the right. You can also download it through iTunes.

Hope you enjoy and please email me your comments and suggestions.

This week’s links:

Hoxton Handmade

Twitter

What Not To Knit

You Knit What

Museum of Kitschy Stitches

It’s beautiful here, but not really a place for knitting. I brought a couple of small projects, but there’s no getting away from the fact that sand, salt and copious quantities of sunscreen are not a good combination with any kind of yarn. On the plus side, I’m doing lots of reading instead (I’m currently enjoying The Secret Scriptures).

So something of a break from the handmade. But sometimes it’s good to step back, do other things, enjoy the company of good friends, knowing that the knitting isn’t going anywhere.

Normal service will resume in a couple of weeks but, for now, the sea is calling….

Yes, the Owls jumper, designed by Kate Davies, in all its glory. Well, most of its glory, it’s kinda tricky to take a photo that best displays the whole jumper when you’re essentially a blind one-armed photographer flying solo.

Project Polar is a resounding success. It’s a great pattern, perfect fit, Rowan Polar is yummy – super warm and soft. And I love how the owls only look like owls if you pay attention. Most people just see a row of buttons, or a bit of a pattern, and then it’s only after you’ve been talking to them for half an hour that they suddenly exclaim in the middle of the conversation ‘oh, they’re owls!’.

I admit, I’m a little concerned at how happy knitting this made me. As each little Plop surfaced, as each little face acquired eyes and a personality (particularly one owl on the back who got a rather wonky right eye, which I decided not to fix and who is therefore now called Wally. Yes, I’ve named one of the owls. Beyond tragic. I’ve reached a whole new level. But I’ve decided it’s only if I start talking to them that I really need to worry…..) I found I couldn’t help but smile.

With doom, gloom, greed and incompetence in every news headline of late, no wonder this pattern has stormed to the top of the Ravelry chart. Sometimes we’re all afraid of the dark. But somehow these little faces always raise a smile. Even if they are a bit on the wonky side….

Anyway, I can’t show you either for the time being, so what else can we talk about? The weather? It’s all gone depressingly tame of late, with not a snowflake in sight.

Given the lack of knitwear, I’ll have to turn to this blog’s other topic of choice, music. I’m currently enjoying Spotify, although I’m still trying to work out why the hell it exists in the first place.

For the uninitiated, you sign up for free, and can then listen to a whole load of music for nothing. It opens in a player that’s set out a bit like iTunes. You can search for artists, albums and songs and there’s a healthy amount of stuff on the site – although it’s better if you have a wishlist, it’s not really geared towards browsing. You can then add whatever you like to your playlist and it’s stored there for you to play as and when you wish. Obviously you can’t save it to play elsewhere, but if you just want music to play at home or the office, then you’re sorted. With my laptop plugged into my stereo I’m discovering just why Robert Plant and Alison Krauss won that Grammy. I’m also trying to work out why the hell anyone cares about Lady Ga Ga (beside her crotch being thrust into our faces at every opportunity and the nuance of her lyrics – ‘I wanna take a ride on your disco stick’, anyone?) or the plethora of 80s synth girls who all seem to wish they were Annie Lennox or Prince or possibly an interesting combination of the two. So far all they’re giving me is the urge to search for Prince’s greatest hits (and lo, here they are with all their B sides in one handy album).

Not sure how it benefits the artists so far, I guess the hope is I’ll go and buy an album after listening, but it’s a good way of finding new gems, or checking out recommendations. The free subscription option does have adverts, but they’re barely 20 seconds long and only crop up about once every 15 minutes – bearable.

It doesn’t seem to have as many features, or the magazine look, of last.fm but it’s an interesting development. With all this music available for free you can, at the very least, create your own radio station-style playlist, and save your pennies for the tracks or albums you’ve thoroughly road-tested and really love. And it’s great to be able to try out new artists beyond iTunes’ measly 20 second soundbite.

So, after all this research, here is stuff wot I listened to (the top half of the list being my preferred soundtrack, the others being curiosity):

Robert Palmer/Alison Krauss
Alela Diane
Ane Brun
Emiliana Torrini
Angus & Julia Stone
Rosie Brown
Sufjan Stevens
Sigure Ros
Glasvegas
Prince
Lily Allen
Lady Ga Ga
La Roux
Little Boots
Ladyhawke

Whatever your musical tastes, I heartily recommend you go forth and Spotify…

For those not on Ravelry, this was the Seamless Hybrid sweater from Elizabeth Zimmerman’s recipe book. And it is a fabulous pattern but good grief you have to be seriously sober, attentive and armed with a very good calculator and possibly a degree in structural engineering. Deciphering her chatty, somewhat vague, instructions is not for the feint of heart, as you discover through the pain of experience that a technique she mentions casually, in passing, in one sentence midway through a paragraph about her children, is actually the foundation of the entire garment, whose neglect will cause the whole thing to morph into either a potato sack or hot water bottle cover. The saving grace is that even though some of the instructions may feel as though your brain is trying to translate Klingon, it actually makes sense once you, to borrow a phrase, just do it (speaking of which, my sister-in-law has recently acquired some Liberty print Nike hightops which are seriously fab). And there is a magic moment when you form the saddle shoulder, knitting and seaming the thing at the same time. The woman knows her stuff.

But it is done. And it is beautiful, even if I do say so myself, in green, jogless stripes. What is even more mind-boggling is that it actually fits my brother. When I have photos I can show you the sweater’s one failing, which is that it doesn’t sit entirely right at the back, as I couldn’t raise the back neck enough (in brief, the shirt yoke across the shoulders raised the back neck, but is based on half the sleeve stitches you started with. Since I was working with a narrower sleeve, I got a narrower shirt yoke. There must be some way to solve this, but it wasn’t a complete disaster and I couldn’t cope with the thought of re-doing the sleeves at this late stage so, with a little stretching next time it’s washed, it should be fine. Something to fix on the next attempt).

Despite the pain, I’d heartily recommend the pattern. Have a quick Google or Ravelry search to get the idea but it’s a fabulously flattering design for men. I’m going to make another at some point but in a block colour and a lighter weight.

Anywho, in other news I have finished Plop, the Owls jumper. Well, Plop and his siblings are entirely done, I’m just finishing the neckline. Then it’ll be a quick wash and he should be good to go. So far Project Polar is looking like a roaring success, but I shouldn’t count my chickens, owls, or poultry in general, at this point. The only problem I’m having is finding buttons. The pattern calls for 32 of them, for the eyes of 16 owls (But of course! I hear you cry). I had thought the simplest thing would be to order them online but all the web-based button shops are full of novelty buttons, or lucky-dip mixed bags of buttons. Nothing close to what I’m looking for, alas. I would have thought the web would be awash with fantastic supplies but it’s all looking very thin on the ground. Let me know if I’ve completely missed a really good UK supplier. I’m probably going to have to trek down to Libertys and hope they have something that will work with enough in stock in those little tubes. Then will come the joy of sewing on 32 bloody buttons onto an owls frickin’ face (just whose bright idea was this, anyway?) at which point I may be less enamoured of our nocturnal pals.

They are damn cute though.

This is part of Project Polar – nothing to do with arctic bear conservation or the weather – a couple of years ago I bought two big bags of Rowan Polar in the sale. It’s lovely stuff – soft, squishy, knits up quickly on 8mm. And yet. For some reason everything I’ve tried to knit with it has been a disaster. I think the main problem is that it’s so floppy. It’s great for hats and scarves but jumpers just seem to become heavy, shapeless sacks. I knit them up, never finish them, or never wear them, and then frog them every few months and try again. Finally, I think I am onto something that might work. This scarf is the same pattern as the giant throw I made a month ago. It still needs blocking to smooth out the kinks from the yarn being knitted into other things so many times, but otherwise it’s done.

This is the Icing Swirl Hat from Ysolda. Great pattern, quick knit, although my gauge was off so I knitted the larger size on bigger needles to get the small size. Two balls of my Christmas stash of Rowan Cashmere Tweed. It’s so soft, drapes beautifully and is incredibly warm. I love all the flecks of colour hidden amidst the brown. The only problem is it’s an awkward weight. It knits up on 6/6.5mm, so it’s too chunky for aran patterns and not chunky enough for most bulky patterns. I’ve got another few skeins and I wanted to make a cowl. The simplest thing might be to just use the yarn over spiral from the hat.

Meanwhile Project Polar continues:

This is Kate Davies’ Owls jumper – named Plop, obviously (see earlier post). I only started this on Monday night so it’s knitting up incredibly quickly on 7mm. I’ve already done the body to the armsyce and half of one sleeve.

I know it looks tiny, but it’s very stretchy and the finished jumper doesn’t have any ease, so it’s meant to be close fitting. My only worry now is that I’m going to run out of wool! I think I might manage it if I use every scrap I can find (after so many froggings there are lots of tiny balls a few metres long lying around so it’s hard to judge how much I’ve actually got). If all else fails there appears to be at least one person on Ravelry who has some they’re willing to sell. I really like the waist shaping on this – it’s done at the back, rather than the sides, which you can just about see here:

Very simple but it makes a nice shape I think. And for those of you wondering what the hell I’m doing with all these when there’s still the Beast to contend with, you’ll have to look over on Ravelry. I’m almost there. Reckon I’ll crack it over the weekend. I just hope it’s going to be big enough….

Since I needed milk and since this kind of weather doesn’t come along often, I decided to have a little walk in the snow with my camera.

My neighbours were already out and some serious snowman construction was underway:

And on my street everyone was stumbling on the icy pavement. But walking in the snow was great – rather like walking through a mound of icing sugar – and my feet sank satisfyingly up to the ankles. Of course I was muffled to the eyeballs in a hat, cowl and scarf, with my fingerless gloves enabling a few quick snaps:

This block of flats is handsome in any case but today it’s looking particularly charming:

There was hardly any traffic on the streets considering it was rush hour and I feared for some of those tiny little tin buckets, weighed down with snow, creeping along the road at about 5mph. It seems others have had the sense not to try and drive today:

I couldn’t believe it but I saw people cycling – or trying to. I just hope they’re not looking for any directions:

Others have decided they’d rather not risk skidding across the road in front of a passing salt truck:

I know almost everything looks better in the snow, but St Leonard’s is the one to beat today I think:

And after a brief hunt, I found the Dickensian lamp I was looking for:

Time for a hot cuppa…

This was the view from my living room at about 7am. Anyone reading this from outside the UK, or anyone who has moved here from afar, will no doubt be puzzled as to what’s going on. Not so much that it is snowing (although that’s rare enough) but our reaction to the snow. London has gone snow-crazy. Allow me to explain.

First of all, it doesn’t snow in London. I mean not proper snow. The last time I remember decent snow was about 2003, when I didn’t have a job, and could therefore spend the morning in the park with a couple of friends building a snowman (oh those productive months after graduation…) but it was pretty shortlived. Before that, I think you’d have to go back almost twenty years to some very cute snapshots of me as a toddler, running around Kew Green after a heavy snowfall.

Second, you have to remember Britain is a nation obsessed with the weather. Given our schizophrenic climate, you really do have to watch weather reports most mornings to keep an eye out for tropical heatwaves in October, heavy snow in April and, of course, the rain. But this is what happens when you’re an island that gets a warm breeze from Spain one minute and arctic winds blowing in from Russia the next.

Thirdly, we don’t handle snow well. Last year there was 1cm of snow in the city (yes, that’s not a typo. 1cm.) and almost all the train services in and out of London ground to a halt. God it’s embarrassing. We’re the nation that produced Shackleton for god’s sake, Captain Scott, Ranulph Fiennes. We’re famous for our Blitz Spirit, our stiff upper lip – we’re meant to be the team you want in a crisis with our cool, calm approach and endless supply of decent tea, but throw a bit of adverse weather at us and we fall to pieces. On the other hand, this all used to be a bit more fun. Go back a few hundred years and the Thames used the freeze over every winter and Londoners could enjoy the fair that popped up in the middle of the icy river. I’m guessing the issues of commuting this morning would be more entertaining if we could all simply skate down the river to work.

Which is why most of the morning news programmes are devoting all their airtime to the weather. And, to give them credit, coming up with some very beautiful pictures of central London. Lambeth Bridge looked amazing with icicles hanging from the wrought iron and glass streetlamps – all very Dickensian. It’s the perfect postcard image, I imagine a lot of tourists are delighted. Hell, I’m loving it. Currently all the airports are closed (fair enough), all London buses are suspended (and no wonder, with a double length ‘bendy-bus’, that the rear end keeps sliding out of control every time they try and turn a corner – whose bright idea were those idiotic things anyway?) and the tube lines are suspended or delayed. So getting into work this morning is going to be fun, I’ll have to take my camera with me.

But for now, I am drinking coffee as it slowly gets a little lighter, watching the snow and thinking of the aptly named Robert Frost.

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though.
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep.
And miles to go before I sleep.
And miles to go before I sleep.

Robert Frost

As the more technologically savvy of you probably already know, blip is a bit like You Tube in that you can post video online, but blip.fm is where you can create your own radio station. You ‘blip’ a song – a bit like a Twitter update really – and others can listen to your station, and add your blips to their playlist and you can do likewise with the other people – what would the word be, exactly? Blipping? God the internet revels in infantile language -anyway, where was I? Right, so you play your favourite music, and listen to others. Which is perfect for me as regular radio stations end up annoying the crap out of me – I hate the adverts, the inane chat from mindless djs, the completely unfunny pranks/jokes/studio banter, and the endlessly repeated playlist of about 10 tracks.

So, from the rolling blips on my screen I’m already sampling a load of bands I’ve never heard of and being reminded of some forgotten classics. Nice.

You’ll find yet another icon on the righthand side of this blog for you to click through to hidden treasures. Don’t say I don’t give you a few new ways to kill some time on your coffee break.

I know, I know. I need to get out more…

The knitting continues apace, just nothing I can show you yet. Bear with me.

So I was thrilled to learn that my childhood love of a nyctophobic baby barn owl called Plop can now be put into my knitting, thanks to Kate Davies and her fabulous Owls jumper. It seems there are also plans afoot to create a knit kit for a children’s version, which would just be too cute, especially as you could give it with a copy of the book.

Only one problem. Yet another project in my queue….

The doc in question was the rather literally titled ‘Why Are Thin People Not Fat?‘ The basic premise was to take a dozen young slender people, who are naturally at the low end of the weight scale, and get them to double their calorie intake for one month to see if it would explain why some people are unaffected by the so-called obesity epidemic.

To explain my fascination with this subject, I am thin. I have always been thin. I am also fairly tall and I have very long arms and legs which make me appear even more gangly. I’d like to quickly reassure you at this point that I’m happy with the way I look; I have made peace with my simian-like reach and my chicken-like legs.

Unfortunately it seems to bother other people sometimes. There were the nicknames at school – beanpole, stick insect and so on; the school nurse who took me aside to ask if I was doing anything silly – despite having weighed me every term for 7 years she suddenly decided I’d been taking laxatives to lose weight; the boyfriend who was convinced I was bulimic and when I denied it, claimed I was in denial about my condition (you really can’t win an argument with an idiot); the other mothers who, when I worked as an au pair, would ask my employer about her ‘anorexic’ nanny; the complete stranger who took my arm in a bar, loudly exclaiming to all his friends that he could easily wrap his fingers around my wrist; the kindly friend who asked me only two days ago, her voice full of concern, if I was on a diet as she thought I had lost weight. I could go on, but you get the idea.

So I was intrigued to see what happened when this group doubled their intake. I’ve tried incresing the amount of food I eat. The fact is donuts, burgers, fried chicken, chocolate, coke, beer, and candy floss have had absolutely no effect. I managed to gain a few pounds by eating extra protein and carbohydrates but god, the effort, it was so boring! But doubling your calories?! The only way these guys could manage to hit their daily target was to consume a family-sized pizza, with an entire tub of ice cream, or a litre of coke, pork pies, and a whole chocolate cake in one meal. One guy was reduced to eating a carton of clotted cream as a bedtime snack. Another was delighted to find a cake that contained well over 1000 calories. Needless to say these people felt wretched. Several threw up at some point. Two of them never actually managed it – their bodies increased the amount of the hormone that makes you feel full which rendered them incapable of eating it all without vomiting. So to all those people who keep telling me to just eat more burgers and donuts – it’s not that simple. And of course, once the experiment ended, every single one went back to their original weight, leading the doctors to conclude that our bodies set themselves at a certain weight – fat, thin or somewhere in the middle – and simply try to maintain that weight over the course of adult life.

I was a fussy eater as a baby. I’ve never had a big appetite. I eat when I’m hungry and lose all interest in food when I’m full (something I have in common with all the people in the BBC’s study). I come from a family of other long’n'lean types. I have never ever had an eating disorder. I have never ever been on a diet. I have never weighed more than I do right now and I’ve been pretty much the same weight for at least ten years.

If you follow one of those medical diagrams that charts height vs weight, I am underweight. My BMI is also in the underweight category. But these are both measurements that are based on the average range for people of my height – meaning that there will always be people who fall outside the average at either end without it being the result of under or over-eating, and without it being a medical problem. I’m perfectly healthy. (I was thrilled a few years ago when I went to see a consultant professor about a persistant back ache. In the end he concluded it was simply because I am tall and thin – I have less fat and muscle to support my spine so it takes more stress, thinness ain’t all it’s cracked up to be – and he asked me if I’d ever had an eating disorder. When I said no, he replied ‘No, you don’t seem the type’. Vindication!).

All the people in the study did put on weight, but some less than others. Of those, their bodies either increased their metabolic rate, converting the calories into muscle rather than fat (even without exercise), or increased the amount they fidgeted, gestured and so on in order to burn off the extra calories.

I’ve always maintained that I’m this weight because that’s just how I am. I don’t eat a huge amount, but it seems to be enough to keep me going and this study seems to confirm that basic idea. And those of you who know me will be able to confirm that I talk at a mile a minute, gesticulate wildly and walk as if the hounds of hell were after me. Fat or thin, our bodies deal with excess calories in different ways, but it seems that your own biology is the main factor in determining this.

People often tell me I’m lucky, simply because I happen conform to a current, arbitrary stereotype . But the truth is, whatever our weight, we all have our own insecurities about our appearance. I have days where I long to look like Kate Winslet or Scarlet Johansson (‘real’ women, as they’re so often called). Whereas some people worry that an outfit may make them look fat, I worry it will make me look anorexic. So, in this image obssessed society we’re clearly all as mad as each other. What bothers me is the assumption some people make that I’m either unwell with a serious medical condition, or that I’m somehow artificial, starving myself to try and look more like Posh Spice and rejecting my natural state.

But there’s some consolation in knowing that I’m not alone. Along with the people in the programme, there are any number of my lovely friends and family who don’t diet and who are slender. And the issues of obesity and health need to be addressed and investigated. But for all those lifetsyle shows and fashion magazines telling women to embrace their natural size and then clammering over photos of some ‘anorexic’ celebrity, it’s worth remembering it goes both ways. We come in all shapes and sizes. Naturally.

Rowan Felted Tweed may be pricey but it’s lovely stuff. And a small pattern like this only took 5 balls.

So it’s not a bad pattern, but here’s the shoulder seam that bugged me. Just a shame to lose the edge of the cable into the shoulder, but I realise I’m being pedantic.

Few other things on the go, including some seriously gorgeous cashmere tweed, so more to follow soon….

On the Yey! front, Knit Night over at Prague went a little crazy as not one, not two, but five new faces came through the door, in such quick succession that it was comical. Two of them were a crocheting couple – see, boys do this stuff too you know – and the entire group got a whole crochet envy thing going by the end of the evening. Yet another thing to add to the to-do list.

So there were 11 of us in the end! We had to grab a second table, squeezing everyone in round the door but it was great. Such a lovely atmosphere with everyone happily chatting away – must remember to take my camera next time.

But then there’s Martha (scroll down for the pic). Now there are folks over on Ravelry desperately hunting for this pattern as copies of Rowan Studio Two seem to be hard to find in the States, but I’m half tempted to email them saying not to bother. Which is odd, as it’s not really a disaster.

It’s in Felted Tweed, which is lovely. The cabling is fiddly but looks good when it’s done. Unlike some Rowan patterns, it’s a pretty good fit and the swing part doesn’t turn it into a maternity outfit. And with short sleeves it’s sweet for layering over things.

And yet. Meh…

I think part of the problem is that I’m a bit bored of it by now. It took ages to knit, in a fiddly, tiresome sort of way. Then there are three button bands to pick up (about 250 stitches). Then you have to sew together endless bits and pieces, which is frustrating in such a small garment. But also there are aspects of the design that I’m not crazy about.

The cabling,as I say, is pretty but it’s so far over that it’s not actually very visible (but try and move it and it’s running down over your boobs, which wouldn’t work either of course). But, more annoyingly, the cables are the edge of the armsyce. After shaping, there are no edge stitches, so when you set the sleeves the seam has to go through the edge of the cabling, which just looks a bit messy. With all that effort it seems such a shame that you don’t get a nice clean line to show off the cables. And finally, the textured knit/purl pattern that borders the body and sleeves doesn’t quite lit flat. Which I suppose is a nice contrast to the flatness of the stockinette around it, but it sort of rolls, even after ironing/blocking.

In know, I’m being hopelessly pedantic. I’m sure it will settle the more I wear it, or after a wash. At least it’s done, instead of sitting on the arm of my sofa and glaring at me every time I pick up something more interesting. Once I have some daylight I’ll take some pictures and you can decide for yourself.

On a separate note, it seems the whole Twitter thing is about to get crazy. As you may know, people like Stephen Fry have been tweeting madly for months, with thousands of people following him. Fair enough and I guess it’s nice he’s talking to his fans, but then Fry is a well known technophile. He’s now been joined by some less obvious characters, like Jonathan Ross. I confess I wasn’t that interested in what he was up to even before I discovered his Twitter name is Wossy. ‘Nuff said. But, as others have pointed out, Fry is one of Ross’s guests on his first show back after the suspension and you can bet Twitter is going to come up.

Then there’s the Twitterer the Daily Mail threatened with legal action (so he must be doing something right). He was tweeting as The Daily Mail, posting satirical, sarcastic, mildly offensive headlines, but he’s now amended it to Not Daily Mail. (Of course this is a classic example of something going a little bit Hawking as it straddles existence in two realities simultaneously – although not The Daily Mail it’s so terrifyingly realistic that it essentially is The Daily Mail). Twitter-related stories just seem to keep popping up in the papers lately.

As with blogging and FaceBook, I suspect it may become one of those internet things that no one really needs, but everyone somehow ends up using.

And one final thought for this evening. BSG starts up again in the States on Friday and then on FX over here (but alas, I don’t have cable). So how the hell am I meant to avoid the gazillions of internet spoilers that will soon be everywhere, telling us all who the final 12th Cylon is and thus destroying the one key question of a four-season story??!

Sorry.

Realise I’m scaring you now with my sci-fi telly geekery. But seriously. This is going to be a nightmare to avoid…

It’s a bit of a beast, but a nice size to cosy up with on the sofa which is pretty perfect for this cold snap. Even though it’s a very basic pattern, I’m pleased with how it’s turned out. The pattern calls for the Chunky Elite yarn Twinkle uses all the time and which isn’t available over here. I found an affordable alternative in Wendy Pampas. Not sure how it will wear, but super chunky yarn tends to pill quickly anyway, regardless of how posh/expensive it is, and it’s a nice rich colour. Cucumber Patch have a couple of colors on sale if anyone wants to give it a try.

Hope everyone’s keeping warm. One good thing about the current freeze is that it’s the perfect opportunity to indulge in all your favourite handknits.

I’ve been watching Once again (possibly the sweetest, saccharine-free film ever) which in turn has got me to put down my knitting needles and pick up the guitar, whilst re-programming my iPod to a playlist of folky singer-songwriters.

Knitting wise, I’ve just finished the Chunky Lacy Throw, but need to wait for daylight for some decent pictures. I’m onto the final button band for the Martha cardigan so again there’ll be pictures once it’s in shape. And the two remaining Christmas presents are making slow but steady progress. Of course today was the perfect weather for both of them if only they’d been ready, but they’ll just have to wait their turn for now. I’m alternating them with other, smaller things to stop myself going crazy but I’m hoping for a full-on attack this weekend (an evening’s babysitting will be put to good use).

So, rather than the knits, today I thought I’d share a brief playlist of tunes that I’ve been playing over and over lately. An excellent New Year’s detox for the festive over-indulgence of Slade, Cliff Richard and Alexandra bloody Burke.

Bon Iver is the ultimate soundtrack for this kind of weather. Recording most of his album For Emma, Forever Ago in a cabin in Wisconsin in the depths of winter, this is music that seems to be drifting to you through a snowstorm. If the thought of a bloke with a guitar angsting in a wooden shed fills you with horror, be brave and give it a chance. It’s way better than the stereotype. Have a listen of Skinny Love. My personal album of 2008.

Followed very closely by the precocious talent of Laura Marling, who recorded Alas, I Cannot Swim at the age of 17 and was therefore thrown out of one of her own gigs for being underage. So she played on the pavement instead, bless her. Night Terror crawled into my head and won’t budge.

The aforementioned Once, featuring the musical talents of Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, who won an Oscar for their efforts. Falling Slowly is the sweet love song that bagged them the statue but there are other tracks with more of a bitter bite.

I’d never heard of Seth Lakeman until I found myself at a gig of his, which turned into some kind of West Country craic by the end of the evening. Lots of fun. Again, if a man with a fiddle isn’t generally your cup of tea, you might be surprised. Watching him play Kitty Jay live is pretty impressive and I find it oddly comforting that people are writing songs about ghosts and shipwrecks and the beast of Bodmin Moor. Makes a nice change from all that post-modern ironic wit flying about.

St. Vincent is another talented lady, often to be found playing with Sufjan Stevens, whose songs vary from waltzes about the French Revolution to marriage proposals to strangers (“We’ll do what Mary and Joseph did. Without the kid”).

And finally, she may have a voice from another planet, but Joanna Newsom (and that bloke from the whiskey advert) show that if you’re not rocking out with a harp then you’re just not trying hard enough. Bridges and Balloons is probably what the Owl and the Pussycat listen to on their travels.

All the hot-tip predictions I’ve heard so far for 2009 have involved electronica/synths/the 80s for some reason, although I’m pleased a lot of them are women, after the recent glut of testosterone-loaded guitar bands. Anyone have any folksome predictions or recommendations?

I’m still trying to catch up with a few final Christmas presents, and don’t want to give too much away, but crowding onto the Hoxton sofa is some garter stitch goodness:

Some giant, squishy lace (if only my 12mm circulars wouldn’t keep falling apart):

And some green gooseberries:

I’m already compiling my list of projects for 2009. Martha is almost done (at long last) and has been saved from the frog pile for the moment.

I’m also eyeing the Shalom cardigan to use up some Rowan Polar from my stash. Then there’s Oblique, pretty much the whole Twist Collective catalogue, I’ve got masses of Troon Tweed to use up, my lovely new Christmas alpaca (destined to be a striped sweater of some kind) and some slightly random yarns (bamboo tape etc) to use up as and when I work out what I can do with them.

So 2009 is going to be busy, knitting wise and, let’s admit it, somewhat selfish.

Like a lot of people, I detest New Year’s Eve, with the pressure to Have Fun and do something exciting and the notion that we’re all supposed to dramatically alter our lives overnight to resemble some sort of Disney-esque fantatsy. But I will be attempting to enjoy myself and, whether you go out or stay in, I hope you have a great countdown to 2009 and that the coming year brings you happiness, peace, good health, prosperity and all that other good stuff. Or at the very least some decent summer weather.

It’s the latter that proved a particular drawback today but hey, I can change a fuse, re-wire a plug and unblock a drain, so I was undeterred. As part of a New Year tidy-up, I wanted to get some new storage units – how hard could that be? Now I do not own a car and I’m not about to win a triathalon anytime soon, so once I had taken possession of three heavy flat-pack boxes (after waiting for about four days at Collection Point B) I was slightly at a loss as to how to get them home. A taxi was clearly in order, but I could only lift one of the boxes at a time. Fortunately a woman at Argos helpfully lent me a trolley, so I wheeled them out to the curb, hailed a cab, whomped them in and then pelted back to return the trolley. After a quick ride home, there was then a staggered relay to get them upstairs (thank god I only live on the first floor) and I was all set:
We all know the trauma of self-assembly furniture. The nightmare instructions telling you to fix shelf A to support bracket B using dowel F, whilst showing an illustration of something completely different. The impossible task of holding the whole thing together and using a screwdriver a the same time. The inevitability of being left at the end with some fixture in a plastic envelope, the use for which utterly eludes you. This set was no exception. Long Dowel bloody F – which appeared to be constructed from papier mache – decided to snap in half just as I was coaxing it into the shelf. Argos decided that the best time to screw a magnetic catch to the inner top corner of a cupboard is after you’ve built it, for optimum screwdriver manoeuverability. And I’m fairly certain I’ve lost a decidedly pointy nail somewhere in the deep pile of my rug. So I shouted, I cursed, I dropped several heavy pieces of chip board on my foot, but after two hours – success. It may be a pain in the arse, but it’s also pretty satisfying. At last I can go from my usual method of yarn storage:

To this:

I love having all my yarn out, rather than shoved in a plastic bag somewhere and my stash isn’t quite as shameful as I had feared. Especially since most of what you can see is in use or earmarked for something already. Now I just have to find a way to deal with all the circular knitting needles.

If you’re wondering what became of the Christmas knitting, well, it seems I did indeed incur the wrath of the whatever from high atop the thing. At 4pm on Christmas Eve I disovered I had made a pretty major mistake with the Little One – the sweater for my nephew. After two attempts to join the arms to the body and start on the yoke, I thought I was on the home stretch, until I realised the arms were not the same size. One was a good inch wider than the other. They also had an uneven number of increases (no, I don’t know how I managed it). I cursed, I swore, I contemplated hard liquor at an early hour. I debated whether or not it could be fudged – would anyone really notice? But then I thought that the sleeve size would affect the yoke and my poor nephew could end up with a weirdly fitting shoulder as well, and the kid has enough problems with the crazy aunt knitting him stuff in the first place. And finally, the most important point: It would bug me. I would know.

So I ripped.

And then I carried on knitting, as if sheer willpower would bend time and make it possible to knit most of a jumper in the space of about four hours. I packed up my stuff, wrapped the other presents, jumped on the Tube and got knitting. I made it home to the family, I carried on knitting. I reached The Madness (I’m quite proud I held out so long). Finally, around midnight, my Mum and brother staged an intervention and told me to Step Away From The Knitting. So instead he’ll get a New Year’s jumper that may just fit him.

Christmas Day was lovely – much food, wine, noise, games and a three year old who kept asking if he could do some knitting now please. The socks for my Uncle were fine, so long as his feet grow another three inches (he kindly said he’d been wanting a pair of slippers anyway), and the scarves, mittens and hats went down well.

But – and I say this with the best Christmas spirit in the world – I am not doing this again. Three years is enough and I’m sure my family would like a different kind of gift next year. And I would like my Autumn to myself again. So it’s the end of the Christmas knitting era. I’ll probably still make something for Mum (who gets absurdly excited about these things, bless her – as if I’m still four and have made her a robot out of milk cartons and tin foil) and if anyone requests knitwear I will happily oblige. But next time I think I’ll do what ordinary folk do and stick to HMV and Neal’s Yard.

I realise this may sound like the classic I’m-never-knitting-again vow made after knitting too much for too long, but actually I’m not fed up of it at all. I’m still working on the two remaining gifts quite happily, and planning what I’m going to make next (Mum gave me four balls of cashmere tweed – oh, the possibilities….). I guess it’s a case of balance. Knitting for absolutely everyone is overkill (as any other knitter could tell you and a good many have told me , but where’s the fun in following good advice?….)

So, a new year, a new knitting policy. But in the meantime it’s back to the Little Sweater and its grown-up counterpart. With any luck they’ll be ready before next Christmas…

I have finished the socks. Although these are not the same socks as the Ginormous Socks of Doom which were just getting silly. No, these are a whole new pair and they are done. I have officially made socks. They’re still huge, but could conceivably fit something, you know, human.

I have finished the hat. I have finished the scarf. I have finished the Garter Mittens (although I need to graft the second hand tomorrow morning).

A present which was going to be a cowl but was proving problematic (very pretty fabric in great colours but turning out too stiff for a cowl) is now going to be a little buttoned purse and is therefore nearly finished without me having to do anymore knitting (proving that, as with so much in life, it’s all about perspective). A little sewing tomorrow and it’ll be sorted.

I am resigned to the fact that the Big One will not be done in time. Alas. Still, 1 out of 21 isn’t bad. And it looks as though the Little One might make it to the festivities on schedule.

Of course, the only problem is that, although I’m fairly confident I can finish it all, what I haven’t factored in is the time it’s going to take me to weave in ends/add buttons/seam an item or two, wrap all the gifts, pack my bag for the rest of the week, and then get myself across London before the Tube stops running.

Minor details.

So, I’ll have to get myself up early tomorrow and get going. The more I can get done, the less crap I’ll have to drag across town to enable me to do it from my Mum’s house instead.

So, it’s on a knife edge, I admit, but it might just happen.

Knit Night was a quiet affair round Hoxton way this evening – or so I thought. But the three of us happily working on our Christmas gifts attracted the attention of a group of jolly, somewhat tipsy, gents who came over to say hello. It was a fantastically entertaining conversation, though perhaps not for the right reasons.

They were an observant bunch – “You’re knitting!!” was exclaimed about 12 times. Although they haven’t quite mastered the art of flattery – “It’s like Last of the Summer Wine!!” – “Do you knit here often?” and “Could you teach me to crochet?” are certainly novel chat-up lines. And being told I’m the “Termiknitter” is not the kind of compliment a girl gets everyday. So, an unusual crowd in Prague this evening, but at least they did a good line in Christmas jovialty.

Now, I can’t sit here chatting all night, I”ve got stuff to knit!

On the bright side, I’ve discovered one project is further along than I thought (a rare occasion when the tape measure is on my side for once) and another that’s proving a faster knit than expected.

However, the cold harsh reality of futile ambition is now making itself known. I’m surrounded by WIPs, desperately juggling them on my sofa. I’m hopeless at just working on one until it’s finished. For some reason I seem to think that if I keep rotating them all I’ll manage to finish them all. Which is nonsense, obviously. The only advantage being that I’m varying the needle and yarn sizes I’m working with, so my wrists aren’t killing me.

And now I have to venture out for a Christmas party, which will be lovely, although I’m mentally calculating how many knitting hours it’s going to eat up (see what I mean about desperate?). Luckily I have just the thing for knitting on the tube journey over there.

So, it’s the 21st – four days left. I’m edgy, but far from panicking (but don’t worry, I’ll get there).

So, let’s have a quick reality check and face up to what still needs doing (now where did I put that paper bag?):

1) One Garter Mitten to complete a pair. Do-able in a couple of hours.

2) One ear-flap to complete a hat. As above. Although then we’ll have the whole is-a-hat-really-enough-of-a-present-for-someone-who’s-really-quite-important-to-me-in-the-grand-scheme-of-things? question. Which will probably drive me to cast on something hopelessly ambitious at 2am tomorrow morning when I should be working on:

3) One Cowl. Again do-able in a couple of hours I expect.

4) One Scarf. Which is almost done. Again I reckon a couple of hours will have it sorted.

5) Buttons added to Another Scarf. No more than half an hour.

6) The Nightmare Gift. So called because I still can’t work out what the hell to knit this person. Except socks. And I never knit socks. And although I’ve made a start on this pair, I’m not convinced I’m going to finish them in time or that their Jolly-Green-Giant scale of hugeness will not be a problem. Probably a day of knitting to sort this one out. (Just keep breathing…)

7) The Big One. The mystery item I can’t show you. However, I have discovered I can only knit it in daylight – the colours do something weird by electric light and become hard to see, resulting in me making a mistake in the simplest knitting it is possible to do, thus late-night knitting is no longer an option. A slight drawback given that tomorrow is the shortest day of the year and I need a good four days solid knitting to make any headway.

The Little One. Another mystery item. Fortunately it’s also the one most likely to be fine to wait til after Christmas. Small mercies.

So, from 21, down to the final 8. It could be worse. Although even my shambolic mathematical skills can work out the above totals more days than I have left.

1 and 6 need to be ready by Sunday evening, ergo they will take priority this weekend.

4 and 5 should, ideally, have been posted a week ago. Nevertheless, I reckon if I can entrust them to the wild mayhem of Royal Mail by Monday morning they’ll arrive a couple of days after Christmas in a pleasant, surprise-belated-gift kinda way.

2, 3 and 7 are needed for Christmas Day. Which gives me a little more time, but a fairly immovable deadline.

Ok, plan of attack:

Start with small, achievable goals. Anything involving buttons, a final new rows, a quick earflap, should be tackled today, thus reducing the overall number of WIPs pretty quickly, which will give me a (false) sense of progress. I’ll then be free to focus on the bigger problems.

I’ve stocked the fridge. The weekend is clear. I’ve restricted alcohol consumption to tonight’s birthday bash down the road. I’ve foolishly lent out my DVDs of The Wire, but I have 6 hours of Ricky Gervais’s podcasts, 7 seasons of The West Wing, and my trusty iPod to see me through.

Bring it on…

Kerry arrives bearing several kilos of sauerkraut and is rewarded with this:

This necklace/headband multi-tasking effort turns out to have been a stroke of luck – Kelly is allergic to wool! Something of an oversight on my part. Fortunately, with her hair protecting her, she reckons it’s safe to wear it as a headband and we’re all quite pleased with the general look – suits her, no?

Whilst Kelly deals with feeding the five thousand, her gift (a buttoned scarf) is adopted by some of the others and Seb is graciously persuaded to model it:

A task he executes with a charming debonnair attitude and a helpful gesture towards the festive backdrop.

It is at this point my friends become a little over-enthusiastic. I should first explain that each gift had a little card enclosed – I wanted a custom gift tag to make my efforts look a little more polished, plus it’s a handy way of passing on the address of this blog and including some simple care instructions – and Kelly suggested featuring the cards so that the photos could be used for ‘marketing’ purposes. Helpful and obliging chap that he is, Seb immediately launched his own ad campaign for Hoxton Handmade:

At least it proves that this scarf is nothing if not versatile. Meanwhile Seb’s charming wife Daisy (who is currently knitting a pair of bootees and therefore gets extra credit) decides to get in on the scarf action:

And very lovely she looks too.

I then realise I do not have a photo of the scarf with its intended owner, and hunt Kelly down in the kitchen. Having discovered it’s tricky to balance a small piece of cardboard on a knitted item whilst you are wearing it, Kelly has a masterstroke idea:

Although I’m starting to suspect the casual observer may assume we’re advertising something for Amnesty International. Or Jamie Oliver (loving that apron).

Taking up the gauntlet, Kate manages to model a fantastic new look for the headband and I become quite proud of what you can do with an oversized i-cord:

At which point the wonderful Kate P. decides it’s high time she headed home (and who can blame her). I manage to catch her modeling her new cowl just in time:

So the woollens are keeping everyone warm (both indoors and out), Daisy and Kerry are knitting away and may even pop along to the Hoxton knitting group in the New Year, Kelly is my new marketing manager (for what, exactly, we haven’t quite decided), and everyone’s keen to spread the Hoxton Handmade.

And me? Well, I have the loveliest friends in all the world.

Today I am in a decongestant-tablet haze and sick to death of lemons. Nevertheless I’ve been trying to muster some energy to do something constructive, or rather something destructive. The striped project from my last post? I’ve just ripped most of it back. But fear not, I have a plan (and yes, it’s cunning).

The brilliant thing about knitting in the round is that you can do things that are just not possible when knitting side to side, thus I can knit a 3-row stripe in the round. Which means it still has the basic look I’m going for (narrow stripes) but there’s a spare row in there to give a little space for a neater jogless stripe and counteract the fabric bunching.

That’s the theory anyway, according to my Lemsip-addled mind. But for now I need to go and find some more tissues.

There is a certain gift in progress which is being knit in the round. It is also striped. As you may know, this can lead to the odd technical hitch. How so? I hear you cry! (Or words to that effect from those of you being kind enough to feign interest). Well, because knitting in the round isn’t actually, you know, round.

Circular knitting creates a spiral – like a Slinky (remember those?) – and so the beginning of each round starts a step above the previous one. Not a problem if you’re knitting in one colour, but if you try striping in the round you get a ‘jog’ – a point in the circle where the beginning and the end of the stripe don’t meet.

There are various ways to eliminate the jog and create an imaginitively named ‘jogless stripe’. I started off with the travelling jog, where you slip a stitch and move your marker one stitch to the left when you change colour. This is genius if you’re trying to do intarsia or fairisle in the round to make sure the pattern matches up and it made beautifully neat stripes. However. In my case it was also leaving a rather noticeable diagonal ‘snail trail’ which would have travelled over a large portion of said knitted item. So I have had to change tactics.

Stationery jogs involve slipping a stitch without moving the marker, so each jogless join stacks on top of the other, instead of travelling sideways. But because I’m only doing two-row stripes there isn’t much wiggle room, still it’s not too obvious (I hope).

So, you want to change colour in the round:

Round 1: Place a marker where you want to make the change, and simply switch colours and carry on knitting.

Round 2: Knit to marker. Slip marker. Take the stitch below the next stitch (i.e. in the previous colour) and lift to on to the front of your left needle. Knit this stitch and the stitch behind it (i.e. the first stitch in the colour you’re using now) together.

After that you just carry on for however many rows you want the stripe to have – or in my case just keep repeating these two rows. There’s an alternative version where, instead of picking up a stitch from the row below, you slip the first stitch of the second row purlwise, but the effect is pretty much the same.

I know that over on Ravelry there are various discussions on this, for example with Brooklyn Tweed’s Turn A Square hat pattern where some people have had issues with getting their stripes to line up. Again this involves a two-row stripe and I think that’s what makes it tricky. You’re stretching either a single lifted stitch or a slipped stitch over two rows to eliminate the jog and there aren’t any ‘spare’ rows to give a little slack. Some Ravellers have found they need to pull everything quite snug to make the join work but I’m worried that over a larger piece of knitting this would cause a line of very tight stitches that bunch the fabric. And I’ve actually found that by leaving a little give the stripe is lining up more neatly. So it’s probably a case of trial and error and depends on how tight you knit, your gauge and your yarn.

It’s these little details and techniques that make all the difference, what some describe as the difference between something homemade and something handmade, and has made me incredibly grateful for blogs and websites a lot more detailed than mine. The TechKnitter is a famous example of someone sharing their technical expertise and has a dizzying array of topics. She’s also brilliant at providing illustrations to demonstrate how to do them yourself (and has a great tutorial on both travelling and stationery jogs). And for those of you wanting to know about single-row jogless stripes, or ‘spiraling’, the talented Grumperina has tackled that one for you as well.

So, apologies for a very dull post. I’ll go back to talking nonsense about elves and hubris and the trials of sock knitting tomorrow.

But today I’m strangely proud that I even care about jogless stripes. I’m not a perfectionist and all too often I fudge the detail when I can get away with it. But there’s no denying that the pain-in-the-ass hassle of some techniques pays off in the end and makes the whole project look ten times better. And it’s satisfying to think I took the time to learn a better way of doing something. Although of course I can’t show you that yet, so you’re just going to have to take my word on that until the New Year…

a) Choose the right yarn. Something chunky. Something flash. Something bold and eyecatching which will knit up on 10mm+ size needles. Forget delicate 4 plys, Kidsilk Haze or classic DK Shetland wool – it’s going to take too long to make them look good. The added bonus is that you can mix and match, it’s a great way to use up bits and pieces of luxury wool that may be hanging around your stash.

b) Choose a small object as your goal. This is no time for afghans or sweaters, obviously. Even a hat may be pushing it. Go with something that requires no pattern, shaping or serious concentration of any kind.

c) If a little extra finish is needed then choose an interesting stitch pattern. A simple rib can be enough to give it a twist.

Don’t misunderstand me – I care about these gifts and dearly love the people they’re intended for, but my present total is now heading for 25. (Seriously, that’s not a typo). I’ve made about half of these but something has to give somewhere, and with festivities creeping up on me already, speed is of the essence.

But I’m pretty happy with how these turned out. Not bad for a quick knit:

This is two strands of Malagbrio and then one skein of Rowan Ribbon Twist to make a collar scarf on size 12 needles in mistake rib. Just waiting for a button to be added.

This is a scrap of Rowan Tuft I had tucked away, with Rowan Big Wool and a tiny batch of an anonymous white single ply. 12mm needles again and then the two ends sewn together to make a cowl.

And finally, more Malagbrio, but this time teamed with some leftover Manos del Uruguay, followed by half a skein of something which I think is Noro Transitions, held with some Freedom Spirit. 10mm needles and a mistake rib. An unusual colour combination, but that’s mostly down to the nature of the Noro. Again, it’s just waiting for a button.

So hopefully I’ll be ready to hand these out next Sunday and persuade some of the girls to pose for some photos of them ‘in action’, rather than lazing around on my sofa…

As well as being beautiful, all these sunsets have me hankering for some colour-combo striping. I rarely knit in more than one colour at a time and the thought of a Kaffe Fassett-esque kaleidoscope not only fills me with dread at the thought of knitting anything that complicated, but also at wearing it (it’s just not me).

But lately, stripes are on my mind. The yellow/grey combo listed above, but I’m also thinking rust orange/warm beige, electric blue/storm grey, teal/pale grey, and a dozen other variations, in thin stripes, a DK or even 4ply lambswool and a classic boatneck sweater maybe, and one look at the Jamieson’s shades can’t hurt…. (Snap out of it!)

Of course, twitching fingers must be kept firmly on the Christmas knitting. Which is typical just as I’m longing to get swatching through my stash (and I never swatch, even when I’m supposed to). Although there is one festive project that can satisfy my craving for the time being – since it follows narrow stripes.

But this weekend is going to have to involve some serious knitting time. We’re entering the danger period now, where it can all slip away with just a day or two off the schedule. I’ve got this weekend to finish friends’ presents for next Sunday’s festivities and get things in the post to the rest. Which leaves me almost three weeks to finish the family. I am determined NOT to spend the days in the run up to Christmas knitting from 9am to 2am. Apart from anything else I was starting to get RSI last year, and that’s just embarrassing. Tennis elbow is one thing. Knitting wrist is ridiculous.

With all the gift-giving, many knitters will (hopefully) be familiar with the lovely compliments that often follow as friends and family – not quite managing to hide their shock that their new scarf doesn’t really look all that bad and could probably be worn in public with a minimum of embarrassment – start telling you to sell you handknitted goodies at markets or online.

It’s a nice thought and I can see where they’re coming from, but most non-knitters fail to appreciate a) just how expensive a nice yarn often is and b) just how long it takes to knit something. Which is why bespoke knitting items are usually so expensive (I think the winner is probably still that Pidgin scarf that was going for about $250 somewhere) and why many of the beautiful things on Etsy are made in yarn as thick as your arm.

But. I remember how much I loved my evening course a couple of years ago where I had to design a knitwear collection. Collecting colour schemes, shapes, patterns and pictures for my ‘mood board’ and then working out how to translate those into a coherent group of items was difficult but utterly absorbing and a lot of fun. I never made any of the finished designs (they were intended for commercial production, rather than being handmade) and I’d love to try designing something that I can follow through.

So, with these things mulling in my mind for some time, I’m going to make a start. It’ll be a long and leisurely process I expect, but then there’s no rush. First things first, we need a little inspiration. A quick trawl of the net pulled up these:

I love both the colour of this and the frosty snowflake shapes. Perfect for the bright wintery day we’ve had.

And is it me or are these ghostly trees looking a little cable-like?

I love old-fashioned wallpaper for the colours, shapes and motifs they use but my modem keeps crashing so I can’t show the wonderful images – take a peek at Cole & Son (wallpaper chaps to the Queen, no less).

For something more fashion related, the wonderful Sartorialist (see the link on the left) is perhaps the ultimate archive of who’s wearing what on the trendy streets of New York, Milan and Paris.

Hmmm. Time for a little sketching methinks…

Which brings me to some well earned praise for a couple of patterns, without which I’d be in some serious trouble. I cannot say enough about Ysolda’s Garter Mittens. They are brilliant (see how hastily I have moved on from the grafting debacle/reminder of my own ineptitude? ahem). Quick to knit, fit really well, look great, a nice practical gift someone might actually use and did I mention they’re quick to knit? And, because it’s garter stitch, they’re very forgiving. You don’t need to hide the wraps on the short rows, you can fit them as you go along and even the grafting can be a little wobbly and no one will notice. I’m on my third pair, and resisting the temptation to kit the entire family out in them. (For those of them reading this, don’t worry, I have mixed it up a little).

Cowls are also genius inventions. Quicker than a scarf, makes great use of one skein of something lovely and they’re brilliantly useful when it’s windy or you’re jumping on and off the Tube. And did I mention they’re quick to knit?

What is definitely not quick to knit is the Big One. Which I have had to start again. (Yes, again – repeated sizing issues because I’m a moron). But I’m actually rather happy about it as it gives me a chance to improve on the original idea. So, third time around, it should be perfect. Yes, I know; watch this space for predictable calamaties ahead… Although if you actually want to see what I’m attempting you’ll need to be on Ravelry, away from prying eyes…

A lovely catch up with an old friend over the weekend also proved very useful, since she sat on the sofa wearing my scarf for most of the evening. A clear favourite and I’m now plotting her very own version. I often find this happens – as I knit my way through the list over several months there are always a few projects that circulate until they find the owner they want. So the gift I originally intended for my friend will go elsewhere, and suit the other person better, now I think about it.

The first round of gift-giving comes up in a couple of weeks when my university friends will meet for a Sunday/Christmas lunch. So not long til my first deadline, but I think I’ve only got 2 1/2 gifts to go. And the only one that needs to be posted overseas is also done.

But enough of all this chat – I have knitting to do…

Here is the first half of Ysolda’s Garter Mittens, knitted in a couple of hours yesterday afternoon and a delightful pattern to follow:

Aren’t they pretty? And seamless and cleverly constructed and I was really rather chuffed about the whole effort. What fools we humans be.

Now, to complete said mittens requires grafting garter stitch, which I have never attempted before (you can probably see where this is going). Following some handy online tutorials, I thought I had mastered the basic technique. However. Although I succeeded in grafting every stitch, I didn’t pull the whole thing tight as I went along (because I am a complete idiot). Attempting to smoothly pull the yarn through at the end was a disaster, leaving me with big loops in some places and tight bunching in others. Going along and doing it an inch at a time proved impossible. Resigning myself to undoing the grafting and simply starting all over again landed me neatly at catastrophe:

The problem is not losing the last couple of rows – I can just knit those again – it’s losing stitches from what was a provisional cast on at the beginning. I guess technically, because they’re live stitches, I could go back and knit the opening rows again as well. But the whole thing is becoming such a tangled mess (Rowan Felted Tweed is not a yarn sympathetic to my predicament) and stitches are dropping in all directions that I’d quite like to just set fire to it at this point.

First up is my Secret Santa gift for the office. The lovely Isobel wears a lot of red and so will receive this:

Which is not as orange as it looks here, but a rich red Rowan Biggy Print. A basic slip stitch rib from a keyhole scarf pattern but the measurements given didn’t work out, so it’s now more of a collar that will have a chunky button sewn to it shortly.

Continuing the chunky theme, we then have the oh-so-speedy Colinette Point 5:

The simplest of cowls, since the yarn hardly needs further embellishment. The shade is called Slate, which should hopefully go with pretty much anything.

The Colinette continues with this fabulous colour – Lapis

9 twisted drop stitches and you just keep going til you run out of yarn. Brilliant way to get the most out of one skein and it works really well for thick and thin yarn that can be a bit awkward, so thanks to Ravelry for the pattern.

A little more sedate, but no less delicious, we have the Yarn Harlot’s One Row Scarf:

Does what it says on the tin. Fantastically simple but it’s reversible, flat and shows off a fancy yarn beautifully. This is the Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend I posted earlier and is possibly the most fabulous stuff to knit with in the history of the world. It’s soft, it’s silky, it weighs nothing – I’m in love. And it looks like one skein is going to create a scarf 12 feet long, but we’ll see.

As with Wisp, I’m finding the same pattern can give you very different results with a simple yarn subsitution. This is the same scarf but in Koigu:

Again, it’s lightweight and I know just the person to enjoy the rainbow colour scheme.

And of course there are a couple of larger items sitting quietly in the corner of the workshop, but you’ll have to wait and see on those. I’m having slight sizing anxieties, but in the end I’m going to have to trust my tape measure and just go for it. If they open it on Christmas morning and the damn thing doesn’t fit, well, I’m sure there’ll be a way around it. I mean, no one needs both their arms, do they?

I’m also attempting something a little more adventurous that will require me to design my own chart. The little voices are telling me not to even attempt such a foolhardy idea. It’ll drive me nuts, I’ll waste hours planning it only for it all to fall apart and I’ll end up doing the simple version after all. But amidst the rabble, there’s another voice piping up quietly from the back, and pointing out that, if I can manage to pull it off, it’s going to look damn cool.

Even little elves should aim high now and again…

It’s a huge beast of a thing, knitted in 2 skeins of Rowan Plaid which I bought last year from Cucumber Patch (they still have a few colours left) and, when muffled up to the ears, it’s an arctic winner (not to mention probably the simplest thing it’s possible to knit). Knitting’s not looking like such a crazy, grandma type hobby now, is it?

So the sizing is definitely a little off, but in a simple, chunky sweater I think you can get away with it. The buttons are the only set of 6 I had to hand (and more green than in the picture) but I’m liking them at the moment.

And now translate that mountain of sugary temptation into a pile of knitting goodness.

Yes, not only is the beautifully compiled new edition of the Twist Collective catalogue up, but the Interweave winter preview is up as well. And I am fighting the urge to order about 7,000 balls of yarn, quit my job and knit like a crazy person in a cave.

Ok, maybe that last part was stretching it, but you know what I mean. There are so many things here I want to make.

I’m drawn to the felted fabulousness of the Heroine jacket. I’ve already seen many people on Ravelry becoming utterly obssessed with Vivian, by the talented (and wonderfully named) Ysolda Teague. My personal obssession is leaning more towards the Pinstripe Sweater over at Interweave, but I’m also loving the Handsome Mittens (shown here in one of my favourite colour-combos) and the stitch pattern of the Sweet Honey Beret. I’m also strangely liking the Woven Bands Pullover although the slightly dodgy photo shoot means you can’t really see it in full. (And is it just me, or is not a very manly man’s sweater? I’d make it for myself I think, it’s just not really saying ‘bloke’ to me for some reason.)

But before any of these, I really really really want to make this cardigan (which has been photographed with a horrible t-shirt in the way and looks much better in this version made by a fellow Raveller). Plus there’s the amazing and ambitious Little Birds that are still singing to me. And I found a bargain at Cucumber Patch for some wool to make this, which just looks so cosy for a winter’s evening curled on the sofa. Although with yarn that chunky it shouldn’t take too long (See how I justify my addiction? I’m a classic case in need of 12 steps at this rate).

Not forgetting of course, the 14 remaining Christmas presents I need to knit. Now you can see why I’m heading for a serious bout of yarn indigestion.

You know, that cave is starting to look quite appealing.

Of course, this is essentially the reason the DVD box set was invented. This time last year, I was thrilled to discover my local library (conveniently sitting across the road from my flat) stocked a cornucopia of DVD delights which could be rented either for free or the extortionate sum of 2 pounds (no, I still haven’t found the pound key on this computer). I think this fact alone may have reimbursed me for my council tax this year.

Unlike Blockbuster, it’s an eclectic mix and for some shows they might only have season 4, so unless you’re familiar with it you have to just launch in blindly. Ok for Will & Grace, not so good for Lost. But it’s encouraged me to try some things I had never thought to watch, or programmes I completely missed the first time round. Last year’s knitting frenzy was ably assisted by a combination of Oz, Nip/Tuck, Smallville, and House. As I’ve worked my way through a fair amount of the library’s stock I’ve now also subscribed to Love Film to supplement supplies. Over the course of this year I moved on to The Sopranos, Battlestar Galactica and 24 and the current workshop is following Buffy. Through this gogglefest, I’ve learnt some important lessons:

1. Action/thrillers can be problematic. One glance down to the knitting and you’ve missed a vital visual clue; a secret email, a furtive handshake, a tiny scrap of evidence tucked into someone’s pocket. You also tend to miss the explosions, shootings and stunts. So 24 isn’t one I’ll be trying again this festive season, nor Battlestar Galactica.

2. Forget anything with subtitles, obviously. I’ve had The Lives of Others from Love Film for weeks and I really want to watch it but there’s just no way I’m capable of knitting and trying to follow German at the same time.

3. Sitcoms don’t really work. The problem lies in watching several episodes one after the other. You start to feel like you’re in some sort of time warp and watching the same twenty minutes over and over again. One trick – if you have a serious marathon ahead of you – is to alternate a comedy with a drama and then you don’t get bored of either.

3. Dialogue is the key. As long as you can hear what’s going on there’s no problem. So anything that’s essentially a talking book works well. Which is why I’ve seen every season of The West Wing at least four times now. That and the fact that it’s utterly brilliant, of course. House, surprisingly, is mostly a lot of talking as well (and once you’ve seen one guy have a stroke/lumbar puncture/MRI/dangerously risky and foolhardy operation, you’ve seen them all). Buffy is proving to be a good combination of genres, since the dialogue is smart and the kill-the-vampire action sequences easy enough to follow half-blind.

So, what do you like to watch while you’re knitting? Any recommendations for me? Here are my top three:

1.The West Wing
If you’ve never seen it and ever wondered how politics could possibly be entertaining, try this. Best put-down ever:

2. The Wire
Sometimes referred to as the best drama you’ve never seen. If anyone tells you there’s nothing good on TV, here’s the answer. For the first couple of episodes I wasn’t sure what all the fuss was about. And then I watched this classic scene from Season 1:

3. Buffy
I don’t care if you’re not into fantasy fiction, or teenage angst with a vampire twist. The writing here is fantastic and brilliantly entertaining. And I can’t think of another show that’s pulled off an episode where all the characters sing their parts as if they’re in a musical, let alone an episode with almost no dialogue at all:

I’m on a mission to try and finish the Central Park Hoodie. This weekend was my original deadline but I’ve lagged behind a little and I want to try and get it done so that I can concentrate on the Christmas extravaganza whilst remaining toasty warm. I’ve got a back, two fronts and one sleeve. The second sleeve is underway, although the real challenge is going to be picking up a gazillion stitches for the border. Sleeves are like socks as far as knitting is concerned, there’s something of a curse around the second one. You go to all the effort, spend ages knitting a component that’s rarely as interesting as the rest of the garment, finish triumphantly and then realise you now have to start all over again on exactly the same thing. And once I finish the sleeve I’ve got the sewing up to do. Groan.

Yeah, I’m never going to get it done this weekend. But hey, it’s chucking it down outside, I’ve got a cosy sofa, some cheesy TV and my favourite tunes on my iPod. Perfect for knitting and for me to put into practice my current resolution to worry less about the destination and try to enjoy the journey.

Charmingly modelled by my lamp. Which isn’t really the ideal way to show it off but never mind. I made this up as I went along, a very simple mistake rib, knit flat, with a couple of decrease rounds at the end and then seamed. Big Wool is very forgiving. And also very warm, so this is getting a lot of wear already.

Onto the Christmas knitting, some of which I can safely reveal as I know the recipients aren’t reading this blog (and even if they are they won’t know who’s getting what – my Christmas elf status remains intact).

So we have a simple but cosy mistake rib cowl, in a pretty colourway from Twilley’s Freedom Spirit:I need to be careful, or the lamp is going to start getting ideas above its station and plan an escape to the catwalks of Milan.

And there is also the tweedy, garter stitch yumminess of this scarf:

Slightly random colour-combo but love how this is turning out. What you can’t really see in the photo is that the tweedy flecks in the grey colourway are orange and blue, the mustard has grey, the orange has blue etc, so they match in a mismatch kinda way. This is the Lanark Wool Tweed in the DK weight which is incredibly light and airy. Really like knitting with this and think it would make great cables and stitch patterns. May be forced to experiment with a mustard colour sweater in the New Year.

Meanwhile, waiting in the wings is this fabulous colour in Colinette Point 5 (Lapis):

Destined to be another Christmas present, probably another cowl (if you know me, be warned there’s a high probability of receiving a cowl this year. Brilliant things. Quick to knit, warm to wear and means I can afford to use a skein of the good stuff). Awaiting a similar incarnation is another skein in Slate:

And finally there’s the heavenly silk and merino combo of this:

Yes, the gorgeous Manos del Uruguay in colour 9254. Amazed the colours have come out so accurately in this picture, they’re muted but still rich and the silk gives it a beautiful sheen like the inside of a seashell. (Ed: Alright, alright, it’s only yarn – get to the point). Comparatively expensive stuff but as there’s 270m in one skein I think I can get a decent scarf out of it. Scouring Ravelry for a suitable pattern, or stitch idea (any thoughts let me know). Not too lacy, but it’s so pretty and soft I think it will drape well in a pattern that’s not too stiff either. Watch this space.

Plus a couple of other things I won’t be able to reveal until after the holidays…;) The Elf workshop is stepping up a gear…

So those who might have stared at me on the tube in bafflement or, at the very least, curiosity, are now looking with something closer to envy, as I click away at a mounting pile of Rowan Big Wool. Those who scoffed at my eccentricity are now quizzing me on where I got the tweedy warmth of my new sweater. And I can revel in the joy of crying ‘Bah Humbug!’ and cackle into my circular knitting needles.

Well, alright, not exactly (that would be a bit weird) but you get the idea. And it’s not that I encounter hostility from people over my knitting, more the case that they’re a bit puzzled by it all.

But for the next few months, it’s all rather less of a mystery to people. There’s something wonderfully self-sufficient about being able to keep yourself warm.

The Bunny Girls were charming. SJ the Exorcist scared the crap out of me.

Fancy dress parties are generally divided into the ones where you have to have an actual, recognisable costume, and the ones where you can wear anything as long as it’s cut low at the top, high at the bottom and made out of the synthetic material of your choice.

Costumes always give the crafty a chance to show off but I confess I’ve never mastered the art of the great fancy dress outfit. I tend to compromise by rummaging through my wardrobe for something that can be adapted, or pulling out a pair of red tights and some lace gloves from the back of the drawer. Last night I saw an impressive Darth Vader (complete with voice effects box) towing a Princess Leia (since she’s technically his daughter, they seem to have developed an alternative and somewhat disturbing ending for the franchise). Fake blood galore of course (now there’s an easy costume transformation). Brides, cowboys, werewolves and several witches were also in attendance. Anyone seen anything truly original this weekend? Who deserves special marks for going beyond the call of duty? I’ll be keeping an eye out tonight, armed and ready with my camera.

That about sums up the last five days, but I realise it’s somewhat lacking in detail. We started rehearsals at 7.30pm on Friday and 48 hours later the curtain went up at the London Palladium in front of 1500 people. In that time I think I slept for about 9 hours. Getting up at 5.30am and getting home after midnight; shepherding 120 cast members across 8 floors of our rehearsal building; grabbing a coffee and a sandwich as and when we could; organising the dressing rooms at the theatre; working out how to get a dozen cockney dancers from the wings into the auditorium aisles for their part in The Lambeth Walk halfway through the show – these were all things that resulted in the most profound exhaustion I’ve ever known. My feet still ache from pounding up and down flights of stairs for two days.

But we did it. Me & My Girl was fabulous: the cast were staggeringly talented, the choreography amazing, the singing superb, the people involved truly inspiring. We got a 4 star review in the Evening Standard and we raised a lot of money for the Anthony Nolan Trust, despite one of our hosts being Les Dennis (sample put-down to a would-be heckler: ‘I like to do my act the way you like to have sex – alone’. Not ideal for a family audience, even if it were funny. Luckily Mel Giedroyc was much better).

There’s something wonderful about being reminded of what it’s possible to achieve with a dedicated group of talented people in a short space of time. Makes you think there’s probably very little that can’t be accomplished in 48 hours if you put your mind to it. And makes me realise I waste a lot of that potential most weekends, but nevermind.

I’m taking a few days off work to recover and press on with the Christmas knitting. Of course I keep being sidelined by things I want to make for myself but as someone kindly pointed out, you have to do that or knitting becomes a chore.

So today I’ve made a snood-type scarf and a matching hat out of some squishy and delicious Rowan Big Wool. Despite the current cold snap I am going to be seriously warm. Will try to post some pics tomorrow when my dongle is feeling more obliging.

I’ve also sourced some wool for one particular present that I’m very happy about. Watch this space for a Superman-inspired gift…

Isn’t it amazing? Probably the most ridiculously cute thing ever. And every time I look at it I hear the Bob Marley song. You can’t help but smile and feel the urge to set out a feeder in your back garden (if I had a back garden, of course). Officially the happiest looking cardigan I have ever seen.

And if you’re on Ravelry you can enjoy this fabulous jumper version.

I’ve only tried Fairisle knitting (with all the colours) once. On a pair of mittens that I still haven’t finished (you can see them on the right). I’ve always been a bit scared of it. And steeking (where you actually cut your beloved, hard-worked knitting to make the armholes) frankly terrifies me. But this may be the project that persuades me to try again. The birds are calling to me. And Jamieson’s wool is sooooo cosy and in a million gorgeous colours and not too crazily expensive and….

Enough. I’m convinced (aren’t you?). It may be foolhardy, it may be complicated, it may be the final nail in the ‘barmy knitter’ sign on my forehead but I’m knitting the damn birds.

And who knows. If I manage that, maybe I’ll be brave enough to try this…

‘…singing don’t worry ’bout a thing, cos every little thing gonna be alright…’

Yes, Tuesday’s knit night was a resounding success with 7 knitters in attendance, 3 of them newbies to the group and 1 of them learning to knit for the first time. The lovely Andine (whose beautiful name I’m no doubt doing what Brits do best with French and mangling beyond recognition) managed the neatest first knit I’ve ever seen; Kathryn is obviously an excellent teacher. We also had out first random visitor – Annie popped in as she has just started knitting and spotted us in Prague the other week (and turned out to know one of us from the Guides in Durham many years ago – how’s that for random?). We officially conquered the big sofa by the window, and will no doubt be taking over the rest a table at a time…;)

I was especially glad as I’d had a bit of a strange Tuesday – I’d spent most of the day reading about war, genocide, refugee camps, torture, gender inequality that proves the Middle Ages are alive and rocking – essentially all the worst things humanity is capable of. I should perhaps point out that this was for work, and that the text in question also had many tales of hope, love and generosity amidst the carnage. Needless to say though, it left me desperate for a stiff drink and some good company. So my thanks once again to the charming Hoxton Knitting Group for a fun evening.

In other news I am powering through the Central Park Hoodie (in lieu of the chocolate brownie and at least one of the gold stars) inbetween Christmas presents. I’m aiming to finish it in time for Bonfire Night when it will be crisp and chill for the fireworks. That’s the plan anyway.

You’ll notice at the top of the page I’m giving Twitter a go. No, I’m not really sure either. I doubt any of you are that interested in my every knitting move, but I guess we’re going to find out. On the plus side it has pointed me in the direction of a couple of good knitterly blogs and I’ve tried to give Hoxton a bit of a Spring clean, lest you all get bored and realise you have better things to be getting on with. So please do explore the links, you might find a treat.

One thing I did spot on Twitter though, was a Tweet from some bloke who was clearly mortified to see a man on the Tube knitting. He was so traumatised by the experience, and obviously felt no one would believe his incredible tale, that he took a covert photo with his phone as proof. And then Twittered about it in utter indignation .(NB See how I’ve embraced the lingo? Dangerously addictive even though you start sounding like a two year old with a curious speech impediment). These days I can understand people being wary on the Underground, I just never suspected knitting would be high on anyone’s list of suspect activities. The 140 characters Twitter permits aren’t really enough to clarify whether it was the knitting itself that offended him or the fact that it was a bloke doing the knitting. Naturally I’m all in favour of hunting this Twit (ahem) down and skewering him with a cable needle – who’s with me? Alright, alright, I know, ‘violence solves nothing’, ‘give peace a chance’ yada yada yada.

Ok. We’ll go with peaceful protest. Direct action. Passive aggression. Remember to always take your knitting with you on the Tube and let’s see if we can really freak him out….

On Sunday 26th October The London Palladium will, for one night only, play host to a charity performance of Me & My Girl, in aid of the Anthony Nolan Trust.

The rules are simple: the cast of over 100 and the crew convene on the Friday night for their first rehearsal. Blocking, choreography, set construction and lighting design continue on Saturday and on Sunday they finally get into the theatre itself to rehearse until the audience arrives at 7pm. It all happens in 48 hours. The principal cast are allowed to learn their lines and the music but they cannot practice together or with the director, until the weekend of the show.

Today they were out in Covent Garden to publicise the event and show off their skills, singing a musical medley of show tunes:

They sounded fantastic and attracted quite a crowd, who were loving it:

If this isn’t a Handmade enterprise, then I don’t know what is. Which is why I’ll be mucking in and assisting the company manager. (No, I’m not entirely sure what that will involve either. I suspect a fair amount of crowd control and a hunting down of cast members who’ve wandered off for a quick fag break. I’ve been promised a cattle prod and a clipboard so I’m sure it will be fine. A bigger conern is the fact that, like most big theatres, the backstage of the Palladium is a labyrinth the Minotaur would feel at home in. Fingers crossed I’m not the one who goes AWOL…).

It’s going to be a fabulous show for a very worthy cause, so grab some friends and join the fun.

It started with the Yarn Harlot (doesn’t it always?) who is, of course, the grande dame of the knitting world these days. She has a rather charming habit of carrying a partly-knitted sock around with her (as it’s a small, portable knitting project) and photographing it as occasion demands, either in front of a suitable monument/scene/place of interest, or in the hands of charming people she runs into. If you don’t knit, I do realise this sounds like certifiable behaviour. Read her blog and you’ll get the idea, which is that most people don’t realise how many knitters (and their socks) are out there and that we’re generally quite nice (if slightly batty) folk and that knitting is a joy to be shared in public. The Yarn Harlot’s blog is always fun, but her latest post had me howling with glee, as it brought Tracey to my attention and a moment of genius that I had completely missed.

At the end of last year, Tracey took the sock picture idea to a whole new level.

Yes, that’s right. She got Barack Obama to hold her sock while she took a photo.

Just think about that for a moment. (I know, I know, certifiable, but genius nonetheless).

This has prompted the Harlot to set a challenge Read her blog post as it’s more fun that way, but the basic question is, can anyone else get a public figure (serious heavyweights only) to hold a sock while the knitter of said sock takes their photo? We’re talking heads of state here, so it’s not an easy one. But for each picture she’ll make a donation to Medecins Sans Frontieres (and since she’s already helped to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for them – with knitters mostly – that’s no small offer).

Personally, I’m ineligible as I don’t knit socks (one has to draw a line somewhere). Although if I managed to persuade Her Majesty to say cheese whilst holding a partially knitted fingerless glove, I doubt anyone would quibble. Bit of a longshot though, let’s face it.

As for heads of state, well I’m not overly keen on the prospect of stalking Gordon Brown to assault him with woollens. Or taking a photo of him for that matter.

Still, I shall keep my eyes open for possible famous faces who might be willing to play along for a good cause. After all you could end up with a fabulous shot like this one.

Scroll down to see the most fantastically bemused expression ever. Can’t believe I used to wonder why some people think knitting’s a little strange…

And I found another You Tube video that deserves a mention. Seasick Steve has been topping the iTunes charts with his new album and was on Jools Holland recently, but the video I love is from a few years ago when he performed for Jools’ annual Hootenanny. He plays a 3-string guitar and stamps a wooden box and shows just how much you can get out of what seems like so little. Just watch the audience suddenly come alive a few beats into the song – behold the power of the Handmade:

Guitar Man tells of Will Hodgkinson’s decision, at the age of 35 and with a wife and two small children, that it’s time for him to fulfill a longheld dream and learn to play the guitar. He gives himself 6 months to form a band and play a gig.

His musical journey takes him from Cornwall to Mississippi, meeting guitar pros like Bert Jansch, Johnny Marr, Roger McGuinn and PJ Harvey for tips and advice. Plus, it’s hilarious.

It’s also comforting to see someone else facing exactly the same problems and set backs that I’ve had in trying to learn to play. The frustration at not being able to get your hands to do what you want; the complete mystery of watching someone play a fairly simple tune and having no idea of how to replicate it; the overwhelming sense that some people are musical and talented and you’re just clearly not one of them.

On almost every page is a set-back or experience I’ve shared at some point (along with a few small victories) so it’s great to know I’m not alone. It’s a brilliant read for anyone learning, or tempted to learn, any instrument as an adult.

I’ve hit a bit of a rut with my playing lately and it’s tricky when you want to try something more complicated but don’t really know where to start. So I decided to go back to what made me determined not to have my guitar just decorating my room, but actually learn to play the damn thing. I’d had it for a couple of years and could play a few simple songs, but watching KT Tunstall’s now infamous performance on Jools Holland blew me away:

Admit it, even if you’re not a fan of her music it’s pretty impressive isn’t it? Apart from anything else her timing is immaculate all the way through. God knows how I’m ever going to be able to play like that – and of course a lot of what she’s doing isn’t actually about the guitar – but it’s a vast improvement on the image of a one-man-band after Dick van Dyke.

And it definitely helps to find a song you really love so that you can practice that, rather than trying to learn new techniques in isolation. Which is what led me to a website designed for learner guitar players where various pop folk have made a video teaching you to play their song – Now Play It. Not a huge variety of stuff on there and, as Guitar Man proves, a lot of performers aren’t actually very good teachers – they just want to show off and aren’t capable of breaking it down and explaining how they actually do it.

But I decided to give Miss Tunstall the benefit of the doubt and downloaded her lesson on Black Horse and the Cherry Tree (a friend had given me the sheet music but that only gives you the chords). And she’s actually a really good teacher, who not only explains the techniques she’s using, but suggests different exercises to help you master them and goes nice and slowly for us uncoordinated amateurs.

The site is, of course, a horribly commercial way to tap into those teenagers (oh, alright and those of us who should be old enough to know better, ahem) who are strumming away in their bedrooms and who, apparently, are dying to know the secrets of the latest hit from OneRepublic. Admittedly, it lacks the romance and authenticity of a rocking chair on a Mississippi porch. But it’s a lot cheaper than guitar lessons and the videos are nicely put together, with chord diagrams etc, so it’s one more resource to make use of.

Despite KT’s clear instructions, my progress remains pretty slow. I’m still trying to master the strumming pattern and the dampening technique and then there’s the fiddly bit of the one-string intro, not forgetting the palm muting and of course the seamless changes from chord to no-chord and – well, as you can see – I’ve got a way to go yet. And that’s just to play it without a loop pedal.

So, for now, please excuse me as I have to take advantage of the neighbours probably being out, in order to master my palm mute without driving them to post a molotov cocktail through my letterbox.

Strum-strum-stop-strum-stop-strum-strum. Strum-strum-stop-strum-stop-strum-strum. Strum-str……

This is another Wisp but in a soft and silky merino single ply, instead of Kidsilk Haze. I think it’ll look even better once the lace pattern is blocked but I love the colour:

Next up is Porom, a new hat pattern from Brooklyn Tweed. I had to start this again as I was a complete idiot with the (simple, clear and fairly obvious) instructions for one of the charts. But fortunately Take Two is looking much better. It’s in Felted Tweed, so not too heavy for a soft and slouchy hat:

The we have the garter stitch simplicity of the autumn scarf. This is in the lovely Lanark Tweed (one of the best yarn bargains on the net) and I’m particularly fond of the mustard yellow colour:

And bringing up the rear we have the Big One:

Only got the hem so far, but at least I’ve made a start. This is Jamieson’s Heather Aran in Fresco, and is going to be seriously warm and cosy.

So, for the time being, I’m on schedule. Now, where’s my three gold stars and a chocolate muffin?

Link to the person who tagged you
The charming and lovely Woolly Stuff can be found on the right.

Post the rules on your blog
Which I’m doing now, so we’re in that weird hall-of-mirrors, chicken-and-egg thing so somewhere in the universe this point is endlessly repeating itself in a quantum kinda way that’s going to give me a headache if I think about it anymore.

Write six random things about yourself
Um, right. Random. That I can do:

• White wine makes me horribly sick.
• I am (overly) suspicious of cats. They think. In a plotting, evil genius, we’re-way-cleverer-than-you kind of way. I reckon the Egyptians were onto something.
• I believe storytelling is one of the most powerful and beautiful aspects of any culture.
• As a teenager I wanted to be a forensic scientist/anthropologist.
• I own three teapots. No, I don’t know why either.
• I was once in a school production of The Sound of Music and was told I looked ‘the most nun-like’, which is just what every 17-year old girl wants to hear.

Tag six people at the end of your post
OK, done.

Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog
OK, give me a couple of minutes and consider it done.

Let the tagger know your entry is up
Ditto

I’m tagging:

My Fashionable Life

Prick Your Finger

A Boy Has Needs

Lolly Knitting Around

Fig & Plum

Knit and Tonic

I bounded through the office, gleefully hugging the squishy stash of Jamieson’s Heather Aran, with the added bonus that it had been on sale at a $1 a skein (I know, that should be a pound sign but this keyboard has a mind of its own and normally the fact that it likes to swap symbols and keys around with wild abandon wouldn’t be an issue, I simply hunt for the schizophrenic key that has decided to become a pound sign, but in this instance it has eluded me – as far as I can tell no key, no combination of shift-influenced keys, no F5/alt/del wizardry can induce any of these keys into producing a pound sign. My computer tends to run a little hot and the prospect of it spontaneously combusting is not outside the realm of possibility, so I am loathe to antagonise it. I simply mutter under my breath, become increasingly frustrated and call it HAL when I think it’s not listening. And don’t even get me started on my non-existent modem signal…)

Sorry. A Rant appears to have snuck in there (isn’t snuck a marvellous word?). Back to the good stuff.

So the lovely Jamieson’s in Fern (a brighter green than the name suggests) and Fresco (a daft name for a great shade of greyish moss green) is destined for the festive season. One batch will be the sweater project for this year (not telling for whom) and the other well, to be honest, I’m plotting how I can syphon off most of it for an entirely selfish idea for me. Fortunately, I reckon there’s enough for me to make several presents and then use the rest in a guilt-free woolfest for myself.

Naturally, my colleagues were a little bemused by my excitement so thank god for the Hoxton Knitters (that’s the Hoxton-based knitting night, not some group of people I’ve claimed in a weird bout of self-promotion) who could share in my joy at the woolly yumminess and delight in my thrifty find. My family are kindly tolerant of my obssession and have no problem with knitting but nevertheless they don’t knit and therefore they don’t get it. Same with my friends at work. Which is fine, it’s just so nice to spend some time with friendly folk who do get it. These are people who, when you’re talking about how nice it would be to have money and not have to work, agree that the best part would be all the time you would have to knit. And you can say it and no one looks at you like you’re slightly barmy. Instead they all nod enthusiastically and join in the wool-based fantasy.

They also understand the fact that you can never have enough yarn. It doesn’t matter that I have 12 huge balls of tweed in three different colourways waiting to be used. Or a couple of balls of alpaca. Or a huge amount of Rowanspun that I should really frog from an ugly half-finished sweater and put to better use. A good analogy for non-knitters (or at least female ones) would be shoes – same principle applies: there’s no such thing as too many.

So, if you do not knit, imagine you have just found the perfect pair of killer heels, and they fit you exactly, and they match your favourite dress, and they give you legs the length of Erin O’Connor’s, and they were on SALE.

And now you can share in my joy at 40 skeins of yarn.

The Yarn Harlot’s blog of her trip was particularly great as there’s nothing so pleasing as having an outsider recount their adventures in your hometown. Plus you are reminded of your own idiosyncrasies that seem so normal to you and bizarre to others (love her comment about when it started raining and how, apparently from nowhere, every Londoner simultaneously whipped out an umbrella – a few days was clearly not long enough for her to witness the truly schizophrenic quality of our weather and how every eventuality must be catered for at all times, thus every bag I own has been purchased on the basis of whether or not I can fit an umbrella and a spare jumper into it ).

As far as I’m concerned London is, quite simply, the best city on the planet (but then I would say that, wouldn’t I?). Its history, culture, vibrancy, eclecticism, noise, contrasts, architecture, grime, pigeons, beauty and slight air of madness make it a place of constant discovery and surprise. But living here and seeing it everyday and cursing the Tu